A Look At The Number, Part 4: Advisors
This is Part 4 in a series about The Number by Lee Eisenberg. Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, and Part 3 is here. Chapter 11 of Lee Eisenger’s book, The Number, focuses on the topic of financial...
View ArticleBe A Financial Advisor
Money Magazine has ranked hundreds of careers and have decided that the job of Financial Advisor ranks third. That’s not too shabby. Here are the stats provided by the magazine. The average salary is...
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Does This Number Impress You?
$400,000. Do you consider someone with a net worth of $400,000 rich? Well-off? Comfortable? Would you set a lifetime goal for yourself at $400,000? Actually, a net worth of $400,000 sets you well above...
View ArticleThe Top 25 Money Tips of All Time, Part 5
I’m finally delivering the last installment of MoneySense’s top 25 money tips of all time. This follows parts 1, 2, 3 and 4. Now, without further ado, are the final five money tips, as decided by...
View ArticleCan You Trust Your Financial Advisor? Or Anyone?
The truth is people are selfish. A person makes decisions on what actions to take based on what they believe will benefit him or her. Is there such a thing as true selflessness? Even when someone helps...
View ArticleFind a Financial Advisor Online
Some readers of financial blogs keep coming back for the free “advice.” There are some better ways to get in touch with financial advisement online, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has a few...
View ArticleDavid Bach’s Five Rules for Hiring an Financial Advisor
A few years ago, I had a brief chat with a financial advisor provided to me by my company, which also happens to be in financial services. I listened to what he had to say, but he was searching for...
View ArticleYour Advice to Your Younger Self
The two winners of the free copies of Cash, Cars, & College, by Janine Bolon were informed last night. If you entered the contest, check your email to see if you’ve won. In order to enter the...
View ArticleFinancial Advisers and Stock Brokers: What’s the Difference?
You would think that the roles and responsibilities would be clear and there would be a strong line between individuals who call themselves financial advisers and those who call themselves stock...
View Article5 Stupid Financial Mistakes I Made in 2007: Underutilizing Financial and Tax...
In 2007, I actually sought a financial advisor, developed an asset allocation model, and started to track my finances more closely than ever. All good moves, but after reallocating some of my...
View ArticleTake This Rule of Thumb Quiz
I often rail against “financial rules of thumb” for their overly simplistic view of what are often complex situations. There is far too much potential for snappy catchphrases to lead people to refuse...
View ArticleIs a CFP Certification Necessary When Choosing a Planner?
I like the new columns from Money Magazine featuring “The Mole,” an undercover financial planner. Like me, The Mole prefers to write anonymously to protect his or her identity. While my reasons for...
View ArticleCan You Judge a Financial Adviser By Her Own Portfolio?
Consider a hypothetical popular financial adviser with $30 million in investable assets. Her (or his) primary clients may average $500,000 of liquid reserves ready to be directed in any manner as...
View ArticleThe Path to Mediocrity: Doing What Works For You and Other Self-Limiting...
General advice for an imaginary average person Personal finance advice comes in many forms, running the gamut from Dave Ramsey’s philosophies on getting out of debt to Suze Orman’s no-nonsense...
View ArticleDave Ramsey’s Baby Steps
I’ve done a good job of sharing my disdain for Dave Ramsey’s popularization of a method of getting out of debt that caters to unmotivated individuals, the “Debt Snowball” method. That doesn’t mean I...
View ArticlePay to Be a Financial Expert on Television
Last week, I had doubts about the advice provided by a so-called financial expert on the local prime-time network news program. Offering advice in public is a difficult task to do well. You have to...
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Don’t Tell Others How To Spend Their Money
This is a guest article by Outlaw, who lives and works in New York’s financial district and writes on the blog Credit Card Outlaw. I don’t believe in conspiracies. A few weeks ago someone I vaguely...
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How To Handle Requests For Financial Advice
I don’t have to remind myself that I’m not an expert when it comes to money. While my choices have improved over the past few years, I still make mistakes at about the same rate I always have. Even...
View ArticleWorry About Only What You Can Change
Two interesting articles caught my eye recently. First, on Get Rich Slowly, J.D. Roth asks when it is okay to judge someone else for their financial behaviors. J.D. describes his encounters with two...
View ArticleWorking With a Financial Adviser: Whom Do You Trust?
This is a new series on finding, selecting, and working with financial advisers and planners. A few days ago, a friend asked me on Twitter whether I had any articles on this topic. While I had a few...
View ArticleWorking With a Financial Adviser: Demystifying Certifications
This is a series on finding, selecting, and working with financial advisers or planners. Recently, I evaluated the types of financial professionals to help readers start on the right track. This...
View ArticleWorking With a Financial Adviser: Selecting the Right Planner
This is a series on finding, selecting, and working with financial advisers or planners. Recently, I evaluated the types of financial professionals and described the various professional certifications...
View ArticleWorking With a Financial Adviser: How to Prepare for the First Date
This is a series on finding, selecting, and working with financial advisers or planners. Recently, I evaluated the types of financial professionals and described the common certifications to help...
View ArticleWorking With Financial Planners and Advisers
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working on a series of articles about working with financial planners and advisers. The information about this aspect of the financial industry can be confusing,...
View ArticleWorking With a Financial Adviser: How to Show Up Prepared
This is a guest article by RJ Weiss, one of the youngest Certified Financial Planners at the age of 26 and the founder of the blog Gen Y Wealth. You can download his free Financial Freedom Blueprint to...
View ArticleWorking With a Financial Adviser: Building Your Relationship
This is a guest article from Kathryn. Kathryn has been working in the financial industry for 11 years. She is the founder and author of Kathryn’s Conversations, a money and lifestyle blog for people...
View ArticleWhat I Learned as a Financial Planner
The following is a guest post from Neal Frankle, a Certified Financial Planner in Los Angeles who owns the financial blog Wealth Pilgrim. Neal has been a financial planner for the past twenty-seven...
View ArticleThe Best Financial Advice I’ve Ever Received
People frequently ask me to share the best piece of financial advice I’ve ever received. Most recently, this was a common theme at the Financial Blogger Conference in Chicago. One company in...
View ArticleMeeting With a Financial Planner From Vanguard Flagship Services
On Tuesday, I had a phone consultation with a Certified Financial Planner from Vanguard. It was an initial meeting, wherein we talked about each other, focusing on my goals. I tried to take into...
View ArticleMy Future Investing Strategy
Last week I met with a Certified Financial Planner for the first time. This was a free service provided by Vanguard, so it was a good opportunity to speak to a professional about my specific situation....
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Why I Don’t Make Your Financial Decisions For You
Some feedback over the nine years of writing about money on Consumerism Commentary indicates that there are some readers — not necessarily daily readers and fans of a website, but those who are...
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Two Invalid Criticisms of David Bach’s Latte Factor
More than seven years ago, I encouraged readers to forget about the Latte Factor. The Latte Factor — a registered trademark — is the core marketing message from personal finance guru and author David...
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Three More Invalid Criticisms of David Bach’s Latte Factor
I recently appeared on the Stacking Benjamins podcast to talk with Joe Saul-Sehy about the Debt Avalanche and the Debt Snowball, two very similar methods of paying off existing debt — usually applied...
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Should All Financial Advisers Be Held to a Fiduciary Standard?
Over the last year, a friend of mine has been trying to convince me to move my financial assets. I currently have a taxable investment account at Vanguard, and my portfolio consists of a mix that...
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LearnVest Acquired By Northwestern Mutual
Congratulations to the owners of LearnVest, a financial planning start-up that is in the process of finalizing a deal with Northwestern Mutual wherein the latter will be acquiring the assets and...
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How One Cafe is Changing Financial Wellness for Chicagoans
Last week, I walked into a hip coffee shop nestled between Ann Taylor Loft and Urban Outfitters. Located in a family-friendly Chicago neighborhood on a cheerful, bustling street, the cafe didn’t appear...
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Trump Nixes the Fiduciary Rule Today… Is This A Good Idea?
If you’ve been paying attention to financial news, you’ve probably heard mention of the fiduciary rule. This rule was approved last year under the Obama administration, with the goal of increasing...
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