Systematic savings deposits are as important as your mortgage payment. They create the buffer for emergencies, the savings for college expenses, the income for retirement. We help our clients get a grip on the elusive question: How much should I save? And then we invest their deposits respecting their needs for liquidity and/or growth.

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1. Compute Your Net Worth Once A Year (2006-02-06)
   Belated Happy New Year! Now that the confetti has been swept up and your head is a little clearer, how do things look? Specifically, now that you are a year closer to retirement, are you on track to meet your goals? Have you measured? What gets measured is more likely to be accomplished. Computing your net worth once a year is the first and most important step toward financial security.
   
   
2. Compute Your Net Worth Once a Year (2010-01-04)
   Since the end of last year the markets are up about 25%. You may not have been on track at the beginning of last year, but now you should reevaluate again. The wave has propelled you miles toward your goal, and at least once a year you should measure your progress.
   
   
3. Seven Financial Resolutions for the New Year (2009-12-28)
   We can only develop financial character one action at a time. Here are seven practices that will take you from pauper to prince or princess if you add one each year.
   
   
4. Compute Your Net Worth Once a Year (2009-01-05)
   Last year's storm has blown you miles off course, and not making any adjustments is destined to end in a shipwreck. Computing your net worth annually is like taking a sextant reading to chart your course toward financial security.
   
   
5. You too can become a billionaire 2005 (2005-04-11)
   There are 691 billionaires in the world according to a recent survey. Most are in the United States, and the others are scattered throughout 46 other countries. Because of the surging world economy, 104 newcomers were added to the list last year. Learning how billionaires amassed their wealth may expand your financial horizons and possibly seed you with an idea that will lead to the inclusion of your name on the list.
   
   
6. Retirement Wisdom Part 5 - Value Objective Advice (2004-11-22)
   Would you complain if your $100,000 investment grew to $5.2 million dollars over 50 years? Probably not, but how would you feel if you found out it would have grown to $16.7 million had you not lost $11.5 million to unnecessary fees, expenses and commissions?
   
   
7. Getting Started With Investing (2009-04-20)
   There isn't a better time to invest than today. Getting started can be intimidating, but these simple steps will help you through your first few years of investing.
   
   
8. Learning to Live on Your Own, Part 1 (2008-02-11)
   If you're like most of today's college graduates, you may find yourself ill prepared for the real world of financial responsibility. You never saw how your parents lived when they were first married and struggling. Consequently, you may be basing your after-school expectations on an upper-middle-class lifestyle. Here is my financial advice for those of you learning to live on your own.
   
   
9. Kiddie Tax Loophole Soon to Disappear (2007-10-29)
   This year, Congress has made income-shifting a dream of the past, trapping more kids in the dreaded "kiddie tax." Beginning January 1, 2008, children under 24 will owe taxes on unearned income at their parents' higher tax rates.
   
   
10. Why is Bob Cratchit So Poor? (2005-12-12)
    Christmas is a time for oft told tales like Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol." At first glance, this story fills us with pity for the Cratchit family, always struggling to make ends meet. Poor Bob Cratchit is forced to work for Ebenezer Scrooge, whose personality makes an easy target for the cause of Bob's financial troubles. But, the true source of the Cratchits' poverty is not Scrooge but Bob's own impulse to live a lifestyle worthy of the Lord Mayor himself.
    
    
11. How to Pay Off Student Loans While Building Wealth (2007-05-07)
    The average college student graduates with almost $20,000 in student loans. But, some students may be better off not taking their parents' advice on how to get out of debt. Unlike most types of debt, student loans are usually best when paid as slowly as possible.
    
    
12. The Seven Steps of Financial Preparedness (2008-10-06)
    When a hurricane threatens, making a plan and gearing up for emergencies is imperative. Economic emergencies happen too, but it may be less obvious how to prepare. Here are seven steps you should take to weather any financial storm.
    
    
13. Raising Money Savvy Kids - Teen Budgeting (2007-03-19)
    Many parents are concerned about raising their children to be financially savvy. If you want to raise kids who can create and manage wealth, there are a handful of key life skills every child should practice. Every kid should practice living within a budget before leaving home, not after. One way to provide opportunities for real world lessons at home is to give your children some oversight of the family budget.
    
    
14. Inflation Part 3: Protecting Yourself Against Inflation (2008-06-30)
    Officially, inflation today is calculated about 4%. Unofficially, it is over 7%. You can hedge your assets against underreported inflation and protect your retirement goals.
    
    
15. Learning to Live on Your Own, Part 2 (2008-02-18)
    Here we offer some sound advice on how to put the money you've saved to work for you.
    
    
16. Retirement Wisdom Part 6 - Have a concrete plan (2004-12-06)
    Saving something toward retirement and hoping for the best does not constitute an adequate plan. Because retirement is years - even decades - away, planning is more critical, not less. The more detailed the retirement plan, the greater the likelihood of success.
    
    
17. Budgeting Part 1: Creating a family budget (2005-03-21)
    Spending less than you earn is the essential foundation that creates the capital for investing and wealth building. Following the simple advice in this series of articles on budgeting will help you create the wealth necessary to benefit from professional fee-only asset management.
    
    
18. Buying a Car Without Breaking the Bank (2007-04-23)
    Purchasing a car is the second biggest spending decision we face as consumers next to buying a home. Unlike real estate or an investment portfolio which appreciates, cars are rapidly depreciating assets. In addition to the car's sticker price, operating expenses can drive the unsuspecting consumer into the poorhouse. And, if you choose to finance your car purchase, your losses will be compounded.
    
    
19. Squirrel Away Money While You Can (2005-09-12)
    In 1985, an MIT professor won the Nobel Prize for a simple technique that squirrels have known intuitively from birth -- you have to "squirrel" away some nuts during times of plenty so you can survive during times of scarcity.
    
    
20. Compute Your Net Worth Once A Year (2004-01-05)
    The yearly cycle of financial planning begins with computing your net worth at the start of each New Year.
    
    
21. Financial Harmony in Marriage (2007-05-21)
    Money problems can ruin the love affair with your spouse. The work of blending two lives in harmony requires certain basic commitments. Even a financial planner can't help unless the couple is willing to make five simple commitments.
    
    
22. Employee Retirement Options - Part 1 (2007-10-08)
    Most workers are putting all their retirement assets in the basket of their employer's retirement plan. They are depending on one employer and two dozen eggs (funds) to hatch and maintain their lifestyle, independence and dignity in their later years.
    
    
23. That Rebate Check Could Ruin Your Retirement Part 2 (2008-05-19)
    Anyone who spends more than 4% of their rebate will actually lose ground saving toward their retirement.
    
    
24. IPS: Build Your Financial Dream Home with a Good Blueprint (2007-02-05)
    Without a financial plan, your investments are controlling your dreams, not the other way around. You need a blueprint for your financial dreams to come true. That blueprint in sound financial planning is called an Investment Policy Statement (IPS).
    
    
25. Remember to Fund Your Roth IRA (2008-03-10)
    If you are eligible, make sure you fund your Roth IRA or your Roth 401(k) this year with the maximum contribution possible. It may be your last chance to pay a reasonable tax rate before the prevailing winds of class envy swamp your retirement sailboat.
    
    
26. Retirement Wisdom Part 7 - Start Early (2004-12-13)
    There is an urgency to planning for your retirement. Some choices can be postponed, while others will severely impact your financial freedom later in life.
    
    
27. Rebalance Accounts Regularly (2008-07-07)
    A year ago when the markets were all setting new highs, people were asking what they should do with their retirement portfolio. I answered, "Rebalance." Now that the market is setting new lows, I get the same question, and my response hasn't changed.
    
    
28. Retirement Wisdom Part 1 - Plan Ahead (2004-10-25)
    Most families have not planned for their retirement. They may save toward their retirement, but without a plan their saving is random and haphazard. Retirement decisions today can only be made in the context of accurate math projections that span decades. Saving what you can and hoping for the best is an expensive and dangerous approach.
    
    
29. Financial Resolutions for the New Year (2008-12-29)
    Financial planning concerns very likely threaten to consume your life and ruin all your other New Year's resolutions. Few of us are disciplined enough to accomplish what we need to do without help.
    
    
30. Taking Early Retirement Withdrawals (2008-05-26)
    Many academics are 403(b) rich. But they are poor in terms of their spendable assets, which limits estate planning and tax management options. It also makes retiring early difficult. Fortunately, an IRS 72(t) exception can help with early retirement.
    
    
31. Retirement Wisdom Part 2 - Automate Your Saving (2004-11-01)
    The most successful way to save it is to automate your saving plan. Saved money makes money. And saved money making more money can make the differece between upper middle class and struggling middle class. Automate your savings, and you will automate growing richer.
    
    
32. Financial Planning for the Second Half of Marriage (2007-04-02)
    My wife and I are celebrating our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary this month. Our oldest child is now a freshman in college and our youngest is a sophomore in high school. The financial planning issues that were important during the first half of our marriage become critical as a couple enters the second half.
    
    
33. Retirement Wisdom Part 3 - Review Annually (2004-11-08)
    Whatever financial changes come your way, an annual reviews guarantees that the changes in your lifestyle are minimized and the chances of meeting your retirement goal are maximized.
    
    
34. Decide to Be Rich (2008-04-07)
    It used to be that becoming a millionaire was regarded as a huge achievement. In today's dollars, however, it is fairly trivial. The new rich is over $5 million.
    
    
35. You too can become a billionaire 2007 (2007-07-02)
    There are 946 billionaires in the world according to a recent survey. Half are in one country, the United States of America! The others are scattered throughout 53 other countries. Because of the surging world economy, 195 newcomers were added to the list last year and only 32 dropped out. Learning how billionaires amass their wealth may expand your financial horizons and possibly stimulate some ideas that could lead to your name being added in the future.
    
    
36. Retirement Wisdom Part 4 - Adjust Risk Appropriately (2004-11-15)
    In both good times and bad times, investing is really about managing your emotions. If you want to be an investor, you have to grow to understand not only the relationship between risk and return, but also your own reaction to it.
    
    
37. The Business of Being an Artist - Part 1 (2007-08-13)
    The image of the starving artist has prevailed too long. Here are the financial essentials that artists avoid at their peril.
    
    
38. Budgeting Part 2: Living on a family budget (2005-03-28)
    Dieting is difficult when the rest of the family is still feasting. Living on a budget without the help of your family is impossible.
    
    
39. Seven Financial Rules for Marital Bliss (2006-06-12)
    An overwhelming number of failed marriages cite financial troubles as a major factor in their breakup. This is no surprise because the way we use our time and money reflects our values. Without a strong set of shared values, marriages drift apart. But, dealing with finances together can bring a couple closer. Here are seven principles of how you can build wealth and your marriage.
    
    
40. 50+ Retirement Planning - Part 1 (2005-05-08)
    The latest time to plan for retirement is when you are fifty-something. Five years is not enough time to prepare for retirement. Here are the issues you should be worried about when you are within ten to fifteen years of retirement.
    
    
41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (2006-10-09)
    The Dow set a new all-time high last Tuesday. While most investors follow the numbers from the Dow Jones Industrial Average index, they are most likely invested in funds that mimic the S&P 500. However, neither index represents a diversified portfolio. Understanding just how the Dow works allows savvy investors to see past this index when evaluating the performance of their investments.
    
    
42. Raising Money Savvy Kids - Postpone Spending (2007-02-19)
    One of the critical concerns of generational wealth management is raising young people to be financially savvy. Many have written to say that they read and discuss this column at the dinner table with their children. If you want to raise kids who can create and manage wealth, there are a handful of critical rules that are foundational. Here's the main one: Postpone spending.
    
    
43. What the Rich Know and the Poor Do Not (2007-01-15)
    This new year, resolve to get your financial house in order so that you can enjoy peace of mind. Financial planning is important, but it is never urgent. Most people fail to establish a financial plan because they fail to start planning. Some resolutions can be postponed, but for every six years that you delay saving and investing, you cut your retirement lifestyle in half. So, act on your resolution today.
    
    
44. Roth IRA vs. the Traditional IRA (2006-09-11)
    Individual Retirement Accounts were created to give Americans an incentive to save for retirement by combining the benefits of compounding interest with a favorable tax status.
    
    
45. Budgeting Part 3: Reduce Your Spending (2005-04-04)
    If you need more money to makes ends meet, you can earn more or spend less. Both take work, but making a game out of the latter can reap more rewards than Monopoly. Let's roll the dice and get started. You'll be amazed at how much money you can save.
    
    
46. A College Degree is Worth a Million Bucks (2005-09-26)
    A college degree is worth more than its weight in gold. In fact, the value of a college education is worth about $1 million, according to a 2002 study conducted by the US Census Bureau. In the face of rising college tuition costs, education may seem like an impossible dream, but education is a key part to your financial well-being. As with any big investment, diligent planning and saving is required.
    
    
47. Joshua and the Wall of College Savings (2005-10-10)
    Four-years of college currently cost $60,000 at a public university. In eighteen years, it may cost more than $145,000. To stay ahead of rising tuition costs, you should plan ahead and save early. Tax-favored 529 accounts can help you provide an excellent college education for your children and grandchildren.
    
    
48. University Students: Getting Sucked Dry by Credit Cards (2007-09-03)
    Last week we listed the ways university student are enticed into using credit cards. This week we will examine the economical impact of those initially small and convenient monthly payments.
    
    
49. How much do you need to save this month? (2006-11-13)
    There are only a few critical financial planning questions you need to be able to answer. Probably the most important is, "How much money do I need to save this month to meet my goals?" Many people don't know the answer to this question and avoid it to the detriment of their long-term financial well-being.
    
    
50. 50+ Retirement Investing - Part 3 (2005-05-30)
    Fifty-something just beginning the second half of life, and members of the Red Hat Society understand that the fun is just beginning. You need to have an investment plan that can last the second half century as well as you will.
    
    
51. A Short History of Wall Street (2007-05-14)
    Last month I was in New York City for the weekend. Although our hotel was in Times Square, we had a chance to visit Wall Street while we were there. Wall Street is a testament of the spirit and vitality of free markets.
    
    
52. The Business of Being an Artist - Part 2 (2007-08-20)
    For those working in the arts, financial planning is artistic freedom. You can be an artist and also eat well if you don't avoid the subject of financial planning all together. After you have your cash flow and career planning in place, you also need to address your insurance and legal concerns.
    
    
53. 50+ Retirement Products - Part 2 (2005-05-23)
    To insure retirement success, everyone agrees, the decade before retirement is the time to make sure that everything is in place for retirement. Mistakes made during this period, if not corrected early enough, can devastate the chances of a long and prosperous retirement.
    
    
54. Belle Didn't Really Love Scrooge (2006-12-11)
    About this time each year I re-read "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens. By far, the saddest portion of the book is the scene where the ghost of Christmas past forces Ebenezer to relive the day his fiancé breaks their engagement and his heart. While we often assume that Ebenezer did not love Belle, the sad truth is that Belle never really loved Scrooge.
    
    
55. NAPFA Consumer Education Foundation (2006-10-16)
    The non-profit NAPFA Consumer Education Foundation is offering a series of monthly presentations in Charlottesville, beginning this Saturday. The Foundation is dedicated to bringing consumer financial education to communities across America.
    
    
56. How to Double Your Retirement (2005-12-26)
    Every six years you delay saving and investing you cut in half the lifestyle you will have in retirement. You owe it to yourself and your family to make certain that your financial New Year's Resolution are kept this year. Here are ways to save and to invest that are simple and specific enough to keep.
    
    
57. How to get out of debt (Part 1) (2003-11-03)
    Triage
    
    
58. Bankruptcy Is Sometimes the Best Option (2007-06-25)
    Most people want to honor their debt. But many families have allowed their debt to spiral out of control, and they feel helpless, ashamed, and at a loss to know what to do. While bankruptcy isn't anyone's first choice, sometimes it is an important choice to consider.
    
    
59. Financial Help for the New Year (2007-12-31)
    We all want to be slim, eat healthy and get our financial house in order, but few of us are disciplined enough to accomplish all that without help. After the indulgences of the holidays, both gustatory and financial, inevitably you'll probably resolve once again to make some changes in all these areas. You owe it to yourself and your family to make certain you keep your financial New Year's resolutions this year.
    
    
60. Eight Steps to Fix Your Broken Credit (2006-01-23)
    Debt problems destroy your credit history and isolate you from a host of economic privileges and opportunities. If your credit report was a wake up call to get out of debt, you may be wondering what to do next. The first step to stop the hemorrhaging is simply to not borrow another penny until you are completely out of debt. The rest of this article will only benefit those in debt willing to make this commitment.
    
    
61. Roth IRAs Make Great Estate Planning Tools (2006-09-25)
    If the tax-free growth of a Roth IRA wasn't enough to wet your appetite, the estate planning benefits it offers should seal the deal. Bequeathing a Roth is much the same as setting up a life-time tax-free stream of income for your heirs. Because Uncle Sam has already taken his cut of the principal when you put the money in, withdrawals from a Roth can be made tax-free, either by you or by your beneficiaries. All this happens simply by naming the appropriate beneficiaries for your Roth.
    
    
62. Fund a teenager's retirement as a multi-millionaire for only $18,000! (2004-01-19)
    We teach teenagers ten times more about sexuality than money. Many get the wrong message about what we expect them to be engaged in. Give this article to a teenager and encourage them to start a Roth IRA.
    
    
63. Look Over Your Tax Return (2005-05-02)
    Unless it was your birthday, most of us are glad we have almost a year before we have to get our tax information together again. Before you store this past year's return in the basement, take fifteen minutes, put your 1040 on the table beside this article, and gain some valuable wisdom on your finances.
    
    
64. Florence Mortlock - Dignity is a Happy Ending (2006-03-27)
    Many of our attitudes are learned from the family stories we grow up with. How we handle our finances will influence generations. The life of my grandmother, Florence Mortlock, provided me with many life lessons on finance and financial planning.
    
    
65. How to get out of debt (Part 3) (2003-11-17)
    Stop the bleeding
    
    
66. Wealth is what you save, not what you spend (2004-02-02)
    Many people mistakenly believe that their financial well-being is outside of their control. It isn't. Repair, make do or do without! Your financial future is made is every day's decisions to spend money or save and invest.
    
    
67. How to get out of debt (Part 2) (2003-11-10)
    Stop the worst bleeding
    
    
68. Social Security Can Be Saved (2004-01-12)
    Social Security can be saved. The solution actually costs less while preserving benefits. It is nothing short of miraculous.
    
    
69. How to get out of debt (Part 5) (2003-12-01)
    Reconstructive surgery
    
    
70. How to get out of debt (Part 4) (2003-11-24)
    Emergency medicine
    
    
71. Managing cash is key to meeting goals (2003-10-20)
    Managing your family's cash is key to meeting your financial goals.
    
    
72. June: The Month of Wedding Financial Planning (2003-06-15)
    Couples getting married in June usually don't take the time for pre-marital financial counseling. Yet much of the friction in marriage stems from different financial perspectives, and how money is handled is often a factor in divorce.
    
    
73. Slow and Steady Wins The Race (2003-09-22)
    Financial lessons from a snapping turtle.
    
    
74. Financial Resolutions for the New Year (2003-12-29)
    Here are ways to spend less money that are simple, specific, and concrete enough to keep.
    
    
75. Family Budgeting (2002-05-29)
    Spending less than you earn is the foundation that creates the capital for investing and wealth building.
    
    

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