In 1991, the New York Times reported on the remarkable life of Theodore Johnson. Theodore did not win the Nobel prize, nor was he a celebrity, inventor, or even a local celebrity of any real fame or renown. Rather, Theodore was a UPS driver. This was in a time before the internet hit any critical mass or made any great …
Financial Planning by Suitably Best Interested Fiduciaries
There is a constant hem and haw to the discussion around financial planning, largely derived from the various interests of the firms that offer it and discontent about how “those other guys” do it wrong. You know the ones. Yet, against a backdrop in which being a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ is compensation-neutral, a constant argument and debate is about how …
That Doesn’t Look Like Anything to Me
If you’ve ever watched the HBO show “Westworld”, the phrase “That doesn’t look like anything to me” has a special meaning. In the show, the ultra-wealthy vacation in what is ostensibly a live-action roleplay theme park, filled with “hosts”, synthetic androids that represent the townsfolk and bandits of an old western. The hosts do not know that they and the …
Theories of Financial Planning
Financial planning is a profession that has grown out of the traditions of several others: amalgamating segments of knowledge from attorneys, CPAs, stock brokers, insurance agents, economists, psychologists, and traditional institutional finance, financial planning draws from many fields and pulls in many resources and theories in its practice. In my own pursuit of a Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning, I’ve …
Universal Life – Game Changer or Game Complicator?
An Author’s Note at the Outset: About a dozen agents lacking in reading comprehension have rushed forward, shrieking their objections to this post without actually reading it carefully. So, I’ll put the warning up front: the purpose of this post is to highlight that a traditionally structured product is not a strong wealth accumulator. It is not to demonstrate a …
Retiring in Colorado
Colorado is a well-known destination for climbers, hikers, skiers, and all sorts of adventurers. It’s no surprise that not only is it a popular place to live, but a popular place to retire. Retiring in Colorado, whether you’re a local or a newcomer, comes with some particular planning elements that should be considered. So today, we’re talking about retiring in …
Secure Act 2.0
Welcome to 2023! The holiday omnibus bill brought out a significant number of changes to retirement accounts and other investment vehicles. Today we’re getting you caught up on just a handful of the many updates included in the “Secure Act 2.0.” We’ll start with the generics that apply to everyone, and some business-owner specifics are at the end. Required Minimum …
Planner Compensation 2023
As we strive to be radically transparent at MY Wealth Planners®, today I thought I’d publicly share our pay and benefits scales for 2023. Briefly, this is broken out into descriptions of job tiers, compensation based on Longmont, CO residency, and a summary of benefits as we offer them. Job Tiers Careers at MY Wealth Planners in the “financial planner” …
Benefits for All! Establishing a Business that Pays
Today marks the three-year anniversary of the launch of MY Wealth Planners®, Longmont’s first-and-only fee-only financial planning firm, a title that it maintains to this day. While the path to launching MY Wealth Planners started four and a half years prior as a “supported independence” practice under Waddell & Reed, the launch into full-blown entrepreneurship is both exciting and just …
Service Model Update
Hello everyone! This week is not our usual broad educational content but instead is to notify and educate you on changes we’re applying to our service models. If you’re an existing client, please read thoroughly. If you’re considering becoming a client, this should be a helpful tool for you to understand our service model. As always, a fair disclaimer to …