Financial Spring Cleaning
When was the last time you spring cleaned your house? Many of us do some form of spring cleaning in our homes regularly. But what about our financial “homes”? Financial clutter — bills, account statements, tax records, policy documents — can pile up fast and lead to stress, wasted time, and even poor decisions. Start with some simple spring cleaning in your financial house: review your accounts, consolidate where possible, update beneficiary designations, and check that your insurance coverage is still appropriate for your situation. Making scheduled “spring cleaning” a habit can help you stay on top of your […]
New Year Hope
So many of us start the holiday season full of hope. But to be honest, that hope sometimes gets buried in hustle and bustle, grief, family drama, work stress, finances, retirement. Holidays can be more hurtful than hopeful, and for many, January 2nd brings a huge sigh of relief and hope for better days ahead. Yet we’ve been bombarded with headlines about recession, interest rate hikes, high inflation, and a difficult stock market. That’s the reason our retirement strategy is so simple: Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst. The clients who stay the course, who have a […]
Thrift Savings Plan Portal Instructions
As of June 1st, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) website launched a new version of My Account, which requires all participants to set up a new login. Since this transition, many participants have experienced confusion with setting up accounts, issues with beneficiary designations no longer appearing, and frustration over long customer service wait times. In this short video, I will walk you through how to get set up on the new My Account, and how to determine if your Beneficiary information was successfully transferred over to the new site. As always, thank you for your service to the United […]
Happiness at a Wrestling Tournament?
Try spending an afternoon at a wrestling tournament if you want a distraction from this economy — or anything else! Nothing like 12–16 hour days watching 1,200 kids crammed into a sweaty gym. Wrestling is INTENSE. Kids cry. Parents cry. Coaches cry. It’s not for the faint of heart! Before his bout, Shine and his competitor played “Rock, Paper, Scissors” during a tech delay while they waited on the mat. Seeing two kids be kids — taking a break from the pressure and just being happy — was the best thing. Probably a lesson there for us grownups too. […]
2022 Christmas Party!
Our client Christmas party is one of my favorite nights of the year! Seeing clients reconnect and make new connections was truly one of my favorite gifts of 2022. In 2022, nearly 75% of our new clients learned about us from a co-worker, supervisor, friend or family member that we’d helped. Thank you so much! Our family and business motto is, “Make it to share it.” It’s humbling when clients trust us enough to give our phone number to a friend who is retiring or worrying about losing their retirement savings. Sometimes we meet with them and find they’re […]
How (Un)Comfortable Is Your Retirement?
When’s the last time you stepped out of your Comfort Zone? I was recently at the Veterans Center down the street teaching about Social Security — miles from my Comfort Zone. After that night, so many families came in and shared how desperately they were struggling. We never would’ve been able to help them if our team hadn’t stretched out of our comfort zone! So where do you need to stretch? Instead of a “comfortable retirement,” what if you stretched yourself to be uncomfortable in retirement? What’s your purpose, your joy, your satisfaction, your LEGACY? What would it be […]
Winning Is More Fun Than Fun Is Fun!
February is the official start of Lacrosse season here in Broken Arrow — it’s our FIFTH season for Shine to play, Eddy to coach, and me to have my favorite title ever, “Team Mom.” Our family loves the quote: “Winning is more fun than fun is fun.” It doesn’t mean all work, no fun. It means we need to resist distractions when working toward our goals. Social media can be fun. Sleeping in can be fun. TV is always more fun than working out. But none of those things are as fun as achieving your goals! What are your […]
It’s Travel Season!
It’s officially travel season! Katie and I recently took a little trip to visit a new client family in Cherokee, Kansas. Where are you headed this summer? If you’re relaxing at home in the A/C trying to decide if you should plan a vacation — this is your sign to GO! Some of our families have been in “save” mode for so many years, they’re afraid to spend money on a vacation after they retire. You’ve probably heard me say, “Either you travel and enjoy a steak… or your kids will when you’re gone!” This is the chapter you’ve […]