When purchasing a home, too often we let our emotions guide us to an impractical choice. As with other “money scripts,” we need to carefully examine our biases before making critical decisions.
One popular money script is, “I need to leave an inheritance to my kids.” Yet choices that parents make based on this money script can actually result in both failing to leave an inheritance and even costing children money. Here is one way that might happen.
Keeping your fees at market rate is respecting yourself. It helps you enjoy your work, assures that you show up fully for your clients, and will ultimately keep them happier.
What can a person do to mitigate the potential of becoming mired in a life-shattering financial crisis?
The crash in cryptocurrencies was not a unique contributor to investor suicides. It just happened to be the financial crisis de jour.
In estate planning, “equal” isn’t necessarily the same as “fair.”
“What is true about money?” A flippant answer to this question might be something like, “I ought to have more of it.”
How would you feel to learn your financial planner came close to bankruptcy five times?
What about those, like members of some religious orders, who consciously make vows of poverty? Does that lead to harmful money choices?
Money scripts around a vow of poverty often result in financial behaviors that cause more harm than good.
The CFP Board published a book called the Psychology of Financial Planning. This groundbreaking new material incorporates interpersonal components of financial planning and the effects of money on individuals. My guests today are here to talk about that book.
A researcher recently asked me that question. I had a bit of a struggle answering, in part because I write and talk a lot about what financial wellbeing is not.
Why do so many people live in denial or avoidance, especially when it comes to money?
Given the speculative gamble of cryptocurrency, there is no evidence-based reason that long-term investors would include it in their portfolios. What personality types sign on for such a violently volatile investment experience?
My CFP peers must be tired of hearing me sing the praises of living in South Dakota. But one of them recently emailed some disturbing news. A recent national survey that ranked financial literacy placed South Dakota in 49th place.
There is no Hall of Fame for single parents. There should be. The challenges of being a single parent are monumental.
I would be very concerned if my financial planner didn’t have their own planner. Research shows that financial planning results in increased emotional and financial wellbeing, even for clients who are planners themselves. Use our Premium membership to add your logo to this article and send it to your clients and prospects.
I’ve supported many clients through times of loss and transition such as divorces, deaths of parents or spouses, business failures, and natural disasters. Following are some of the things I’ve learned.
Being immobilized in grief can be deeply painful and damaging emotionally. It can be financially damaging, as well, limiting a person’s ability to make sound financial decisions that can affect their future. This is where objective help and support is essential.
"The bear is coming! The bear is coming!" Indeed, it is. Should you be worried?
Whenever I surf television cable news channels, I see the plethora of ads for financial planning. But they are run by companies that sell financial products or are owned by huge insurance companies.
What does meditation have to do with money? By becoming aware of our thoughts and feelings, we are more likely to make financial decisions that are consistent with our values, life aspirations, and authentic goals.
Only 5% to 6% of people 50 and older include charitable giving in their wills.
Someone who wouldn’t dream of betraying their spouse or partner by having an illicit affair is risking the relationship in another way: by committing financial infidelity.
As a financial planner and financial therapist, I have some thoughts on how COVID will affect individuals' relationships with money.
Last week we looked at four "stinking thinking" cognitive biases that contribute to poor investment decisions. Here are six more.
Regardless of the facts, our perception is our reality. This is especially true when it comes to investing, where we often make decisions based on the perceived risk we believe exists, whether or not that degree of risk really exists.
For decades, financial experts like myself have implored clients to have a health care power of attorney. Now, some health care experts say you don’t need one because they don’t work.
Do you know someone who is financially dependent on an advisor who views themself as a financial guru, has "the answers," demands loyalty and compliance to their recommendations, willingly takes charge of their financial life, and craves the attention and adoration of their clients? For the financially dependent, it's a match made in heaven – until it isn't.
Many people experience setbacks or life circumstances that result in temporarily relying on others for financial help. Being financially dependent in the longer term, however, is a financial disorder.
Those intending to shame or attack "the rich" commonly make an absurd comparison when they lump together "millionaires and billionaires."
As a recovering workaholic who loves what I do, it is essential to understand what drove that condition and the costs it incurred for me and my family.
There is no greater threat to your financial wellbeing than divorce. Unless you are very wealthy or extremely poor, both former spouses will see a decline in their lifestyle
Bari Tessler was practicing financial therapy before most of the rest of us had ever heard the term.
What would you guess the average American worker makes in a year? This is the question Nina Strohminger, professor of legal studies and business ethics at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, asked her business students recently.
There are almost always ways to make things work financially between a couple. Sometimes a skilled financial planner has enough tools to accomplish this. Sometimes financial therapy is necessary. Fortunately, there are financial therapists that specialize in couples.
We've made it to the middle of January, that time of year that is the graveyard for so many New Year's resolutions. Even if you abandon any other resolutions you may have made, please carry out a very important one: Make a will.
Investment advice is not financial planning. This is an important distinction to understand when someone goes shopping for financial advice. Do they only need help with investment decisions, or do they need guidance on all aspects of their financial life?
What makes life worth living? This question is at the heart of financial life planning and financial therapy.
Once we look at "what is" rather than "what we thought it was," we begin to create a future that is consciously and deliberately planned.
No example of transformation is more well-known this time of year than that of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.
What’s up with crypto, and should it be in your portfolio?
Many of us are perfectly willing to talk a lot about others' money: the cost of government programs, the cost of living, our personal taxes, and public policy on taxing business profits. What we don’t talk about is our personal money.
The financial services field is one of the most regulated in the U.S. Our regulations are as complex as those in the medical field. This makes sense; our health and our money are two important pillars of wellbeing. Preventing harm to either can be a matter of life and death.
Last week's article on being financially stuck focused on getting help. But what if, for various reasons like affordability or availability, outside help isn't a practical option? Here are some steps you can take yourself to begin getting financially unstuck:
What do you do as a driver if your car gets stuck in the mud or a snowbank? You try shoveling, rocking the car back and forth, or putting something under the wheels. Sometimes, though, you can't get unstuck by yourself. You have to call for help. What do you do if you find yourself financially stuck?
As with any headlines or sound bites from political figures, it's a good idea to dig deeper before you respond with outrage.
One of the biggest conundrums of estate planning is considering how, or even if, you can give money or property to your heirs in a manner that will help them.
How do you find a comprehensive financial planner who integrates your humanity with the dollars and cents? The difference between a traditional financial planner and one that practices financial life planning is significant.
One of the most influential financial planning organizations I participate in doesn't officially exist.
