After spending an entire career in a non-sales or non-business development role, I gradually found myself in such a role as I began to build my wealth planning firm for individuals, families, and businesses. Struggling to make sense of how to build a robust business development process, I turned to one of my favorite authors and business thinkers Dan Pink. … Read More
3 Reasons Why We Worry About the Wrong Things
Once upon a time, I often found some of the daily/nightly news interesting. It was also my attempt to see another person’s view on various stories. But over time, I have noticed that everything is breaking news. What is so earth-shattering about another Presidential tweet? Even more so, I see constant fear and anxiety in almost every headline-breaking story. What … Read More
4 Steps to Set Up the Retirement that You Envision
Can you envision what your retirement years may look like? Do you see yourself traveling the world, living in your ideal location, spending time with your loved ones, or setting out on a new second career? Before you can start a retirement plan, you need to know what you want your retirement to be. Developing Your Vision To gain a … Read More
The Holy Grail of Investing
Many of you, unless you are into reading about investment management, have likely never heard of Jack Schwager author of the Market Wizards series of books. In his books, Schwager interviews some of the most legendary investors of our time. During each interview, Schwager tries to get at the heart of what has made that trader successful. While there is … Read More
Start with WHY, The New Wealth Planning Reality
One of the unique differences in wealth planning at TAMMA is that we often start with “Why” when we are developing wealth plans for our clients. Starting with why helps to set the foundation on which the wealth planning process is built on. Once we determine the why, we can focus on how we invest our time, energy, and, yes, … Read More
An Emotional Balance Sheet Can Guide Hard-to-Quantify Financial Choices
Many couples struggle with the decision to stay at home with children or continue their careers. A tradeoff is made harder by the fact that not all the pros and cons of either decision can be measured in dollars and cents. My wife and I have been fortunate that during the beginning years of our four kids’ lives, we had … Read More
Essentialism; If You Don’t Prioritize Your Life, Someone Else Will
I often find myself discussing with individuals and families the personal and financial priorities that continually push and pull on people. I try to get people to think and focus on what is essential to them and the lives that they want to lead. This focus is on making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy to achieve your … Read More
What it means to be a Certified Financial Planner CFP®
I wanted to articulate in broad terms what some of the designations that I carry at TAMMA mean and how those may impact those who choose to work with TAMMA. Not every wealth or financial advisor is a CFP®. And believe it or not, not all people in the financial industry are required to be a Fiduciary. What it means … Read More
The Most Important Thing
Howard Marks is the Co-Chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, a global investment management firm. Mr. Marks is regarded as a leader in the investment management industry. His breadth of knowledge is often highlighted within his memos that are published regularly and his book, The Most Important Thing. Mr. Marks and I share many of the same investment and wealth planning … Read More
The Latte Factor is Not Going to Make You a Millionaire; Consider This Instead
Have you ever heard of a theory called the Latte Factor? The theory goes that if you gave up your $5 a day Starbucks latte and rather invested that money over time, you would reach a sizeable amount of money to help you achieve your retirement or some other wealth management goal. Here is the math on this theory using … Read More
