Trying just to AFFORD your kids is one thing, now you have to think about how you can help them afford college as well! What a gift! Most parents want to do everything they can to set their kids up for success (myself included). Here are some things to keep in mind.

Have you considered using an inheritance to buy a house? I had the chance to help a client think through this toward the end of last year. They were building new and needed to have their down payment ready at the beginning of this year for an estimated move-in of Fall 2024.

"It's easier to sell Advil than vitamins."

This is a common line in sales. The idea is that people are more interested in making pain go away than contributing to a healthy lifestyle.

Risk applies to nearly every endeavor we make when it comes to making money.

Lower-risk endeavors produce less value when they succeed, but they succeed more often. Higher-risk endeavors produce more value but succeed less often.

I recently came across a measure of happiness shared by individuals over time, shown in the graph above. It appears that as we grow up, we become steadily more unhappy, bottom out at around our 50s, and then proceed to increase in happiness as we age.

Toward the end of last summer, as interest rates continued their climb, I had a friend who reached out to ask my perspective on the timing of purchasing his first home.

“Am I dumb for buying a house right now? Is there a housing market collapse coming as soon as I buy? Should I wait for interest rates to drop again before I make a decision like this?”

Many regard the ‘DINK’ lifestyle (double income, no kids) as the peak income opportunity. By sharing most expenses, you have a lot of extra room for spending, saving, and investing before the costly items known as ‘kids’ enter the picture. However, early on in my marriage, as my wife and I were anticipating this lifestyle, I learned the first of many valuable financial lessons.

My wife Calli and I recently welcomed our first child, Moses, to our family on March 8th, 2023. It's been a whirlwind adjusting to a new life in our home, but while our sleep has been reduced, our joy has increased.