Blog

14 Sep 2018 The Cone of Uncertainty

Posted at 15:28h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

As Hurricane Florence continues endangering lives and destroying property, many of us wait in uncertainty, wondering how homes, boats, and treasured landmarks are faring. It's personal and emotional kind of uncertainty, the kind that can't be addressed by probabilities. But on the statistical side, the National Weather service...

07 Sep 2018 In Defense of a Working Retirement

Posted at 14:32h in The Friday Brief by Jared Korver, CPA, CFP®

On Sunday, this "news" came out that Geoffrey Owens--an actor who had a recurring role on The Cosby Show--was spotted working at a Trader Joe's somewhere in New Jersey, and then shamed for it. The sentiment seems to have been something like, "Poor Geoffrey. If only his former fame had...

31 Aug 2018 What’s Your Edge?

Posted at 09:33h in The Friday Brief by Ryan Smith, CFP®, RICP®, CTS™, MSFP

My son, Jack, started kindergarten a few weeks ago. It was a big moment in his life and it was also a big moment in the lives of his parents. It’s when Emily and I started to surrender control of the child we’ve raised the...

24 Aug 2018 10 Things to Consider As You Help Your High School Student Prepare for College

Posted at 09:33h in The Friday Brief by Ryan Smith, CFP®, RICP®, CTS™, MSFP

As we prepare to host Brooke Daly and Lindsey Ringenbach of Advantage College Planning on September 13th at 7 PM, we invited them to prepare a guest post for our Friday Brief. Be sure to read all the way through then watch the video below...

23 Aug 2018 Beacon Flash: “College Planning, Simplified,” with Advantage College Planning.

Posted at 09:04h in The Friday Brief by Ryan Smith, CFP®, RICP®, CTS™, MSFP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQjHN9X7ntE&feature=youtu.be Planning for college can be stressful and confusing. Brooke Daly and Lindsey Ringenbach, from Advantage College Planning, will present information to demystify the process of affording, searching, and applying to college. During their presentation, Brooke and Lindsey will discuss strategies for navigating the financial resources...

17 Aug 2018 Should You Buy or Lease Your Next Vehicle?

Posted at 11:56h in The Friday Brief by Ryan Smith, CFP®, RICP®, CTS™, MSFP

After 5 years as a proud minivan owner, my wife and I recently purchased an SUV. For simple trips around Raleigh the van was adequate, but with our frequent treks to see my parents in Florida combined with the taxing drive through the mountains of...

10 Aug 2018 The Right Tools and Experience

Posted at 10:48h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

One of the joys of having our office at Five Points is the endless opportunity it provides to meet colorful people. Yesterday provided another one. About closing time, I heard some discussing the scene in our front parking as they headed out the door. Seems there...

03 Aug 2018 The Piano Man

Posted at 14:36h in The Friday Brief by Geoff Hall, CFP®, RICP®

Good financial planning is the process of making smart financial decisions over and over again. With time, these smart decisions compound on each other and give you the freedom to do more of the things that are important you. Just for fun, here is a...

27 Jul 2018 FOMO and Facebook: Why Diversification Matters

Posted at 10:12h in The Friday Brief by Jared Korver, CPA, CFP®

A couple of interesting things happened this week that led to this blog, but before I get to them, I want to start elsewhere. I did a very bad thing before I sat down to write this, which was to get on Redfin and look at...

20 Jul 2018 Inflation, the Fed, and Markets

Posted at 14:49h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

President Trump weighed in yesterday on one of the last truly apolitical federal institutions; the Federal Reserve. He bemoaned the possibility that their recent interest rate increases might derail his attempts to improve economic growth to what he believes is closer to its true potential...