The coronavirus pandemic has spurred a renewed interest in buying individual stocks because so many people are quarantined at home. Additionally, an interesting phenomenon has arisen: sports bettors have nothing to bet on, so they have moved to “betting” on individual stocks. Pair those things with no-cost trading applications such as Webull, Robinhood, and M1 Finance and it’s never been easier to invest in an individual company’s stock.  [Sidenote: Here’s a comparison of all three trading applications named above if you have any interest in utilizing one of them.] I’ve previously discussed how to attain your dream life in my post, An Antidote to Normal: 8 Phases to Reach Your…

Real estate has become an important part of my family’s investment planning. I have been a licensed real estate agent at True North Realty for over 15 years, and my wife and I own our primary home and three investment properties. As a result, I am often asked for advice on home purchasing for both primary residential use and for investment. Both types of purchases come with inherent levels of risk that should be at least minimized but are often not even noted before making the purchase.  Here are the TOP THREE things I consider to mitigate risk before purchasing a family home or an investment property: 1. Time in…

Things have been absolutely nuts for me lately, both personally and professionally. But I wanted to share a few actions I am taking RIGHT NOW to progress in the Three Action Thursday areas of interest (personal finance, building authentic relationships, and personal growth): Personal Finance – We are refinancing our family home to a sub-3% interest rate while simultaneously taking out six figures’ worth of equity, all while maintaining a 75% loan-to-value ratio (LTV). In laymen’s terms: we are getting a new mortgage, barely increasing our monthly payment, while balancing risk by not taking out too much equity. Meanwhile, we’re freeing up a lot of money to be redeployed elsewhere: maybe…

Perhaps now more than ever, the coronavirus has demonstrated a need for an emergency fund. We are often advised to have three to six months’ worth of savings available to us for a “rainy day”. However, research shows that only 28% of Americans have any emergency funds at all. But the pandemic has caused some change. From February to March 2020, the savings rate in America increased by more than 5% according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). That had been the highest savings rate since 1981. The impact of quarantining and social distancing really kicked in during the month of April, though (and April pretty much laughed at…

I’m baaaack! Greetings (insert name)! As you may (or may not) have noticed, I have not written a piece in a while. I don’t necessarily feel like I have to give an explanation (after all, this IS a free newsletter!); however, I will explain on account of some worried emails and texts I received from people wondering if I was ok. Ultimately, I just took a break. Lots of crazy world events and most of it caused me to focus intently on the emotional state of the core group of people in my life including my family, my employees, my friends, and my business relationships. I guess you could say…