When the Davies family relocated to Kansas City, they were thrilled about their new journey. However, as they started to contemplate their future, managing their diverse financial accounts became a challenge. Their previous advisor from Edward Jones in Iowa no longer seemed suitable. The challenge was sifting through the plethora of financial advice available.

Retirement is supposed to be a time to relax and spend more time with family. However, with the rising cost of living, making retirement savings last can seem harder than ever. What you thought would be more than enough for retirement might feel less than you originally thought.

Congratulations on your engagement! As you prepare for your upcoming wedding, it's a great time to start planning your financial future together. By taking a proactive approach, you can lay a solid foundation for a prosperous life as a married couple. In this blog post, we'll explore some key considerations for engaged couples alongside some valuable Kansas City resources to help you navigate your financial journey as you plan for marriage.

It happens to all of us.

That feeling that maybe there is something else out there.

Maybe you’re having a frustrating day (or week/month/year) at your current job and you think to yourself, “I wonder what it would be like to go work at this other company instead?”

The 2023 NFL Draft is just days away and it’s taking place in Kansas City, MO for the first, and quite possibly the only, time in history. Kansas City is home to a rich football tradition, and the best fans in all of the NFL, not to mention the best team in the NFL (Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs). It’s about time the NFL receives the Kansas City experience, and it all happens in the heart of Kansas City with the iconic backdrop of Union Station and the WWI Liberty Memorial.

The Chiefs’ 2022-2023 season has been one for the books.

With all the Chiefs recent success, and how they’ve set up the organization to succeed in years to come, the Chiefs are well on their way to building a long standing legacy.

Similar to the Chiefs, we can build our own long lasting legacy within our personal finances if we put in the work now and capitalize on the opportunities afforded us.

Have you ever listened to someone in Kansas City complain about the weather? “Welcome to Kansas City, and don’t worry, if you don’t like the weather, just stick around a bit, and it will change!”

Our Kansas City weather is volatile and unpredictable, which typically turns our weather-conversations into bash sessions on weather forecasters. “Why do they even make forecasts!”

When we talk about a successful retirement, we often look at things like financial security and physical health. However, those are only part of the equation. Your relationships with friends, family, and your spouse are what retirement is all about!

When I am working on financial plans with clients they’re almost always more interested in what they can do with their money than what they can buy with their money.

If this sounds like you and your family, this is a Mother’s Day gift list you can use to help you align your financial choices more closely with what really matters to you. This list was curated by local moms and includes a variety of Kansas City outings, workshops, events, and services.

When Brian Harrington of retirement services provider Choice IRA visited Kansas City in February of 2022, he boldly asserted our city to have his favorite group of “bitcoiners” on his Bitcoin is Local YouTube series.

In light of the rising credibility of this asset class happening amongst traditional financial services like Choice IRA, Fidelity, and even Big 4 Accounting powerhouse KPMG, it seems like a good time to check in on where adoption is locally.

Let’s face it, retirement isn’t the most exciting word. It also might not sound like that much of an exciting part of life. The one thing that is certain: everyone retires (or stops working) at some point.

This part you know is inevitable. Here’s the thing, going into retirement isn’t actually all bad. You have more free time for yourself and your family. You get to pick up on new and old hobbies. Was there a country you’ve been wanting to visit, but you never had the time?

It’s only been a month or so since the Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Bengals in the AFC Championship game but it’s still a very fresh wound. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’m still shocked at how the game turned out, namely the second half and over time. How could something start off so promising and end so devastating?

It’s a bummer that we didn’t get to see our Chiefs playing in the Super Bowl. Regardless, life goes on and it’s a great reminder that much can be learned from failure.

On December 20th, 2021, Cerner put out a news release with the simple title Oracle Buys Cerner. As a former Kansas City tech employee who has gone through an acquisition, I feel you.

Anxiety runs high. Speculation becomes rampant! It can run the gamut from “we’re all getting canned tomorrow!” to “we’re saved!”

Rather than feed into the speculation, let’s focus on what we know about Cerner’s stock.

Cash may be King, but where should we stash it?

I’m talking about the times we need cold hard cash. Those short, medium, and even long-term goals where investing is not the answer.

For this post, I want to focus on cash accounts with ZERO market risk. These are the savings dollars that need to be safe, accessible, and we hope also might get a little yield along the way if we’re lucky.

Fall is in the air in Kansas City, which means the leaves are turning, the Kansas City Royals are done for the season, and the Kansas City Chiefs are in full swing as the sounds from Arrowhead Stadium reverberate throughout the city. 

If you’re anything like us, you’re looking for some family fun things to do outside before we go into hibernation for the winter.

Money touches just about everything that we do in life. As a CFP® practitioner, I assist my clients in numerous disciplines as their lives become more complex.

Great financial planning is about integrating investments, retirement, taxes, insurance, estate planning, and more such that all parts are working together smoothly towards the intended goal. 

When retirement is just around the corner, it can seem exhilarating and liberating. At long last, you don’t have to punch a clock or commute to work every day. 

However, as thrilled as you may be for retirement, are you really ready? Are you ready for the emotional transition? What about your finances? What are you going to do with your time? What does a “successful” retirement look like to you?

How much fun did you have this week? Did you do anything enjoyable or amusing? Do you find satisfaction in seeing other people have fun? Does your pleasure go down when you see that someone else is having “more fun” than you? Have you had a rich or fun experience recently you didn’t post on social media?

Setting yourself on the right financial path is rewarding financially and will help to reduce stress from your life.

Let me explain.

This is not about me. I’m not trying to play some kind of reverse psychology trick on you.

This is not a message of “just pick yourself up by your bootstraps and do it yourself” (more on that below).

This is not challenging the value of financial planning.

This is not challenging the value of a financial planner.