Have you read The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel? Join Nick and Dave as they recap a book they both have read and resonated with both of them. The book covers a lot of practical advice when it comes to managing your personal finances. So, it is easy to see why the Kitchen Table Finance Podcast likes it. Listen as the guys cover some key points of the book and discuss their own philosophies about money management. You can get a copy of the book here . If you have read this book, let us know...
Apr 18, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 72
Join Dave and Nick as they review the important things you should consider when reviewing your 2021 Tax Returns. They conveniently break the information down for those who are working and those who are retired. So, this information applies to everyone with a tax return. As a tip, it might be helpful to have your tax return in front of you as you listen to this episode. The following charts will help you follow along. While Shotwell Rutter Baer financial planners are not accountants and tax profe...
Apr 10, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 71
Should You Hire a Financial Advisor? YES (maybe) When? Now (or later) Join Dave and Nick as they talk about who should hire a financial planner and when. The need for a financial advisor will vary throughout your life. Financial planners are key when you are at a certain financial place. If you go to an advisor, they may tell you you don’t need one. They might also advise you to take a few steps and then come back to them when you reach certain goals. Unfortunately, there are also advisors who w...
Apr 04, 2022•26 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Are you starting a new job? Do you have a 401K to roll over? This is the podcast episode for you. About Shotwell Rutter Baer Shotwell Rutter Baer is proud to be an independent, fee-only registered investment advisory firm. This means that we are only compensated by our clients for our knowledge and guidance — not from commissions by selling financial products. Our only motivation is to help you achieve financial freedom and peace of mind. By structuring our business this way we believe that many...
Mar 24, 2022•20 min•Season 2Ep. 69
As I’m writing this in early March, the stock market, as measured by the Standard and Poor’s 500, is down just shy of 9% for the year. Russian forces are prosecuting an ugly invasion of Ukraine, adding economic uncertainty and more inflationary pressure to the markets. However, downturns caused by geopolitical events like this one are generally short-lived and we’ve enjoyed several years of a strong market. Will the Russian Ukrainian Conflict Affect the Economy? Today’s headlines indicate that b...
Mar 07, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 68
Join Dave and Nick around the Kitchen Table to talk about Inflation. Inflation hasn’t been a real issue in American lives for about 30 years. But just like everything financial, it is cyclical. So, what is going on with inflation in 2022? Find out what types of things are affecting inflation, and what this means for your own financial planning. Here are the charts references in the episode. About Shotwell Rutter Baer Shotwell Rutter Baer is proud to be an independent, fee-only registered investm...
Feb 21, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 66
Dave and Nick talk about Shotwell Rutter Baer’s investment philosophy. They also introduce their new partnership with East Bay Investment Solutions. East Bay is an investment consulting firm providing services such as portfolio oversight, investment due diligence, and wealth management guidance tailored to meet the needs of Shotwell Rutter Baer clients. In addition, East Bay provides model portfolios that subscribe to the investment philosophy shared by Shotwell Rutter Baer that the market is re...
Feb 14, 2022•26 min•Season 2Ep. 64
Join Dave and Nick as they review all the things you need to consider for your taxes for 2021. They provide information on different tax forms, distributions, tax withholdings, and all of your accounts. For additional information, please read our recent blog Tax Documents for 2021. The guys review things like: Retirements accounts (IRAs, 401K, etc) Distributions – 1099R forms Non-deductible IRAs IRA contributions Here is the link to the Charitable Giving Strategies podcast episode we mentioned. ...
Feb 14, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 65
Join Dave and Nick as they talk about what the market did overall for 2021, what is going on right now, and what is predicted for 2022. The world is becoming more vaccinated; even with the omicron variant, the rate of death is down Equity markets were generally pretty strong during 2021 The 3-year return for the S&P 500 is an astounding 26.1% Unemployment fell to 3.9% as of 12/31/21 Peak stimulus (both monetary and fiscal) appears to be behind us, a possible drag on growth The Fed is ramping...
Jan 27, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Have you set your financial goals for 2022? Dave and Nick go over many things that you should be thinking about this month to set yourself up for a great financial year in 2022. Even if you do have goals, you might find some gems in this episode that you didn’t think of. Saving money, investment strategies, tax considerations, and more. Please share this episode with someone you know who could benefit from this advice! They will thank you. Look at 2021 Goals How much did you accomplish last year...
Jan 18, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 62
Happy New Year! Season Two is starting! Join us, Dave and Nick, as we talk about our 2022 Financial Predictions, and other market predictions to try and make sense of it all. What is going to happen this year in the finance world? Should you be optimistic? Should you be concerned? Since we are in this industry, our inboxes get bombarded with predictions from other financial and market experts as well. Some are optimistic and some are more pessimistic. If we took the average of them all they woul...
Jan 10, 2022•22 min•Season 2Ep. 61
Join Dave and Nick as they recap the SRB financial planning process and list out the key elements they look at with each client as they walk them through their personalized financial planning goals. Some of the nitty-gritty decision-making things that make a successful financial plan and lifelong terms to create the life that you want. Retirement – Existing savings like 401k, Roth IRA, etc. What are the contributions, and are the savings adequate to meet your needs? Tax Planning – This often fee...
Dec 15, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 60
A recent article in the New York Times, The True Cost of Upgrading Your iPhone, discusses the opportunity cost of spending money on things versus investing that money. Join Nick and Dave as they discuss this way of looking at spending and purchases. They both reveal some of their own personal spending habits that fall into this category. Dave’s Sports Streaming Dave has a monthly TV streaming service to watch a couple of sporting events a week. It costs him $60/month = $720 for the year. Using t...
Dec 09, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 59
It’s that time again – let’s take a look at where our economy is at the end of the year and what we can expect for next quarter. The stock market is up 24.8% (S&P) from last year. A bull market climbs a wall of worry and there are many things in the media to make us worry – but the market keeps chugging along. Interest rates are also really low, so there has been a boom in home buying and refinancing. Technology has advanced faster due to the Covid shutdown. Some experts are saying we are ab...
Nov 21, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 58
The end of the year is 6 weeks away. When it comes to your financials, there are some important things to consider this time of year. Take stock now and be sure you don’t miss any important deadlines. Listen to the entire episode for tips and instructions on what you should be doing to set yourself up for 2022 and beyond. RMD Calculator Need Help? The financial advisors at Shotwell Rutter Baer work with many clients to maximize their retirement plan benefits and abilities. If you would like to f...
Nov 18, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 57
This is the truly exciting step in your financial plan – You start to build your processes and portfolio to support your dreams and overcome your obstacles. This is when the action starts to happen. Join Dave and Nick as they discuss Step Six of the Strategic Reliable Blueprint for your financial success. The build – the action – to make it all happen. If you are just joining us for the first time, or haven’t listened to the previous episodes in this series on our entire Strategic Reliable Bluep...
Nov 08, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Join Dave and Nick as they explain the Strategy step of the Strategic Reliable Blueprint process for your financial success This is the step where we actually start to build solutions and recommendations for the client. This isn’t us making recommendations from on high, this is really about a give and take with the client and working through the obstacles that they identified. If you are just joining us for the first time, or haven’t listened to the previous episodes in this series on our entire...
Nov 08, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Amy Gauden joins Nick and Dave to review the Organization step in our Stratetic Reliable Blueprint process. Watch on YouTube HERE If you are just joining us now, please go back and listen to the first 4 steps so you are all caught up. Our FIT Meeting Process Step Two – The Foundation Meeting Step Three – Vision Step Four – Discovering Obstacles Amy has been working in the financial field for over 21 years. She has vast experience and recently took on a new role in para-planning. She aids in data...
Oct 27, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Join Nick and Dave as they continue their podcast series on each step of the Strategic Reliable Blueprint . If you are just joining us now, please go back and listen to the first 3 steps so you are all caught up. Our FIT Meeting Process Step Two – The Foundation Meeting Step Three – Vision Discovering Obstacles This step is usually where most people want to start. But, if you just focus on the problems it is hard to get motivated to make the changes that will help you reach your financial goals....
Oct 22, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 53
We are very excited about this quarter’s client webinar: ESG Investing 101 featuring Professor Apollo D. Lupescu from Dimensional Fund Advisors. Dr. Lupescu explains how to design and implement portfolios that take into account environmental, social, and corporate governance factors. He is a great speaker and you will really enjoy what he has to say. What is ESG Investing? This is an approach to investing that focuses on companies that are socially and environmentally responsible. Environmental,...
Oct 14, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 52
VISION is the third step in our Strategic Reliable Blueprint process we walk every one of our clients through. If you’d prefer to watch the video, check it out here . If you missed our previous episodes on Step 1- The FIT meeting or Step 2 – Foundation , please review them first. In this step of the process, we really dig deep into the goals and dreams that our clients have. What are the things they want to do in their life? What do they want to leave behind? What do they want their retirement y...
Oct 06, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 51
The Foundations meeting is the second step in our Strategic Reliable Blueprint process we walk all of our clients through. If you missed our previous episode on step 1- The FIT meeting , please review that first. If you’d rather watch this episode, you can find the video here . This is Nick’s favorite phase of the process and he refers to it as a jigsaw puzzle. The most important part of a puzzle is the picture on the box. For a financial plan, the most important piece is what is important to yo...
Sep 30, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Join Dave and Nick as they discuss the first step in the Shotwell Rutter Baer Stratetic Reliable Blueprint process. If you prefer to watch this episode click here for the video. We walk every client through our process and it starts with a FIT meeting. This is to see if we are a good fit for each other. You must be very comfortable with your financial advisor as you are trusting us with personal information, your goals, and your dreams for the future. As fiduciaries, we want to make sure we can ...
Sep 30, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Fair is fair. Nick interviewed Dave about his personal finances in How Financial Planners Handle Their Own Finances , so in this episode, Dave gets a chance to interview Nick. What is important to Nick Nauta about money? For me the most important thing about money is family. Not only the ability to take care of my family but also how I spend my time. We don’t always think about that as money, but to me it certainly is. So, not only how I spend my money, but also my time. Spending time with famil...
Sep 13, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 48
In a rare look under the hood, Nick interviews Dave on how he manages his own finances and investing. Listen to the entire episode for all the nitty-gritty on how certified financial planners use all that knowledge about money in their own lives. If you prefer to watch this episode click here for the video. Here are the highlights: Dave’s secret to success is, “Make a conscious effort to live within your means.” Dave’s overall philosophy is Flexibility . Realizing you aren’t going to get everyth...
Sep 03, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Each summer we look forward to working with new interns through our teaching program. Today we interview Ashley, a senior at Michigan State University in the Wealth Management Program. Nick goes on the record saying she our favorite female internet of all time! We have a lot of clients that have children and grandchildren heading off to college. It is often hard to wrap your head around all the expenses associated with college life. Not just the hard costs of tuition and room and board, but all ...
Sep 03, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Here is our review of the Second Quarter of 2021. If you have any questions or would like a review of your portfolio and financial plan, contact our advisors by calling or emailing us at 517-321-4832 or info@srbadvisors.com. 2Q 2021 Broad Markets The market has continued to climb through the middle of 2021 as the economic recovery from the Covid shut-downs continues. This market growth has been set against a backdrop of worry that looks much the same as it did last quarter: We are not clear of C...
Aug 10, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Join Dave and Nick as they chat with Kim Barber, owner of Globetrotter Travel , about traveling during a Pandemic. What does travel look like now? What to prepare for. Learn from a world traveler. https://youtu.be/JBpjX-qQ9EU Today’s Guest: Kim Barber, world traveler, and owner of Globetrotter Travel . Kim is a travel enthusiast, recovering over-packer, and owner of Globetrotter Travel. She’s always loved exploring new destinations, but was a bit HARD by the travel bug after her first internatio...
Jul 31, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Join Nick and Dave as they interview John Douglas, a realtor and head 0f The Mitten Team at Keller Williams . They discuss the big questions surrounding real estate today and selling a house in the Lansing area. There can be a lot of emotions wrapped up in the decisions surrounding buying and selling a home. Experienced realtors can help homeowners navigate the entire process. “Should I sell my house?” “How do I sell my house?” John says, “There couldn’t be a crazier time in real estate right no...
Jul 26, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Clients often ask us how to help their children or grandchildren get started in managing their own financial affairs. For some people this comes naturally, but not for everyone. The American education system doesn’t necessarily do a good job filling in the gaps. Furthermore, discussing money with family members can lead to difficult conversations, filled with emotion and potential strain. Here are the important themes to consider when getting started financially. You can download and use our han...
Jul 12, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 40
