In finance, inflation is this "not-enough" villain that's always hiding in the shadows. We are good at figuring out how much stuff we can buy today; that mental math is easy. BUT this idea that our money loses its potency over time makes it very hard for us to figure out what we can afford tomorrow. We are all looking for practical ways to combat the fact that a dollar is a dollar today, just as it is tomorrow, but a dollar will buy less today than it did yesterday and even less tomorrow (that's...
Nov 19, 2021•32 min
Great Service There’s this old adage in customer service that says, “under-promise and over-deliver.” Why? Because so much of happiness, or contentment, is derived from outcomes – how things turn out – being better than what one may have expected. Imagine the opposite; how does it feel when someone overpromises and under-delivers? Frustrating, disappointing, annoying, arghh! And the list goes on. Just Like Last Time Our expectations are often rooted in our past experiences. As consumers, we appr...
Nov 12, 2021•31 min
Today on Thoughts On Money, I bring you another podcast interview with one of my colleagues at The Bahnsen Group, Kimberlee Davis. Kimberlee is a Managing Director, a Partner, The Fiscal Feminist, a Private Wealth Advisor, and she carries a myriad of other titles, roles, and accomplishments, both professionally and personally. What you don’t see on her business card or resume, though, is that Kimberlee is the proud mother of three and an engaged daughter who serves/cares for her parents. Kimberl...
Oct 29, 2021•45 min
For the month of October, my church is reading through Proverbs together. Conveniently, October has 31 days, and the book of Proverbs has 31 chapters. The marching orders are to read one chapter a day and to extract one nugget of wisdom to meditate on. Yesterday was day 13 (October 13th), and this verse jumped out to me, Proverbs 13:11: Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Links mentioned in this episode: http://thoughtsonmoney.com http://the...
Oct 15, 2021•18 min
Today is a bit different than normal. Normally, I write an article and then gather a few of my colleagues to discuss the article over a podcast we produce weekly. Today, I flipped the script – Deiya Pernas and I recorded an “unscripted” podcast that I would like to share with you all. No article coincides with our discussion, but rather it was an open dialogue between Deiya and me on a few finance topics that I find interesting – and I hope you will too. I’ve been teaching Sunday school at my ch...
Oct 07, 2021•40 min
Here in Thoughts On Money [TOM], we prefer to discuss relevant topics that are financial planning-centric, timely, and surrounded with misconceptions. The housing market has become a hot topic recently, with current home prices checking all the boxes for a great topic to discuss here on TOM. In the last 12 months, the median sales price of houses across the country has jumped 15% - 20%, depending on the area you live in. My wife and I bought our house in October of 2019 and recently had to have ...
Oct 01, 2021•28 min
Trevor is joined by TBG colleagues Deiya Pernas, Sean Latimer, and Kenny Molina Links mentioned in this episode: http://thoughtsonmoney.com http://thebahnsengroup.com
Sep 17, 2021•29 min
Trevor is joined today with Sean Latimer, Nate Straw, and Drew Dill Links mentioned in this episode: http://thoughtsonmoney.com http://thebahnsengroup.com
Sep 03, 2021•40 min
That first article – Be Aware or Beware – was inspired by a question I was asked while sitting on an interview panel during a Sunday morning church service. I was asked, “What is the number one mistake you see people make with their finances?” Tough question, right? My whole career revolves around talking to people about their money, and I’ve seen some wild mistakes and missteps along the way, but here I was challenged to narrow my answer down to the most common financial blunder. Hmmm… My answe...
Aug 27, 2021•33 min
A portfolio should be designed and constructed based on your financial plan. This design should be strategic in nature and be built to weather or endure the typical ups and downs of the typical business cycles. One should not be tinkering on a whim because of a spark in appetite, all based on recent performance. There is a good reason why you should never grocery shop when you are hungry. Well, at least don’t do it without bringing along your grocery list. If you go into that store without a pla...
Aug 24, 2021•25 min
What do Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson have in common? They are founders and entrepreneurs; they are billionaires, and they are all competing in this modern-day space race. These three have achieved all their financial goals and much more. Long ago, they surpassed the status of financial freedom. And, at some point, they had to decide “what’s next?” Their “next” was not small – they were dreaming big. The exclamation mark on their legacy will be to go where no man has gone before. I ...
Aug 13, 2021•35 min
Often financial planning will lead you to a fork in the road. You will start by laying out multiple options for different financial objectives. Through a process of elimination, you will narrow your options down to this or that. Sometimes one option will create a “better” financial outcome, but your preferences will lead you to go the other route. This can be a conflicting exercise and cause some investors stress. Why? Because they only measure what they can put in a calculator. Here’s the first...
Aug 06, 2021•26 min
Our intuition leads us to believe that markets are subject to the rules of gravity – what goes up must come down. But, in reality, markets are the summation of American businesses, businesses that measure their results regularly and are striving to outdo last month’s, last quarter’s, last year’s results. Great companies thrive, struggling companies lay by the wayside, and the aggregate tenacity and industriousness of the US market continue to improve AND set new all-time highs. All-time highs ar...
Jul 23, 2021•39 min
In April of 1985, the world was introduced to New Coke. A corporate faux pas that would go down in history as one of the greatest marketing flops of all time; a what-not-to-do case study taught in business schools across the country. As the tale is told, the Coca-Cola leadership team was nervous about losing market share to competitors. This anxiety was amplified by the PepsiCo marketing campaign – The Pepsi Challenge, a blind taste test that concluded consumers preferred Pepsi to Coke. The powe...
Jul 18, 2021•50 min
Trevor Cummings, the author and podcast host of Thoughts on Money, tackles the key topics investors care about the most. Links mentioned in this episode: http://thoughtsonmoney.com http://thebahnsengroup.com
Jul 02, 2021•42 min
Risk Tolerance is one of the most obscure topics in finance. It’s extremely personal and difficult to measure. Our industry invests a lot of time, money, and resources to determine your personal risk tolerance. Why? Because the optimal investment plan (portfolio) is the one that you can actually stick with, not the plan that pencils best in a textbook equation. If it does not suit your sensibilities, whatever they may be, you won’t possess the discipline to see it through to your desired goals. ...
Jun 18, 2021•32 min
Trevor is joined by Sean Latimer, Drew Dill, and Nathan Straw Links mentioned in this episode: http://thoughtsonmoney.com http://thebahnsengroup.com
Jun 11, 2021•40 min
2020 offered two key moments that are worthy of reflection. Though 2020 feels like ages ago, right? Many of us are probably not inclined to reflect on a year that we’d prefer to forget. Too often, we use the review mirror as a tool for regret rather than reflection. Here’s the difference – regret leads us to shame and embarrassment about a decision we wish we didn’t make. Reflection allows us to take a cerebral time machine and rethink our decision-making process. The benefits of hindsight allow...
Jun 04, 2021•34 min
’ve been a sports fan most of my life. I‘ll watch any sort of sport, from the Tour de France to the Olympic Games to Baseball. The athleticism, the competition, the historical moments; what’s not to love? If I had to pick my top two favorite sports, it would probably be basketball and football. I could describe to you many attributes that differentiate these two sports. One has pads and full contact, while the other is more a game of finesse; one has an 82-game season, while the other has a 16-g...
May 21, 2021•30 min
What is the best hedge against inflation? (a) Bonds (b) Cash (c) Stocks (d) Gold The answer is “c.” Why? Let’s keep it simple: if inflation is a rise in the price of goods and services and businesses sell goods and services, it would be safe to assume that sales would grow concerning inflation. This is an imperfect explanation because there are more variables and complexities, but the basic truth applies. And, history reflects this truth, stocks have a long track record of providing a return wel...
May 14, 2021•28 min
Today, I want to talk about a word in finance that is often misunderstood and/or ignored – liquidity. There is a language of finance, and liquidity is one of those words that can be difficult to describe; it’s much like one of those words or phrases in Spanish or French that just doesn’t translate well into English. We hear things on the news about how the Federal Reserve is “injecting liquidity into the system,” or maybe we read an article about how “liquidity issues” led to the demise of a cer...
May 07, 2021•40 min
Growing up, I didn’t know the difference between salad and lettuce. I’d always asked my dad to put salad on my sandwich. Luckily, dad knew what I meant. All this to say, words have meaning, and they can often get lost in translation. There is a lot of vocabulary when it comes to finance, and there is a language of finance. You need to be careful not to misuse these financial terms in a fashion that would mislead your portfolio or financial plan. It’s helpful to have an advisor. They can be your ...
Apr 30, 2021•38 min
A surplus in cash flow can be problematic. Alternatively, when one has more income than expenses, it can be difficult to decide what exactly to do with the leftovers. Here at The Bahnsen Group, one of the core strategies we implement is a dividend growth strategy. Many of our clients love this philosophy and its mechanics because it generates a predictable and sustainable income. BUT, beyond these benefits, perhaps one of the greatest arguments for the validity of this strategy is that dividends...
Apr 23, 2021•32 min
I’m married to a planner. I have become well versed in scoping the landscape and communicating to my wife all the possible things that could happen. Many of these things don’t end up happening, but the love of my life appreciates me being her eyes and ears. The reason that books like “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” are bestsellers is that all of us have a little planner inside of us. We know what it feels like to be put on the spot or be surprised and unprepared to react. We all have comi...
Apr 16, 2021•26 min
My wife and I have two sons at home, 2.5 years old and 9 months old. Even at these young ages, we can see how different these two boys are. They look different and behave differently; they eat differently and sleep differently; they laugh differently and cry differently. Two brothers, same family, each unique in their own way. I myself have two siblings, a brother, and a sister. Each of us three years apart in age, me being the youngest. We each have our different strengths and weaknesses. We ha...
Apr 09, 2021•20 min
Growing up, I adopted a negative view of borrowing. I saw many family members get in over their heads in debt, which eventually led to horrible things like divorce and bankruptcy. I looked up to many people in my community and at my church who talked about debt as something dangerous or evil. I always thought it was best to avoid debt like the plague with these exposures and perceptions. When I went to college, I worked full-time and paid for all my classes as I went. I never took out one studen...
Mar 26, 2021•34 min
Do you suffer from financial cravings? TOM helps put you on the right financial diet to keep your portfolio healthy! Links mentioned in this episode: http://thoughtsonmoney.com http://thebahnsengroup.com
Mar 19, 2021•21 min
Over the last few months, many of my Thoughts On Money have revolved around the importance of marrying one’s financial plan and investment management. That is to say, that the financial plan should be the driving force behind how an investment portfolio is designed. Now, I am not talking about a “financial plan,” as in, a 100+ page bound printout that makes its way from your advisor’s office to being a dust-collecting–paperweight at your home. I mean, the actual planning of finances – the living...
Mar 12, 2021•33 min
I come across a lot of people that implement strategies from investors they admire. Much too often, these strategies are constructed without understanding the context or reasoning behind the strategy. This misunderstanding often leads to disappointment, as the outcomes don’t always meet the investor’s expectations. You have goals, and these are often unique goals. These goals revolve around what’s important to you. Your financial situation is unique, and that uniqueness should be understood and ...
Mar 05, 2021•26 min
Our family takes full advantage of this beautiful weather, and I am sure these claimed averages do ring true, but this does not stop us from checking the weather forecast on a daily or weekly basis. Whether we are making a trip to the local zoo, planning a beach day, or having a picnic with friends, we’d like to know the specifics of what the weather will be like. We need to know if we should pack jackets for our two boys or if we should wear shorts or on the rare occasion that it would be wise ...
Feb 26, 2021•25 min
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