The Financial Answer

The Psychology of Investing In The Wake Of Historic Market Crashes

Let’s take a little crash course on the psychology behind investing. Especially when it comes to a market crash, you’ll want to understand the lasting impact that has on the decisions you make with money. In this episode, we explore how major financial events in American history have influenced people's relationships with money and how they make investment decisions and compare this information to some recent psychological studies. 
 
Here are some of the major events we cover on today’s show:
The Great Depression shaped a generation. (2:22)
Black Monday caused panic in 1987. (9:01)
The Dotcom crash hit some right before retirement. (11:28)
The Great Recession took many by surprise. (14:55)
Where are we now? (18:45)
For more, visit us online: http://thefinancialanswer.com 
 

Should An Advisor Tailor A Plan To Fit Your Personality? (Part 2)

As a continuation of our last podcast episode, we’re jumping back in to discuss some more financial personality types in today’s show. Knowing your personality type and tendencies can help you be more successful and aware of your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to financial planning. The first four personalities we talked about in the previous podcast were the victim, the over-analyzer, the DIY-er, and the ostrich. On today’s show, we discuss the next four common financial personalities.
Here are the personality types we discuss in part 2:
The silo stocker might be prepping for the worst-case scenario. (2:35)
The odd couple may face conflicting goals. (5:06)
The gambler likes taking risks. (8:57)
The model citizen does everything right but still has concerns. (12:22)
For more, visit us online: http://thefinancialanswer.com 
 

Should Your Advisor Tailor A Plan To Fit Your Personality? (Part 1)

Each person has a different and unique personality. It’s part of what makes you, you! So, when it comes to your financial plan, should a financial advisor tailor the plan for your personality? On today’s show we cover part one of the different personalities to see which one you might relate to most and how an advisor can cater to that.
 
Here are the personalities we discuss:
A victim personality might mean someone is nervous about their investments. (1:47)
The overanalyzer needs help making a decision. (5:10)
The do-it-youself-er may think they know better, until they reach retirement age. (8:35)
The ostrich may try to hide, but that doesn’t make the problem go away. (12:26)
 
For more, visit us online: http://thefinancialanswer.com 

What’s Your Biggest Financial Fear?

Everybody has fears, so we talk about some of the biggest financial fears people face. Sometimes acknowledging the fear is the best place to start. Alongside an advisor, you can strategize how to address these fears and put your mind at ease.
Nathan shares his experience in guiding people through these fears and the decisions they can make about them.
 
Here are some of the most common financial fears people have:
Running out of money. (1:44)
Losing money to a major or long-term healthcare issue. (4:16)
Paying more than you have to in taxes. (7:37)
Leaving the legacy you want to leave. (9:35)
Being forced to alter the quality of life because of inflation. (11:22)
For more, visit us online: http://thefinancialanswer.com 

Four Ways The SECURE Act 2.0 Might Impact You

On today’s show, Nathan goes over some of the key changes in the SECURE Act 2.0 that you’ll want to be aware of and discuss how to adjust accordingly. Make sure to talk with your financial advisor about what this means for your financial plan.
 
Here are some ways the Secure Act might impact you in the future:
RMD age has changed. (1:54)
Qualified charitable distributions can help. (4:53)
Special catch-up contributions were added. (9:59)
Employers can match 401(k) contributions on student loan payments. (10:21)
529 plans can transfer into a Roth IRA. (12:46)
Employers can match a Roth 401(k) contribution. (18:36)
 
For more, visit us online: http://thefinancialanswer.com 

Helpful Financial Checklist For 2023

As you make your beginning of the year checklists, we have a few financial things you’ll want to add to your list. The sooner you get a handle on these yearly things, the better. Reach out to your financial advisor if you have questions or want to revisit your goals for this year and beyond.
Here’s what we discuss today on the show:    
Do you have the right tax withholdings? (2:00)
Assess your retirement contributions. (4:39)
Start gathering your tax documents now. (6:49)
Touch base with your financial advisor. (8:19)
For more, visit us online: http://thefinancialanswer.com 

2022 in Review

Happy New Year! Before we get too far into 2023, let’s start talking about last year. We review what happened in 2022 and what kind of financial things we can learn from. Then, we consider what to do in the months to come in response. Be sure to review your financial plan and make sure you are prepared for whatever may come in the future.  
Here’s what we discuss today on the show:    
Stocks and bonds dropped double digits. (3:49)
Mortgage rates doubled. (5:59)
Bitcoin got knocked down. (7:37)
Gas prices and inflation caused a lot of shock. (12:02)
For more, visit us online: http://thefinancialanswer.com 

Naughty or Nice: Financial Advisors

Who’s ending up on the naughty list this year? Today, we talk through different scenarios financial advisors face to see who would go on the nice list and who is on the naughty list. You might be surprised by some of the answers!
 
Here are some of the biases you might experience:
Naughty or nice: only one yearly meeting the same year as retirement. (2:06)
Naughty or nice: Using asset minimums to determine who to advise. (6:21)
Naughty or nice: Making changes without a thorough discussion with the client. (10:02)
Naughty or nice: Providing only positive testimonials for new clients. (12:28)
Naughty or nice: Not moving accounts without a phone call. (16:57)
 
For more, visit us online: http://thefinancialanswer.com 

Examining Your Own Investor Bias

We all have biases about our favorite and least favorite things. When it comes to investing, what biases should we be aware of? When you go to work with a financial advisor, it’s important to take in their advice and the resources available to you instead of simply letting your judgment be overly influenced by your biases. An advisor may be able to keep those biases balanced against your financial plan.
 
Here are some of the biases you might experience:
Looking only for information that provides confirmation bias. (2:30)
Loss aversion bias can make you overly fearful. (6:00)
You might be prone to chasing a trend. (10:16)
Self-attribution bias can overlook external factors. (15:30)
 
For more, visit us online: http://thefinancialanswer.com 

Financial Things That Are Underrated

In part two of our series, we talk about financial things that are underrated. These concepts are talked about but some may be tempted to overlook the value behind them.
But first, we also are giving out more copies of the book The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel! Nathan really enjoyed this book with 20 different short chapters about how money affects us and wants you to get a chance to read it, too.
 
Here’s what we think is underrated:
The concept of liquidity is often overlooked. (3:54)
Make sure you’ve got predictability in your portfolio. (8:30)
The simplicity of your plan brings peace of mind. (11:07)
 
For more, visit us online: http://thefinancialanswer.com