Welcome! Bridget Sullivan Mermel and John Scherer talk introduce themselves and talk about why they started the channel, Friends Talk Financial Planning.

October 20th, 2022 is World Values Day. Everybody agrees that they want more happiness in their life. In honor of World Values Day, John Scherer and Bridget Sullivan Mermel talk about one of the keys to uncovering more happiness in your life while making the same amount of money (or more!): focusing on your values. Researchers have found that finding prioritizing your values and setting goals leads to a more meaningful life. Bridget puts this in terms of a deceptively simp

If you want to make more in donations and pay less in tax, picking the right way to give to charity is crucial. In this video, we'll explain the four different ways most people can make donations and save on tax. Because of a recent tax law change, many people no longer "itemize" their taxes. When you itemize, you can deduct all of your donations. "Itemizing," for most people means that they have mortgage interest, state & property taxes and gifts to charity that combin

Many people feel that taxes are unfair. ProPublica recently reported how billionaires legally pay low taxes. We talk through—is there anything here you can use to help you save on taxes? Here are some angles that billionaires are using and you can, too: 1. Keep salaries low. Pay yourself with stock options or in other ways. Billionaire W-2s don’t say $1,000,000,000. ProPublica reports that one says $80,000. They pay themselves with stock options. That’s a strategy you m

If someone you know is celebrating a graduation, it's a great time to buy them a gift. We talk about 3 great graduation gifts that will help both you and the graduate feel good: 1. Give cash or an investment. If you're older than the graduate by a generation (or two or three) and you seem to have more money than they do, it's a great time to give the gift of cash. Since graduating seniors may not be the most mature and you might not want all that money going to spending, it

Improve your impact, your effectiveness, and feel good while making the world a better place. We discuss how to find good charities both near to where you live and far away, including looking at the following websites: https://www.guidestar.org/ https://www.charitynavigator.org/ https://www.givewell.org/ We talk about how to approach donating money proactively to optimize the good you do as well as the good you feel. TRANSCRIPT Donating Effectively: Improve your Impact, f

“How should a client think about giving money to charity?” was the question my colleague posted on an adviser forum. I should know this,...

“How should a client think about giving money to charity?” was the question my colleague posted on an adviser forum. I should know this,...

You can inexpensively plan for a donation from your 401(k) while retaining access to the account if you need it. After they got married,...

I beg to differ. As a comprehensive planner, I love to talk about the good you can do without investing a dollar. One great way is to...

The cash for clunker program, which started on July 24th, was supposed to go through November, or when the money ran out. Problem is...