When getting a Valentine's Day gift, most of us just want to Avoid Valentine Gift Disasters. We talk through strategies backed by research to get your sweetie something they really enjoy. Here's Bridget Sullivan Mermel's firm website: www.sullivanmermel.com John Scherer's firm website: www.trinfin.com For advisors around the US: www.acplanners.org Thanks for watching and please subscribe! TRANSCRIPT: Bridget: Valentine's Day is coming up. It's a great time to add

Socially Responsible Investing means lower returns to some people. It doesn't have to. In this video, we explain how to get market returns with ESG investing. When socially responsible investing (also often called Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) factor investing and sustainable investing) started, investment returns weren't as good as other mutual funds. That reputation for lower returns has stuck in the minds of many people. But it doesn't have to. In this

Finding a financial planner can be difficult. They all sound the same when they say they care about their clients. How can a normal person make a smart choice when hiring a financial advisor? Bridget Sullivan Mermel CFP(R) CPA and John Scherer CFP(R) share four key mistake to avoid that will help you make a smart decision: 1 Hiring someone who does not have any legitimate credentials o The CFP™ is the gold standard when it comes to getting comprehensive financial advic

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

Inflation is high; we discuss the strategy we both use to help clients understand and plan for it. We haven't seen inflation figures like this in 30 years. Before figuring out your investment strategy, the first step is to look at the underlying emotions evoked by talk of inflation. The #1 question to ask yourself is: what is it that I’m ACTUALLY afraid of? a. …of being dumb with my money? b. …of not being able to afford things in the future? c. …of running out of money

What's the difference between a Fee-only or fee-based financial advisor? It turns out, the difference is significant. We’ve talked in past episodes about how the financial industry using confusing language and half-truths; making if hard for real people to make informed decisions. On today’s episode of Friends Talk Financial Planning, we dig into another of these confusing topics: fee-only vs. fee-based. Listen to Bridget & John discuss how one word makes a huge differe

When you look for a financial advisor, there are three questions you absolutely must ask. Finding a financial advisor can be difficult. They all sound the same. They care about their clients and about helping people achieve their goals by making smart investments. How can a normal person make a smart choice when hiring financial planner? Bridget and John share three key questions to ask to put you in the driver’s seat: 1 - Are you a fiduciary? Fiduciary is legal jarg

Series I Bonds savings bonds are currently paying more interest than other safe investments. That means a lot of people are paying attention. In this, our third episode about I Bonds, we talk with Linda Stratton CFP(R) about how to give I Bonds as gifts, and talk about I Bonds versus 529 college savings plans, and the real life pros and cons of I Bonds. Bridget Sullivan Mermel CFP(R) CPA and John Scherer CFP(R) go beyond what the Treasury Direct site says—what do people wh

Money hurdles can make people feel helpless to improve their relationship with their finances. Darcy Luoma joins Bridget Sullivan Mermel...

Darcy Luoma describes how you can become more intentional with your money. Our Special Guest Darcy Luoma will help us understand! She's...

Bridget got a question this week--what are the pros and cons of renting out your vacation home? John is a CFP® who owns a vacation home. He shares his experience on the pros and cons in this episode. We talk through if the tax benefits are what you might think (probably not) but what the benefits might be. Do you feel gratified because you may be helping other people create memories? Or are you going to get so annoyed that you leave a nastygram to all future renters when som

Since COVID restrictions are being lifted and people are wanting to do something--anything--we talk about how we think about vacation. Is vacation an investment? So, it makes things better and improves things. Or is vacation an expense? One of those things you spend money on then easily forget. Here are our key take aways: Vacation can give you a sense of happiness and meaning. Don't be afraid to spend money on it, although spending money is not directly associated w

TRANSCRIPTION John: Do you think you might have a budgetary issue? Find out why not cutting back on your spending might be the best decision that you can make. Hi, I'm John Scherer and I run a fee-only financial planning practice in Middleton, Wisconsin. Bridget: And I'm Bridget Sullivan Mermel, and I've got a fee-only financial planning practice in Chicago, Illinois. John, a lot of times when people think they have to cut back their spending, they're not looking at the big

Considering a car loan? Most people consider the numbers. We talk about the money, but also talk about how the loan may make you feel. What about your wife or husband? It’s generally a sound idea to consider their emotions, too! In this episode, Bridget Sullivan Mermel CFP® CPA and John Scherer CFP® discuss what the research reveals about how car purchases and car loans can make you happier or more miserable. Some people aim to be 10% happier than they are now. Learn

Financial Planners Bridget Sullivan Mermel CFP® CPA and John Scherer CFP® talk about how they use (and don’t use) a classic financial planning question: what would you do if you knew you had 5 years to live? They talk about how it helps inform couples and individuals figure out what brings most meaning and happiness into their lives. They talk about when the question works, how it works, and when it doesn’t work. John shares his client who blurted out—life wouldn’t seem

What does what you thinking about winning the lottery say about your life now? Let's take it a step further... So what if it really happens? Seriously. What would you do if you won the lottery? Bridget Sullivan Mermel CFP® CPA and John Scherer CFP® talk about how to interpret your daydreams about winning the lottery. Then they detail next steps to take if you do actually win. The main steps are keys to many areas of financial planning. TRANSCRIPT Win at the Lottery (whe

Bridget Sullivan Mermel CFP® CPA and John Scherer CFP® talk about how to form effective goals and establish new habits. Resolutions are often forgotten after a day or two. We talk about how to make changes in baby steps to improve your situation. TRANSCRIPT Habits and Goals: be effective and happy while improving your life Bridget: Resolutions. Making changes. It's that time of year, and Friends are Talking Financial Planning. How do we make changes and resolutions with ou

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

Do you ever struggle with how to give better gifts? There is a lot of research that tries to help. Bridget and John discuss more tips on giving better gifts. TRANSCRIPT Buying Gifts Part Two: Give Better Gifts John: Last time on Friends Talk Financial Planning, we talked about gift-giving strategies. This week, we're going to take your gift-giving to the next level and talk about advanced gift-giving strategies. Hi, I'm John Scherer, and I run a fee-only financial planning

Buying gifts can be difficult, but it doesn't have to be. In this episode Bridget Sullivan Mermel CFP(R) CPA and John Scherer CFP(R) discuss what research reveals about how to buy gifts. Stop disappointing your loved ones. Improve your relationships. Figure out how to find happiness and meaning in the season. We talk about why gift giving can be difficult, as well as what to buy for people who don't want anything. Find happiness and joy in the season and relieve your s