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

How Long Will It Take Stock Market to Recover? How long will the bear market last? When will the downturn be over? Bridget Sullivan Mermel and John Scherer, both financial planners, turn to data for some answers. First, they talk through recent research discussed by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz in Don't Trust Your Gut and apply it to the area of the stock market. We remember we had pain, but we don't remember the intensity or the duration. So, asking the question: how long t

Recession-proof your money to help you reduce the fear of a recession. Make sure you're prepared. Do you want to make sure that you’ll be prepared if there’s a recession? We discuss everything you need to know. By the end of this episode, you’ll know what determines if we’re in a recession, what factors might be driving us to a recession, and what to do to prepare so that you can, dare I say it, make lemonade out of the recession lemons. One of the big ideas in rece

What's the biggest financial mistake that parents make when having a child? That's the topic of this video. We won't be coy here: it's not buying life insurance or not having enough of it. And, no, we don't have any life insurance to sell. We just have personal experience with parents who did and didn't buy life insurance. We talk about how much to buy, what type to buy, then share our personal experience. We'll also cover how much life insurance to buy, what type to bu

John bought a boat! How do financial planners think through (rationalize?) if they or clients can afford a boat or other splurge? We discuss the happiness factors, the social factors, as well as the financial factors that play into boats, big trips, and fill in the blank--whatever you like to splurge on! John talks about his experience with his twenty year old boat. He lives near a lake, owns a cottage, has kids who are just the right age. He says he knows what he's getting

Rolling your 401K to an IRA used to be automatic advice, but it might not be a great idea. We talk about when to do it, and when to hold off. The first major pros and cons to consider is how this move might impact your ability to do a back door Roth. If you max out your 401K and want to save more, back door Roths can be an appealing option, IF you don't have any IRAs. Also, if you want to retire between age 55 and age 59 and a half, keeping the money in your 401K w

The most common tax mistake people make is happening right now. Not doing tax planning. Or thinking that because they had their tax return done for 2021, there's nothing more to do. The biggest way to save money in taxes is through great tax planning. We'll talk about what that means so that you avoid common items that people overlook and legally pay less in taxes. We talk about how to do tax planning now. We cover: What to look for in different stages of your life.

Real estate investing can be made easy with REITS, or real estate investment trusts. But many people don't know how REITs work in a portfolio. In this video we’ll explain REITS, help you understand the different ideas about how real estate works with your net worth and talk about how much of your portfolio you might want to invest in REITS. By the end, you’ll understand how to think through if buy or keeping your REIT makes sense for you. 00:00 Welcome! 00:46 REITs E

The last time I had Kyle Harvey on the Chicago Money Show, the producers and director immediately said, “Have her on again. She’s good!”...

Should you pay off your mortgage before you retire? Is it best to pay of your mortgage before retiring? What are the pros and cons of keeping your mortgage? What does the latest happiness research say about mortgages and happiness? By the end of this episode you should have insight into the plusses and minuses of paying off your mortgage. In this episode we talk about when retirees should not pay off their mortgage, the pros and cons of paying of your mortgage befo

Figuring out where to invest invest after you've maxed out your 401K is a reason that many people come to financial planners. We offer our five best suggestions on where to invest after maxing out your 401(k). We discuss when Roth IRAs and backdoor Roths. Bridget says that there are some fun tax planning ideas that open up with what she calls Goldilocks taxable accounts. But, is fun tax planning a contradiction in terms? Well, saving money on taxes is fun, so perhaps t

We Love I Bonds. These are inflation-adjusted savings bonds that are issued by US Treasury Direct. Here are three reasons we love them: One. 9.62% interest for the next 6 months. Two. Guaranteed Three. Safe. In this video we’ll give you the details about I bonds—the interest, what to watch out for, and the drawbacks of investing in I bonds. We've been talking about I bonds for quite some time. Here are four videos we've made about them: John first described the basi

A viewer asked--I Have Life Insurance Through Work. Is That Enough? What are the Pros and Cons of Group Term Life? We answer! Neither of us sell life insurance. We're fee-only financial planners who help make sure that clients don't have too much or too little life insurance. John Scherer is our resident life insurance expert. He explains how much people need and common guidelines. We talk about: Who needs life insurance"? Who might want life insurance, but don't need

Between impostor syndrome and the shecession, being a single woman can be tough! But, armed with the right information, you can...

https://youtu.be/9TjD_b7OVvk The bond ladder--a tool in retirement that provides guaranteed cash flow on the same date each year for a low price. We love them, but most of the industry doesn't talk about them. So, let's talk about the nuts and bolts. When people retiring, they will need income. They want to know their cash flow is guaranteed. They want to know what to expect and when it will pay out. As fee-only advisors, we work in our client's best interest. We thi

You can figure out retirement, but it generally takes a bit of time. Knowing how much you need to retire and feeling ready to do it are two different things. It's great if you can take time to let all the realities of it sink in. In this episode, we talk through the transition from financial independence to retirement. You'll find out how much you need as well as how to focus your attention. You want to think through your income--social security, pension, and any other i

Understanding how much money you need for financial independence isn't rocket science. What do you need to consider yourself a financial success? We talk about the basic calculator and the goal that most people have--whether conscious or not--of getting there by age 55. Financial Independence means that you can focus less on earning as much as possible and coast into retirement. For a lot of people that means cutting back, reducing work, or taking the dream job that m

Figuring out if you want to buy I bonds now or wait until May can be confusing. With guaranteed interest rates on these savings bonds going from 7.12% to over 9.5% in May, we're getting the question--should I buy them now, or wait? Before getting carried away with I Bonds, remembering the basics is important. I Bonds stands for Inflation Bonds. They are savings bonds issued by the US Treasury. They're safe investments backed by the US Government. We've covered whether

Is your net worth by age 40 putting you on track to retire? This is an important question we often get as fee only financial planners. We know what our friends are doing--we see the kinds of cars they drive, the kind of houses they live in, and if they have boats or take expensive trips. We all have a guess at to how they're doing. But are you on track to retire? What's the benchmark for your net worth by age 40. We talk about what it is and why it is. In ACP, or the Allia

Adulting. It means to act responsibly. But is adulting “exclusively used by people who adult less than 50% of the time?” You can test...

Is your net worth at 30 on the right track? We talk about how to figure that out. First, we talk about elements of net worth. What is important to include? What should you not include. Bridget doesn't include student loans most of the time, while John does. Judging from what they say, you can figure out what makes sense for you. Why do we focus on net worth and not investments? We take a more holistic approach. There are benefits to savings accounts, owning a home, and

Where to park money? A viewer inherited $500,000 and wanted to know. They (wisely) didn't want to take some time to decide exactly what to do with the money in the long term. But they wanted to know--where should they park the cash now? Where to park money is a question that applies when you're saving for any goal. It's not just about investing inherited money. It can be--where to park money to buy a house, or where to park money to buy a car. First, it's good when you

Is Inflation good or bad? Gas prices are up. We see them every time we drive down the street. On the news, they keep talking about inflation. If you're in retirement or thinking about retirement, it can be scary. Should it be scary? How should we think about this? John Scherer and Bridget Sullivan Mermel talk about a source of economic analysis they like--Full Stack Economics. (See below for links). Full Stack Economics does a nice job of breaking down inflation in no-h

Figuring out how to pick investments for your 401K can be confusing. We tell you how we chose mutual funds in our own 401ks, what our thinking is behind how we do it, and give you suggestions on how to make it easy on yourself. When looking at the list of mutual funds: Look for index funds. If you're investing yourself, target date funds can be attractive. In general, you want a well diversified portfolio with low expense ratios. If you're older and have other i

The Larry David commercial during the Superbowl plus other ads play on our FOMO (fear of missing out) on crypto. Do you need to be afraid? What if crypto does work out, a lot of people make tons of money on it and you’re slow to act. What then? Bridget Sullivan Mermel, CFP® CPA and John Scherer CFP® talk about how they tell clients to handle crypto. There can feel like a lot of pressure—everyone is doing it. I want to be smart! People seem to be making a lot of money. J