Charles “Tremendous” Jones once said the only two things that can change your life are the people you meet and the books you read. I can tell you that has certainly been true of my life. At age 15 and bored, I sat in my bedroom one Sunday afternoon with only a book to pass…

In my last blog, I talked about why you would not want to build your own financial plan. Well, if I couldn’t convince you, the guilt of thinking about you duck taping a plan together is too weighty for me to carry around. So, instead of keeping our secret formula locked in a vault, I…

Many handymen feel pride when they build their backyard decks. Yet, they may regret it later when they find themselves involved in a frightening viral video. The video could show a prom photo shoot going wrong and the deck collapses under the weight of too many people. Likewise, financial planning can appear easy to do.…

Wow! Long term care can be expensive! But wait, it gets worse. Long term care (LTC) expenses are increasing faster than inflation,1  which means as our incomes are being outpaced by the cost to assist us in old age. Numerous families have shared with me that they are spring chickens and do not need to…

Everyone has circumstances that just rub them the wrong way. A pet peeve can be like rolling around in itching powder, wearing a sack cloth, and then going for a run on a hot day. As a financial advisor, I have accumulated my fair share of pet peeves that I need to get off my…

Where do Americans go to research life’s most important questions? Most of the time, they go to Google. Regrettably, when you search “when should I take Social Security?”, more than four million pages will pop up. At first glance, you may shake your head thinking, “by the time I read all of these pages, who…

Any educated human being, with a heart, believes discrimination and racism are wrong. After generations, we have all tried to eliminate stupidity and legislate morality, but were we successful? We must remember we live in a sinful world.  In this world, people will justify looting and racist acts, as long as it fits their agenda.…

If I had 10 annuities across my desk, based on my standards alone I would throw away eight of them. In my opinion, many of these annuities do not stack up against other annuities or other investment vehicles. My belief is that no financial advisor should convince you to hate or love any investment. Every…

When interviewing a financial advisor, it can be similar to a blind date. You have no idea what to expect and the whole time you are on the lookout for red flags. Remember that when you meet with a financial advisor, you hold all the cards. Be prepared with a list of questions, but be…

Recently I sat down with a gentleman who said, “Andrew, I have all this lazy money I don’t know what to do with.” Over a decade, I have heard money called several things –but never lazy. He said, “The truck I bought that pulls my work equipment cost more than my house did 20 years…

After a loved one passes and the funeral activities come to an end, the real work for the executor and trustee begin. To simplify the handling of your estate or, should a debilitating illness strike, we recommend our SWAN Binder. Our firm is called SWAN Capital and it is because our mission is to help…

Let’s not be too insensitive here, because many families will be forever affected by COVID-19. Families have lost loved ones, lost jobs and closed down businesses because of this crisis. However, here in America we believe in Capitalism. Capitalism works best when it is left alone. We call this in economics the “Invisible Hand”. Adam…