Wealth by Design

When you decide to get your financial ducks in a row, you probably start to look for help with a good old Google search. But when you look up "financial advisor," "financial planner," "planning for retirement" or any variation of your financial needs… you might get confused. Quickly.

Why? Because there are so many titles for financial professionals out there. Do you need a financial planner? A financial advisor? An investment professional? A money coach? And what are those initials after their names?!

In this minisode, Dustin briefly describes the different types of financial professionals and designations you may see and explains when you'll want to call a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional.

• The different titles of financial professionals
• The designations and licenses that financial advisors may have
• What a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional does
• How a CFP® can help you
• The three Es of the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation

Sir John Templeton, an American-born British investor, banker, fund manager, and philanthropist, said this on investing: "Bull markets are born on pessimism, grown on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria."

He was named "the greatest global stock picker of the century" by Money in the 1990s, so we're inclined to listen to his advice.

In this new minisode, Dustin breaks down each part of Sir Templeton's quote. He also discusses timing the stock market, why it's a bad idea, and what you should do instead.

• The "stock market trap"
• How fear clouds our judgment
• ...and greed affects it, too
• Pick a strategy and stick with it for awhile

This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

We'll keep the intrigue to a minimum. In our opinion, the answer to this question is a resounding yes.

Whether you've just gotten married (congrats!) or you're in a committed, long-term relationship, it may be a good idea to have a joint account with your partner. Sharing your finances with your partner builds trust. Keeping them separate can breed suspicion and worry; plus, separate accounts keep your partner out of the loop on your day-to-day spending and savings habits.

Why do partners keep separate accounts? It may be a leftover habit from when you were dating. Or, you may have seen your parents control their accounts separately and assume that's the best, or only, option.

The good news is, there's still time to change things if you're considering opening a joint account. Tune in to the full minisode for all the deets from Dustin! It's only a few minutes, so you have no excuse to not tune in...

• Reasons why people might keep separate accounts
• Community property laws
• The importance of trust in a marriage
• Arguments against joint accounts (that are actually red flags)

This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

In March of 2020, we saw the stock market tumble 30% in one month. In the following few months, we've gained most of that back. What is happening??

In this minisode (seriously, it's less than three minutes!), Dustin recaps what a stock actually is — in case you've forgotten amidst all the panicked COVID-19 stock market talk — and how stocks are bought and sold. He discusses how people's emotions cause those peaks and valleys in the stock market, and how you can avoid that dangerous herd mentality when it comes to your own investing.

• What a stock is
• The basics of buying and selling stocks
• How fear and greed cause swings in the market
• Dustin's secret to investing

This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.