My wife and I enjoy taking time to talk about what we want our life to look like when we reach the point of financial independence. It is exciting to do this exercise, as it helps keep the reason behind saving, investing, and other smart financial decisions at the forefront of your mind.

As a part of The Wealth Group’s systematic investing process we have developed and refined, we update and review your portfolio and the internal holdings on a regular basis. This is an update based on that process, and there is no action required on your end.

This month, The Wealth Group is celebrating a major milestone reached by one of our team members: Adam Colby and his wife Kristi paid off their mortgage this month. Adam is just 42 years old. And his family doesn’t live in a van down by the river.

Competition can be a great motivator. One of the reasons I was able to excel in school growing up was because I simply wanted to beat all the other students.

Having good health while in retirement plays an important role in helping you achieve a long, successful, and fulfilling retirement. In a 2016 health study*, individuals were asked what they would want more of in the future. Health came back as the most popular choice at 37%.

I recently helped my mother purchase a 2015 SUV from a dealership. It was not a pleasant experience. Those of you that have purchased from a dealership know how long the process takes. Within 20 minutes of walking into the dealership, we were ready to pay all cash for the vehicle. We had done our research in advance, the test drive went well, and we were buying a reliable make and model.

Every spring, the Gallup Organization asks American adults this simple question: “What is the best long-term investment?” And for the fifth year in a row, the top response was real estate.

We are unique as financial planners in that we encourage our clients to rapidly pay off mortgage (in 15 years or less), even if it means a slightly reduced amount of money being added to the portfolio during those years.

Have you read our post about the Importance of Car-Buying Decisions? If you haven’t, you should. The average new car purchase price in America today is more than $36,000. That is an astonishing number, considering the financial situation of the average American today.

Some blog posts are more important than others. If I could shout through the screen to you, I would say: “This post is really important!” It’s not important in the sense that “Mike and Austin think this is important”; it’s important because the math shows us it’s crucial. The second-largest annual expenditure for Americans is transportation (second to housing). If it’s the second-largest annual expenditure, it’s appropriate to say this category of spending should be a big deal in the world of financial planning.

The average investment rate of millionaires profiled in The Millionaire Next Door is 20%. That is, millionaires in America “invest nearly 20 percent of their household income each year” (p. 10).