I bought my trusty 2007 Toyota Yaris in October 2012 for $9,300 with 32,000 miles on it. Today, it has 114,000 miles--plenty of life left to live. While I have intended several times in the past to replace the vehicle for one that will better accommodate a family with five young children, the process has not quite gone according to plan.

The Colby family van (affectionately called “the Party Bus”) was recently totaled in a car accident. Thankfully, there were no major injuries to the passengers, but it was a complete wreck of an excellent motor carriage that had faithfully transported my family 130,000+ miles over the past eight years. Once the shock of the accident had worn off, I began the disheartening task of finding a replacement.

How about getting your mortgage paid off before turning 35? Sounds great, right?

My family and I are currently going through old bins that have been collecting dust in storage for years. As one can imagine, it's a long process that brings with it many difficult determinations about what to keep (always too much), and what to toss (never enough).

I was talking with a client recently about a home he owns in a major US city (not Minneapolis). I was curious about what the historical price appreciation has been in his market, so I pulled some data on his market. The data on his city fascinated me. I then began wondering how other US cities’ real estate has performed over recent periods.

We talk often about how having a grasp of your month-to-month spending plan is paramount to your retirement planning success. What we mean is this: a key component to creating a rock-solid financial legacy is understanding how much wealth is needed month-to-month to provide the lifestyle you want when you are no longer earning income.

One of our primary goals as financial advisors is to help our clients put good financial behaviors into place in their lives. Some of the most commonly-used phrases about finance and investing are so generic as to be ignored or met with a yawn by most of us. So, how can we make them specific – to apply them to your own personal financial situation?

This past weekend, my family and I did some post-summer/pre-fall outside work. We were digging through a bed of rocks that surrounds our house, which meant tearing through the lining underneath and burrowing 4-6 inches deep. My 13-year-old paused for a moment and asked, "Isn't there an easier way to do this?"

On Friday afternoon, March 27, President Trump signed the $2 trillion “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (CARES Act) into law. You can read the full 880-page bill here.

There is no shortage of discount cell service providers these days. It's to the point where The Paradox of Choice and inertia set in, leading most folks to simply stick with the same cell provider they have always used. My wife and I switched from Verizon to Consumer Cellular in October 2017. The main only reason we switched was to save money. The tl:dr version of this post is that we really like Consumer Cellular.

Statements you will hear outside TWG’s walls, but not inside them: “Money is really cheap right now.” “I get a tax deduction on this, so it’s a good deal.” “The dealership is providing interest-free financing on the new model, so I’ll buy new.” “We refinanced and are saving $300/month on our payments.”

At the end of August, I (Dan) competed and finished runner-up in the Hazeltine National Club Championship. You are probably asking: what does this have to do with being posted on The Wealth Group’s blog about personal finance? Don’t worry; I will get there.