Keagan Schmidt | September 1, 2021

Happy September! After a month off of writing, it’s good to be back... In the following months I’ll share more about my wedding experiences and how it relates to quality of life focused financial planning!

This month we are talking about:

• Student loans... Remember those? Updates on student loan deferral and loan forgiveness
• Question of the week... “Aren’t you too young to be using coupons?”
• Getting personal, with pickleball. A lesson we can all learn!

 Keagan Kinsella | July 1, 2021

My oh my, it’s July and we are halfway through 2021! I guess time flies when we’re in a post-pandemic “normal world”!? In this month’s newsletter we’ll be talking about:

• This crazy hot real estate market- tips to put you in the best home buying place as possible, and my sister’s home buying experience!
• Do you prefer your gas cheap or expensive?… How about your investments?
• Question of the week: “Am I diversified? And what does that even mean?”

 By Kate Chapman | June 8, 2021

Who doesn’t love the feeling of being free from a strict schedule for a few months?

Me!! Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a good day or two of unstructured living, but after that, let’s get productive and organized people! So, as you can imagine, having the kids home for summer break can get unruly, not to mention expensive. Water parks and museums are fun, and maybe we could do them occasionally, but we wanted to use our time to try new things, enjoy a change of scenery, and not break the bank. You’d be surprised how little money you need to spend to enjoy great quality of life with kids!  I’ve learned some great tricks over the years to help us stay on budget, yet have an enjoyable and adventurous summer!

 Keagan Kinsella | June 1, 2021

Happy June! I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. In this month’s newsletter we’re talking about:

• There’s no time like the present: Whether it’s flossing, or financial planning 
• Question of the month: “I have group life insurance provided by my employer! Isn’t that enough?”
• It’s wedding season! A spendy trend, bachelorette edition

 Keagan Kinsella | May 1, 2021

Happy May! The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and it’s time for another newsletter! This month we’re going to be talking about:

• Are you a point hoarder? From credit cards to Caribou—the psychology behind loyalty programs
• Are you making this common investing mistake in your Roth IRA? You may not even know it!
• Question of the month: What’s the deal with student loan cancellation? Should I keep paying, or hold off?

By Keagan Kinsella | April 1, 2021

Happy April! Spring has sprung, and the newest newsletter is here! This month we are going to be talking about:

• March Madness & market madness… Putting “expert” knowledge to the test?
• Television meets taxes: Question of the Month inspired by the popular Netflix series, Schitt’s Creek 
• My personal tire rotation revelation at the autobody shop!

 By Keagan Kinsella | March 1, 2021

March is here, and spring is in the air! With tax season approaching, now is the perfect time to “Spring clean” your finances… We’ve certainly seen an increase of people coming in to talk about financial planning! In this month’s newsletter we’re going to be talking about:

• Counting on retirement calculators? Time to think differently!
• Question of the week- “I hear all about inflation…how much does it really impact my life?”
• Monopoly Deal, my latest card game obsession, inspired a financial planning life-lesson!

By Keagan Kinsella | February 1, 2021

Welcome to February’s financial planning newsletter! I don’t know about you but during this past month it’s been so interesting to see the way people think and act when it comes to the idea of money! Between the crazy things that happened with Wall Street and Robinhood last week, and the Powerball billion-dollar lottery, it’s clear finances are very personal to how people feel about certain things. Personally, something that boggles myself is how the concept of “why not me?!” changes in different situations. When it comes to winning something like the lottery, or making a fortune day trading stocks on Robinhood – where the chances of “winning” are miniscule, people still buy in so easily and can start to imagine everything they would do when they are the lucky one.

But on the other hand, I think about how easy it is for us to convince ourselves of the exact opposite, “it could never be me?!” For example, when we are on a plane, how we can easily accept the fact the chances of us needing to land on the water and have an emergency evacuation will likely never happen! Just a random thought, as I write this from the airplane…

If you’ve been reading for a while, this newsletter includes an array of topics that revolve around finances, but in a common sense, simple, quality of life focused way. For example, buying shares of Dogecoin (you may need to look that one up), or buying a lottery ticket are best suited for entertainment purposes, rather than legitimate financial planning tools!

 By Dan Dorval | January 20, 2021

On my way to work today, I heard a radio ad where a well-known media figure was promoting a 30-minute webinar where you can learn everything you need to know about the new administration and what you should be doing right now with your investments! Find out how markets have performed under different presidential administrations over the last 48 years. Apparently reviewing what happened under President Reagan is now a predictor of what will happen under President Biden? Of course, this same media personality was promoting a different webinar back in October talking about how to change your investment strategy as a result of the election…like your strategy should be in a constant state of flux based on things completely outside your control. Really!?

 Keagan Kinsella | January 1, 2021

Happy 2021! A new year, and a new newsletter is coming your way… I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years. A few newsletters ago I talked about my favorite Amazon purchase of quarantine, but I now have a new winner! Since the gyms shut down for another span of time, I splurged and treated myself to a mini treadmill! It makes me so happy to be able to walk and jog from the comfort of my spare bedroom (walking outside in the dark, cold evenings was becoming less and less enjoyable!)! So, it was a big quality of life enhancement. Anyway, welcome to the January newsletter, today we are talking about:

• Question of the month: “Shouldn’t I be buying stocks?”
• The power of paying off debt: An inspiring story of tackling student loans!
• Quiz time! Test to see if you are part of the 16% of “financially literate” Americans