Money alone will not buy you lasting joy. Money alone will not solve many of your most profound relational problems. Money alone will not help you discover who you are or what you should do in life. More often than not, however, many individuals deceive themselves, believing that their pursuit of money can help them solve these and other life problems.

Don’t believe me?

You can ask the well-paid executive who spends too much time at the office and is about to lose his family. You can ask the professional athlete who worked their whole life to make it to the big time, only to find their successes wanting. You can ask the lottery winners who report little change in their overall happiness after winning a million dollars.

Make no mistake, money is essential to getting the things we want out of life, but acquiring money is only one component in building your ideal life.

And a common misbelief that some individuals hold is that the act of acquiring wealth will somehow bestow all sorts of gifts upon their lives. The often sad reality is that many individuals who pursue this end, often spend their time chasing more money in hopes that they one day will somehow find what’s missing in their lives.

In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about what you can do to develop a healthier relationship with money.

The fact is that many individuals out there relate to money in a way that often holds them back from their essential life goals. That’s because too often, some individuals view the acquisition and possession of money as their fundamental priority in life.

The truth is that money is just a means to achieving what matters most in your life. And that’s why in today’s episode, we’ll provide you with a playbook on how to give your money purpose so that you can secure the resources you need to get what you want out of life. We’ll also talk through techniques to save and spend with confidence and how you can avoid analysis paralysis when it comes to money decisions, and we’ll wrap up our playbook discussion with a set of strategies you can use to bounce back quickly when you experience a financial setback.

If you’ve been hoping for interest rates to fall this year, I’ve got some bad news for you: borrowing costs will likely only go higher from here.

At least, that’s what we’ve been hearing from various Fed officials over the past couple of weeks. More specifically, these individuals have been telling us that the central bank should continue raising rates into the foreseeable future, and the fact is that incoming data supports their case for future rate hikes.

To this point, inflation data for January showed that prices accelerated at a faster-than-expected rate, rising 0.5% on a month-over-month basis. What’s more, the data also show that US labor market conditions remained robust in January, as employers added over 500,000 jobs to their payrolls, besting economist expectations of a slowdown.

And if that wasn’t enough to dash the market’s hopes of lower interest rates this year, government data just recently showed that households spent at a faster-than-expected rate of 6.4% last month compared to a forecast of 4.5% for January.

If we’re in a recession at this moment, then this is possibly one of the strongest economic environments we’ve experienced in a while heading into the start of an economic downturn. This perspective is relevant because history tells us is that the Fed tends to pause interest rate hikes as the data begins to turn to the downside.

And so far, while there is some evidence of slowing economic activity, the data does not yet make a solid case to prevent policymakers from raising rates higher from here. What this means is that we’re likely to see more market volatility and economic uncertainty in the months ahead.

Imagine receiving an award from your employer for the value that you bring to the table, but the payout doesn’t come for months or even years down the road.

If you work in the tech industry, or otherwise receive a stock award from one year to the next, then you’ll likely understand how exciting and at the same time, how bewildering it can be to receive what can be a significant portion of your income doled out over an extended period of time.

That’s why understanding this often complex form of incentive compensation is essential to making wise choices with your income and to avoid leaving money on the table.

And today, we’re going to talk about restricted stock.

More specifically, we’re going to go back to the basics and discuss what you should know about this form of compensation, its potential tax implications, and what you should do to make sure you’re making the most of your award and ensure that you’re not leaving money on the table.

By the end of this episode, you should have an idea of how to get a read on your equity award, how you’re taxed when you receive a stock award, and your options for when your award vests.

In this episode, we’re going to talk about a key component to securing financial independence and that’s income.

Now, there’s an old adage that goes, “it’s not about how much you make, but how much you keep…” that is often applied to the concept of spending and saving prudently. But, what if spending wisely and prudently managing your savings was just one part of securing your path to financial independence?

Make no mistake, managing your cash flows is essential to mastering your path to financial independence. That’s because without a firm grasp of this critical process, having the money you need to accomplish your life goals likely just won’t happen.

And that’s why we recently reviewed methods for evaluating big-ticket purchases and assessing your annual spending and savings decisions relative to your baseline goals to identify areas of opportunity for the coming year.

But in this episode, we’ll take a look at an often-overlooked approach for putting more of your money to work in the present: maximizing your income.

This subject will be relevant to you whether you’re still in your earning years or already retired because many individuals, whether their income comes from a paycheck or savings distributions, end up leaving thousands of dollars on the table each year.

We’ll also discuss some methods for methods for paying yourself first and briefly cover your options when it comes to meeting near-term uneven cash flows, and the order in which to contribute to build your long-term savings.

And by the end of this episode, you’ll come away with a better understanding of the techniques to optimally fund your spending and savings goals for the year.

Have you ever made an impulsive big-ticket purchase that you later regretted?

Or, maybe you have found yourself making choices with your money that seem out of alignment with your overall life or financial goals?

If so, then you’re likely familiar with the effects of your money script.

So, what is a money script?

Well, a money script is often unconscious beliefs about money, rooted in early childhood experiences and guided by family or societal expectations, that influence the way we think about and handle money.

In many ways, the “script” is subconscious conditioning that tells us how to respond to money choices as we’re presented with one spending or savings decision to the next.

Having awareness and greater insights into what’s happening mechanically, under the surface, is the first step to setting sustainable goals and money management strategies that will endure no matter what curveballs life throws at you.

Most individuals can’t stand preparing their taxes. It’s often a complex, confusing process that leaves many fearing the dreaded audit from the IRS.

And according to the latest data from the IRS, 1.8% of tax filers with reported total positive income between $1 and $5 million received an audit letter from the IRS in 2021.

While this number seems low, it certainly is higher than your chances of winning the Powerball lottery (currently 1 in over 292 million) and a key reason to have all of your ducks in a row before you file your returns this year.

Audits aside, being adequately prepared to complete your returns this tax season is essential to a stress-free and smooth filing season, especially if you have a complex financial situation.

Indeed, waiting until the April deadline to file your taxes this year could leave you with a last-minute scramble and the potential for lost opportunities (or unnecessary penalties) without proper preparation.

To be sure, the deadline for filing your taxes is months away, and you likely haven’t received all of your critical tax documents from your employer and financial institutions yet. However, you can still do several things right now to prepare for the tax filing season.

In this episode, we’ll cover a few essential items to consider as we head into the tax season, including what you should do with your tax documents, whether to file on your own or hire out help, and some key deadlines to consider ahead of the filing season.

To say that 2022 was a disappointing year for investors is an understatement. US stocks gave up more gains to close the year than they have since the height of the Global Financial Crisis.

And even bonds, which tend to move higher when stocks fall, saw their worst declines in decades in 2022. And while some investors sought out cash as a haven of sorts, double-digit inflation and a rising cost of living ate into the purchasing power of most savers.

Ultimately, investors had no safe place to hide from this year’s economic and market carnage, and it’s arguably all the Fed’s fault.

So, if the Fed is engineering an economic slowdown that led to the recent market selloff, what needs to happen before the central bank finally starts cutting interest rates to give the markets a chance to rally once again?

In today’s episode, we discuss the three conditions that likely need to play out before the Fed changes its policy stance that could pave the way for markets to close on a higher footing in the year ahead.

Christmas is just around the corner, and if you’re like many investors, then you likely have a year-end rally on your wish list.

If this is you, then you’re probably in luck because history has shown that a so-called Santa Claus rally could be in the making in the weeks ahead.

However, in today’s episode we’re going to talk about why you shouldn’t be fooled by the Santa Claus rally.

Now, you’ve likely heard about the Santa Claus rally before, and in case you haven’t, it’s a phenomenon that tends to happen in the few days following Christmas and into the new year where stocks tend to rally.

While you’d likely welcome such a development after this year’s market performance, today, we’ll discuss why jumping on board this rally could be a setup for disappointment in the coming weeks.

October was supposed to be another setup for market disappointment that never came.

In fact, risk assets in many parts of the US markets closed higher for the month and in some cases. snapped a multi-month losing streak.

How were market predictions so wrong?

In today’s episode, we discuss:

•  Expectations for the markets and economy
•  What actually happened
• And why predicting the future is so hard

After this months about-face in risk assets, it would seem that U.S. and global financial markets are on the brink of melting down.

September marks the 14-year anniversary of one of the most volatile periods during the Global Financial Crisis.

That’s why in today’s podcast, I’ll share my experience during that time, and cover:

• Why you should hold tight during periods of market and economic uncertainty
• Three things to focus on to keep you moving forward
• Where we might be headed from here