Author Archives: Tim Bauer

I’ll admit, budgeting is one of my least favorite financial tasks to do. It seems so mundane compared to all the other exciting financial things we could be doing, right? However, I’ve come to learn the importance of budgeting because of the protection it provides. Let me use a little analogy to show this a […]

Conversations revolving around Estate Planning and Trusts typically go hand in hand. While very useful, establishing and then also planning for a future with a Revocable Living Trust should be approached carefully and with proper legal advice. In this post, we’ll discuss how a Revocable Living Trust becomes Irrevocable and how to best plan for […]

A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore. -Yogi Berra If your trip to the grocery store feels like making a second mortgage payment, you’re not alone. It seems like everything has gone up in the last couple of years — from eggs, milk, and bread to gas, furniture, and toilet paper. It can be easy […]

The Social Security program was created in 1935 when President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. Social Security was designed as a way to provide economic security for American retirees, widows, children, and those who are disabled. Due to the various ways of receiving social security benefits and the requirements for qualifying, […]

Using an AI Financial Advisor might sound like the ultimate solution for managing your money. Quick, cost-effective, and seemingly reliable, these digital tools promise to do everything from managing investments to offering tailored financial advice. But as with anything in life, there’s more to the story.  While AI may seem like a modern-day miracle for […]

We advisors like our analogies. When we talk about retirement planning, we will sometimes frame it as “planning a vacation that you don’t know how long will last or how much it will cost”. In the same way, estate planning is like trying to tell others your final wishes when you can no longer tell […]

In 2024, I had the chance to go on an incredible 12-day trip with my family to the Canadian Rockies, the Calgary Stampede, Glacier National Park, and Silverwood Theme Park. Yes, we saved Silverwood till the end, just to give my kids a little incentive to stay with it. In 2022, we were able to […]

When my kids were younger, my wife and I learned a few valuable tactics to communicate with them when we needed them to do something. A simple example is when we were visiting a fun place, such as a park or a friend’s house, and the time to leave was approaching. We would tell them […]

With interest rates at all time highs in 2025, a common question on many people’s minds is Should I just pay extra on my mortgage instead of investing it? This is appealing to many people in many ways. Instead of diving into all the facts and figures, let’s start by first exploring the psychology of […]

The thought of planning a trip evokes many different emotions for many different types of people. Some love the feeling of crafting the perfectly designed experience, with side trips, excursions, local culture, food, and multiple other luxuries. On the other hand, other people can’t stand the thought of having to put hours of work into […]