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**Real Personal Finance**

Your REAL personal finance questions answered by CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals, Scott Frank and Nick Covyeau. With all of the misinformation and jargon in the financial industry, it’s no wonder most people are confused about how to best manage their money. Scott and Nick are here to give clear answers to the important questions they hear most often. If you’re ready to use your finances to create a more secure financial future, this show is for you.

Latest Episodes:

145 - Should I Ever Borrow Money to Invest? Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

Scott and James discuss if you should borrow money to invest.

Listener Question

Currently have a 401k company match up to 7%. They also allow us to borrow against our 401k up to $50,000. Also have a Roth IRA but not able to make the max contribution. 401k loan is a 5% note on a 60 month term (only option) but maxes out at $50k and can have multiple loans against the 401k (only pay off early option is to pay note in full). Knowing the risks of losing the job or leaving, we have a HELOC to bail us out in a pinch. Realizing we lose the compounding interest on the loan amount but taking that loan and putting it towards to Roth would offset that lost gain and help with my tax advantages when the withdrawal party starts all the while my interest payments are going back into the 401k. My thoughts are to take out a loan each year to apply towards the Roth until I either max out the loan amount or I can make the full contribution amount again. Am I crazy to think this is a good idea?

Planning Points Discussed

Retirement Planning
Utilizing Time Efficiently
Capital Appreciation
Purchasing Power
Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

3:54 - Cash Flow

6:49 - HELOC Example

9:16 - RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions)

11:47 - Gross Income v. Net Income

14:18 - Retirement Savings

16:35 - Tax Optimization

19:05 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

LET'S CONNECT!

James

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Scott

Facebook Twitter Website

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Have a money question you want us to answer? Submit one here

144 - Pros & Cons of Different Savings Accounts Mar 23, 2022

Show notes

Scott and James discuss the pros & cons of different savings accounts.

Listener Question

I'm hoping you could walk through the pros and cons of different higher-yield savings vehicles: high-yield savings accounts, money markets, and CDs. Especially how the planned federal interest rates raises may affect those.

Planning Points Discussed

Retirement Planning
Utilizing Time Efficiently
Capital Appreciation
Purchasing Power
Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

3:57 - Bank Lending

7:23 - Bank Differences

10:33 - Savings Rates

13:30 - How Banks Make Money

15:18 - Interest Rates

17:29 - High Yield Savings Accounts

LET'S CONNECT!

James

Facebook LinkedIn Website

Scott

Facebook Twitter Website

ENJOY THE SHOW?

Don’t miss an episode, subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google Play.

Leave us a review on iTunes.

Have a money question you want us to answer? Submit one here

143 - How Much Do I Need to Retire? Mar 16, 2022

Show notes

Scott and James discuss how much you need to retire.

Listener Question

I'm 55 years old and currently employed with $1.1 million in 401k, $150,000.00 in annuity fund. Upon retiring I will also have a pension with medical, dental & optical coverage. My yearly income is $120,000 & I’m looking to retire at 60 years old. In your opinions does retiring comfortably in 5 years look reasonable?

Planning Points Discussed

Retirement Planning
Utilizing Time Efficiently
Capital Appreciation
Purchasing Power
Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

3:29 - Listener Info

6:06 - Living Expenses Today

8:37 - Retirement Expenses

11:20 - Social Security

13:30 - Financial Freedom

16:05 - Tax Planning Opportunities

18:17 - Withdrawal Rates

LET'S CONNECT!

James

Facebook LinkedIn Website

Scott

Facebook Twitter Website

ENJOY THE SHOW?

Don’t miss an episode, subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google Play.

Leave us a review on iTunes.

Have a money question you want us to answer? Submit one here

142 - What Are the Tradeoffs Between Real Estate and Stock Market Investing? Mar 09, 2022

Show notes

Scott and James discuss the tradeoffs between investing in real estate and the stock market.

Listener Question

My wife and I just purchased our first home (30-yr fixed, low interest rate, strong housing market in suburbs of a major city). As we start a family, we realize we'll likely need a larger home in 5-8 years. Should we plan to purchase a second, larger home, while maintaining our current home as a rental property (which I assume requires less risky investments today), OR invest more aggressively today and plan to sell our current home when we upgrade (have only one house, no rental). Hoping you can provide a framework to help think through potential returns/tradeoffs of each scenario. For example, how to compare the return on a rental property (appreciation of property value and eventual sale) vs returns if the same money was invested in the market. Also, imagine there is tradeoffs between liquidity of owning a rental vs investing in market.
Our home is worth between $650-700k, interest rate 2.6%. Unclear what rent we could expect, maybe around $3k/month.

Planning Points Discussed

Retirement Planning
Utilizing Time Efficiently
Capital Appreciation
Purchasing Power
Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

3:07 - Liquidity For a Purchase

6:27 - Multiple Mortgages

9:55 - Tax-Writeoffs

12:05 - Home Prices

16:17 - Comparing Stock Market v. Real Estate

18:22 - Net Worth

21:08 - Desire For Simplicity

LET'S CONNECT!

James

Facebook LinkedIn Website

Scott

Facebook Twitter Website

ENJOY THE SHOW?

Don’t miss an episode, subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google Play.

Leave us a review on iTunes.

Have a money question you want us to answer? Submit one here

141 - How to Rebalance When Tax Implications Are Involved Mar 02, 2022

Show notes

Scott and James discuss how to rebalance when tax implications are involved.

Listener Question

I'm 30 years old and have close to 1/2 million in taxable brokerage accounts. While I was investing, I was not targeting a specific asset allocation, and now realize my portfolio is very heavily concentrated in domestic large cap stock funds. My question is, how do I go about rebalancing to achieve a more diversified portfolio while considering the implications of taxes and market cycles?

Planning Points Discussed

Retirement Planning
Utilizing Time Efficiently
Capital Appreciation
Purchasing Power
Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

3:07 - Tax Planning

6:05 - Volatility Concerns

8:11 - Creative Planning

10:57 - When To Sell

13:30 - Example of Tax Implications

15:48 - Taxable Accounts

17:22 - Gifting For Tax Planning

LET'S CONNECT!

James

Facebook LinkedIn Website

Scott

Facebook Twitter Website

ENJOY THE SHOW?

Don’t miss an episode, subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google Play.

Leave us a review on iTunes.

Have a money question you want us to answer? Submit one here

140 - What Should I Do When I Receive a Large Windfall? Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

Scott and James discuss what to do when you receive a large windfall.

Listener Question

Can you provide (hypothetical) advice on how to handle a financial windfall? My wife and I are in our mid-thirties with one young child. She is a stay-at-home mom while I work in tech. My salary of approximately $130k covers all of our annual expenses in addition to 401k contributions (up to the amount needed to receive full employer matching). We also started contributing to a 529 plan for our son.
We recently came into possession of $2.3M in concentrated stocks and bonds with unrealized capital gains of around $1.5M. Are there any no-brainer moves to make given our new financial position.

Timestamps:

3:08 - Windfall Introduction

5:16 - Cost Basis Impact

7:21 - What Matters Most?

9:48 - Life Goals

12:22 - It's Not About Perfect

16:02 - Value of Diversification

17:18 - Aligning Your Values With Your Goals

LET'S CONNECT!

James

Facebook LinkedIn Website

Scott

Facebook Twitter Website

ENJOY THE SHOW?

Don’t miss an episode, subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google Play.

Leave us a review on iTunes.

Have a money question you want us to answer? Submit one here

139 - What's the Best Way to Become a Financial Planner? Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

Scott and James discuss the best way to become a financial planner.

Listener Question

I was wondering if you could talk about the career path of a financial planner, more specifically a CFP who is an independent RIA. I am a college student studying finance looking to become a CFP, there seems to be many paths to take and it is a little confusing. Any tips on how to get valuable experience whether through summer internships or part time work in school?

Planning Points Discussed

Retirement Planning
Utilizing Time Efficiently
Capital Appreciation
Purchasing Power
Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

3:07 - Various Advisor Industries

4:40 - Scott's Introduction To Finance

7:02 - James Introduction To Finance

10:33 - It's More Than The Money

13:30 - Understanding The Textbook

16:05 - What Is An Associate Advisor?

19:51 - Who's The Right Fit?

24:30 - Transparency

27:28 - Aligining Your Financial Goals

LET'S CONNECT!

James

Facebook LinkedIn Website

Scott

Facebook Twitter Website

ENJOY THE SHOW?

Don’t miss an episode, subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google Play.

Leave us a review on iTunes.

Have a money question you want us to answer? Submit one here

138 - How Do I Balance Retirement Savings with Debt Paydown? Feb 09, 2022

Show notes

Scott and James discuss how to balance retirement savings with debt paydown.

Listener Question

I'm 36 years old with a wife, a 2.5 year old and hopefully a second child in the near future. I currently have a job with a non-matched 403b but it also currently offers a pension (and hopefully still will when I retire in 25-30 years). My wife's employer offers a matching 403b. I currently contribute 15% per pay period into my 403b and my wife about 11%. I’ve been working a few years longer than her and excluding my current 403b account, I have about $75k in an IRA from previous 401k rollovers (post-college thru taking my current job in the summer of 2018). I still have about $45k remaining in principle student loans at 4.35% fixed (8 years left on a 10-year refi loan). I graduated college in 2007 and have been paying my student loans every month since then. My current min monthly payment is $575. Does it make sense to cash out my IRA/rollover account and finally just payoff my student loan, pay off a small amount of credit card debt from a trip we took to Hawaii a few years ago, and ultimately free up some cash to increase my monthly 403b contribution, and build our emergency fund back up to a healthy level, especially as the cost of living increases and we plan to add another child to our family? Or is it absolutely insane to throw away $75k saved over the previous 10 years of my career?

Planning Points Discussed

Retirement Planning
Utilizing Time Efficiently
Capital Appreciation
Purchasing Power
Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

3:57 - Listener Question

4:56 - Pension Income

7:28 - Tax Implications

11:29- Paying Down Debt

14:18 - Refinancing Knowledge

16:22 - Unknown Expenses

19:08 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

LET'S CONNECT!

James

Facebook LinkedIn Website

Scott

Facebook Twitter Website

ENJOY THE SHOW?

Don’t miss an episode, subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google Play.

Leave us a review on iTunes.

Have a money question you want us to answer? Submit one here

137 - What Do People Do For Health Insurance If They Retire Early? Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

Scott and James discuss what people do for health insurance if they retire early.

Listener Question

I'm a 48 year old single woman who wants to retire in my mid 50's (or sooner) I have about $400,000 in investments of which only about 12% is in after tax savings I just started a new job making with bonus about $105,000 a year previously only made 55,000 my plan is to live on half my new income. I now max out my 401k, hsa, & Roth IRa and put the rest in my after tax brokerage (which was unable to do in the past). My FIRE # is 1.5 million my question is do you feel I have good plan and what do people do for health insurance if they retire in there mid 50's?

Planning Points Discussed

Retirement Planning
Utilizing Time Efficiently
Capital Appreciation
Purchasing Power
Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

3:57 - FIRE #

6:02 - Financial Planning Expenses

8:04 - Balancing Goals

10:25 - Early Retirement

16:54 - Time & Freedom

19:28 - Health Subsidies

22:05 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

LET'S CONNECT!

James

Facebook LinkedIn Website

Scott

Facebook Twitter Website

ENJOY THE SHOW?

Don’t miss an episode, subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google Play.

Leave us a review on iTunes.

Have a money question you want us to answer? Submit one here

136 - Should I Save to a Deferred Compensation Plan After Maxing Out Everything Else? Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

Scott and James discuss if you should save to a Deferred Compensation Plan after maxing out everything else.

Listener Question

My question is about non-qualified deferred compensation plans. I already max out my 401(k), megaback door (while we still can), Roth backdoor conversations, HSA, FSA, ESPP plan and my wife's SEP IRA and Roth. For the remaining cash I've typically invested in taxable accounts in dividend stocks for future income, but most recently have started using my company NCDC plan for part of salary and bonus. We are 50 YO and plan to retire in 10 years and elected a 10 year payout to minimize taxes in these remaining high earning years. There is also a likely chance that I change jobs every 2-3 years at this point which would potential trigger early distributions.

What are your thoughts on NCDC plans and the distributions?

Planning Points Discussed