How would you like to achieve your wildest dreams? How would you like to accomplish anything? No matter how large... Ok, perhaps that's an exaggeration. After all, I might want to "be richer than Warren Buffet" but that's very unlikely to happen no matter what I do. But I'm talking big goals that are reasonable, though tough: Becoming a c-level executive of a … [Read more...]
Is the Cost of a Financial Advisor Worth It?
A couple months ago I was having lunch with a friend. He's a financial advisor/planner and we talked about his job since he just started with a new company. He told me that their intro financial planning product was a "comprehensive financial plan" that they did for clients to see where they were financially and what help they might need. He said his company offers a … [Read more...]
How to Pass Wealth to Your Kids
Have you ever heard the phrase "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations"? This site notes that other cultures have similar sayings (Japan: “Rice paddies to rice paddies in three generations.” Scotland: “The father buys, the son builds, the grandchild sells, and his son begs.” China: “Wealth never survives three generations.”) and here's how it explains them … [Read more...]
Help ESI Money Move to the Caribbean
That headline got you, didn't it? :) Well, the truth is I do need some advice and thought you would be the perfect ones to ask. Here's our situation: The cold gets to us every winter. It's just too cold for too long. We used to take cruises for 7-10 days in the winter when we lived in Michigan. But with our kids' crazy work schedules, that was not realistic this … [Read more...]
Happy New Year
Here's wishing you all the best in 2017! May your net worth climb to the sky!!!! I'm taking today off to recover from the holidays, but I'll be back in a few days with new articles on how to make the most of your money. Several January posts will be reviews of how I did financially in different areas in 2016, so you're not going to want to miss those. For those of you … [Read more...]
Merry Christmas
Just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!! I hope those of you who celebrate Christmas have a wonderful holiday weekend. I'm taking off today and the weekend to be with family and hope you are doing something just as pleasant! I'll be back on Monday with a new money article. See you then! photo credit: brx0 wreath via photopin (license) … [Read more...]
Considering Giving
We spend most of the time here at ESI Money talking about how to grow our net worths -- the steps we can take steps to become wealthier. Today I'm going to shift gears a bit and cover a topic that often gets left out of financial blogs, but needs to be discussed. As you might tell from the headline, I'm talking about giving. It's a topic that is especially appropriate at … [Read more...]
Great Gifts for the Holidays
If you're like me, every year you struggle to find holiday gifts for those on your list. I must have a solid 50% of my gift list who I would call hard to buy for. So with that in mind, I thought I'd offer you some suggestions (along with my thoughts) on items you might want to consider this holiday season. I've broken them into groups by theme just to make reviewing them … [Read more...]
Happy Thanksgiving
Just wanted to wish all ESI Money readers a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are enjoying a day full of family, food, fun, and football. I know I am! I'll have a post tomorrow for those of you who aren't heading out to shop with the hordes. I gave that up myself many years ago. I'll just concentrate on relaxing and cruising Amazon. Have an AWESOME … [Read more...]
Playing Financial Chess, Part 2 (Three Phases of Wealth)
Yes, I'm a chess nerd. But in the worst sort of way. I love chess but am terrible at it. At least compared to most people who consider it a hobby. That's because I usually only play blitz chess, a quick version where the time allowed to move is severely limited. The long version just takes too much time for me. Which makes me not a great player as I'm not a deep, strategic … [Read more...]
