Finerate

Bill and Anastasia take advantage of Anastasia's recent personal experience to talk weddings. How much money do you need to plan a wedding? What vendors do you need and how much do they cost on average? How do you find out if your family will help pay for the wedding? How do you prioritize the cost of a wedding vs. a down payment on a first home? What items are worth spending more on, what are worth spending less on? How do you resolve a situation where your partner prioritizes a decision differently than you? Anastasia discusses takeaways from her experience hosting a wedding during a pandemic.

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

Bill and Anastasia answer questions they have been receiving from individuals recently related to the U.S. stock market downturn in January 2022. Was the market drop a correction and how often does this happen? What does the level of volatility in the market mean for you? Is it time to buy the dip? Why are these questions arising now? Bill and Anastasia also address the recent Bitcoin downturn and what that might mean for crypto moving forward.

With the U.S. national debt over $30 trillion, now may be a good time to check out Creating Wealth's "National Debt" episode if you haven't already.

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

In this follow up to last year's episode, "Forming an Annual Budget," Bill and Anastasia cover more tools that are available for budgeting. What is an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement, and why are these important in creating a budget? Bill and Anastasia also discuss what software programs they prefer to use and tips for those who have gotten a year or more of budgeting under their belts.

For other episodes on budgeting, you can check out "Budgeting," "Spending Control" and "Forming an Annual Budget."

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

When can you retire? What savings rate is needed to achieve a secure retirement? What impact will Social Security have on your retirement? What are the different retirement accounts that may be available to you? How do you balance other life expenses with saving for retirement, and how should you prioritize them? Bill relates his answers to his decades of providing advice to individuals nearing or entering retirement. Anastasia "OK Boomer"s Bill for the first time on this podcast, but don't worry, it was all in good fun.

For those looking to plan ahead for life in retirement, Bill recommends reading What Color is Your Parachute? For Retirement, by John Nelson and Richard Bolles.

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

In practice of having an abundance mindset, Bill and Anastasia return to their end of year tradition in taking stock of what they and others are grateful for in the past year.

A special thanks to those who shared their messages of gratitude with Creating Wealth, and to healthcare workers who continue to save lives.

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

Happy Holidays!

What is an interest rate and why do investors pay close attention to them? In this episode, Bill and Anastasia discuss how interest rates affect stocks, bonds, and how the Federal Reserve's actions impact the broader economy. They cover what is going on with today's interest rates, how that compares to the historical average, and what investors should keep in mind with the Fed's announced interest rate increases for 2022. Bill discusses AMC stock and Anastasia mentions how she guest starred on a friend's Dungeons and Dragons podcast, playing a "financial wizard."

Bill and Anastasia also invite listeners to submit their messages of gratitude for the next and last episode of 2021. You can send in what you are thankful for this year to [email protected] by Thursday, December 16. For an example of how this was done, check out last year's episode "Hindsight is 2020."

To listen to Anastasia's guest star spot on the D&D podcast, check out Adequately Advanced Magic, specifically the Bonus Episodes titled "Taco-y Financial Relations."

This is a continuation of the conversation on investing styles from the previous episode (How Do You Invest?). In this second part, Bill and Anastasia cover several other concepts - sector funds, dollar cost averaging, margin of safety. And investing styles including momentum and contrarian investing. They discuss the importance of where you get your information - Bill shares a few sources he uses to analyze investment opportunities and Anastasia explains why you should take advice from anonymous internet commenters with a grain of salt. They end the discussion with Bill's advice on sticking with an investment style through a full market cycle.

If you haven't listened to the previous episode, "How Do You Invest?" be sure to do so before starting this one.

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

When it comes to investing, what are your guiding principles? Bill and Anastasia discuss several different investing strategies including value vs. growth investing, active vs. passive investing, and using fundamental vs. technical analysis to determine the value of a stock. Bill provides perspective on the current strong bull market and whether value investing is possible right now. He explains what type of investing analysis he prefers to do and how to determine what investing style best suits you.

There was a lot to discuss, so Bill and Anastasia will continue the conversation in the next episode to cover additional popular investing strategies.

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

What are the common obstacles that small business owners face? This is the second of a two-part series on starting and running your own business with special guest speaker, Bob Clements--Cofounder, Partner, and General Counsel of Benchmark Business Group. Part Two covers the obstacles that owners typically face as their business grows: For example, a lack of funds, lack of time, trouble managing employees, and marketing. Bob discusses his practical tips for those seeking to build a lasting business.

Be sure to check out Part One before you dive into this episode. If you are interested in working with Bob on your business, you can find him online at www.benchmarkbusinessgroup.com or by phone: (515) 288-6984.

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

This is a two-part series on starting and running your own business with a special guest speaker, Bob Clements--Cofounder, Partner, and General Counsel of Benchmark Business Group. Part One covers what people should consider if they want to start their own business. Why would an individual prefer to be self-employed vs. work for someone else? In what situations does being self-employed make sense, and when does it not work? Why do so many small businesses fail, and what makes the successful ventures different? Bob explains what business owners should focus on in the beginning stages, informed by his decades of successful business coaching and consulting.

If you are interested in working with Bob on your business, you can find him online at www.benchmarkbusinessgroup.com or by phone: (515) 288-6984.

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].