We were privileged to have so many clients, family, and friends join us to celebrate our 20th Annual Holiday Breakfast. As is our tradition, we rang in the season with great food, inspiring entertainment, and our Market and Economic Outlook Presentations for 2018.

In my presentation, I gave a brief overview of recent global turbulence as it related to fluctuations within the market.

At the end of the year the whole internet goes into list-making mode with lists for best movies, best TV shows, best songs, biggest political events and so on. I couldn’t help getting into the spirit a bit myself, so here’s my “Top 3” list of questions that clients and listeners have asked my team at Keen Wealth in 2017:

1. How much money do I need to retire?
2. How do I need to adjust my portfolio because of what’s happening right now in the news?
3. What are Bitcoin and blockchain? Should I start investing in them?

I think we’ve done a good job covering the first two questions in previous episodes this year. So on today’s show, I’m going to cross the final big question of 2017 off my list and talk about Bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies – definitions, pros and cons, broader applications, and what moves, if any, you should consider as an investor.

Last week the Keen Wealth leadership team took a trip to Chicago for the Charles Schwab IMPACT® Conference. One of the biggest gatherings in the financial services industry, it is designed to educate attendees on new technologies, trends, and navigating hot-button issues. There were dozens of sessions, hundreds of vendors, and vast opportunities to learn.

And Schwab put together an incredible lineup of speakers this year: former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Washington insider (and Keen On Retirement podcast guest) Greg Valliere, Not Impossible Labs Founder and CEO Mick Ebeling, and best-selling author Michael Lewis (Moneyball, The Big Short), just to name a few.

It’s inspiring to hear people who are at the top of their professions give their perspectives on big issues in business, politics, science, and culture. And it’s fun and a privilege to be surrounded by industry peers at invitation-only events like this and like the Barron’s Top Advisors Summit each year. But even more, I believe attendance is an important professional obligation. Our clients at Keen Wealth trust us to help them make the most informed decisions possible about their long-term financial futures. To do that, my team has to stay current on the important trends that are shaping fiscal policy, technology, economic trends and the wider world.

On today’s show, I’m joined by Keen Wealth’s Matt Wilson and Sarah Tipping as we reflect on the key big picture trends we saw emerging from this year’s Schwab IMPACT® Conference, and how those trends might impact your financial planning in 2018 and beyond.

2017 just hasn’t gotten any easier, has it? After ten months of natural disasters, internet hacks, political tumult, and celebrity scandal, I know I’m not the only one looking forward to the start of the holiday season for some much-needed light at the end of the tunnel.

Hard as it’s been sometimes this year, my team at Keen Wealth always keeps its eyes on the big picture when we’re managing our clients’ money. And just last month, many of us in the financial industry were looking back at an infamous anniversary: October 19, 1987, aka “Black Monday” – the biggest one-day percentage drop in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Thirty years later, there’s a lot that Black Monday can teach us about market volatility, and long-term retirement planning. So, on today’s show, we open up the listener mailbag and apply the lessons of Black Monday to some important retirement questions.

I believe that your retirement equation breaks down into three parts: things that you have total control over (such as how much you save and where you put those savings and investments); things you have some control over (how long you work); and things that you have no control over (short-term market returns, government policy).

Your retirement spending is a big focal point when we’re working with our clients at Keen Wealth. This process may initially feel restrictive at times, but approached prudently, we have found this to be one of the most fun and exciting pieces of the planning process. On today’s show, we discuss four important spending considerations that should factor into your retirement plan.

It happened again!

The recent breach at Equifax is the third major cybersecurity disaster of 2017. WannaCry and Petya round out the “big three” that have gained widespread media attention. On top of that, earlier this month we found out that the Yahoo breach from 2013 was far worse than the company thought – 3 BILLION users had their accounts compromised!

Over the summer I wrote a blog about how these kinds of hacks and scams are becoming more common, and way more sophisticated. But luckily people are doing a better job of educating themselves about cybersecurity threats as well.

At Keen Wealth, we try to do our part to keep our clients and listeners informed about the latest online threats. On today’s show we discuss how the Equifax breach happened, and offer some simple but effective cybersecurity tips that will help protect your info, and your money.

Maybe the scariest thing about the 2017 hurricane season is that it’s not over yet. It’s hard to imagine dealing with anything more destructive than Harvey, Irma, and Maria this year, but historically, some of the strongest storms have hit the U.S. in October and November. And add in the devastation from the recent large-scale earthquakes, it’s clear that the strain Mother Nature has put on our disaster prep and response services will continue for some time.

In life, as in finance, the best way to deal with problems is to get out ahead of them. On today’s show, Shawn Tipping and Bob Harris from Game Plan Experts join us to discuss what lessons in disaster prep families can learn from this year’s record-breaking weather, and how thinking ahead can fortify your financial planning as well.

Your vacation is over, your kids are back in school … Time to pack up your swimsuit and eclipse glasses and get back to working on that nest egg!

Fall always seems to spark a renewed sense of focus in my clients at Keen Wealth, so for today’s show, we thought it would be a good time to answer three big retirement questions from our listeners. 2017 continues to be a rough-and-tumble year, and when we’re talking about your money, it’s always a good idea to cut through the chatter on the news and the internet, and focus on the facts that really matter.

A year ago, on this podcast, we were discussing how the upcoming 2016 presidential election might affect the economy. Then, at the beginning of 2017, my clients and listeners wanted to know if the surprising “Trump rally” was for real, and how the new administration’s plans might affect taxes and popular retirement-planning tools. Now, my clients are asking: “Has the ‘Trump rally’ peaked? Is there something I can do to take advantage? Do I need to prepare my investments for a big correction?”

You’ll have to forgive me if I’m feeling a little nostalgic this week, but like many of you, I’m in the process of packing up my son for college. In just the last 18 years of Devin’s life, the world has changed so dramatically.

That got me thinking about my Great Aunt Nina, born in 1901, who lived a full and eventful 100 years. It’s truly amazing to think about all the incredible things Aunt Nina saw in the course of her lifetime. But I also think that looking back can provide some perspective, and some reassurance, to anyone worried about the future.