It’s Sunday, which means...It’s recap time! 

This week, I talked about 5 things I’m going to teach my kids about money. I have a 5 year old, a 2 year old, and another one coming in September, and since I help people save, invest, and retire with confidence, and I do that for a living day in and day out, I’ve thought a lot about the important life lessons that I want to teach my kids to set them up for success in life when it comes to their relationship with money.

As I mentioned earlier this week, what I plan to teach my kids and what I have been teaching them about money places the highest priority on teaching gratitude, responsibility, delayed gratification, incentives, investing, saving, and giving. 

The bottom line here is that Money is an instrument for good or evil, not good or evil on its own. Some people say “money is the root of all evil”. That comes from the bible, but its a misnomer, because the actual translation from the King James version of the bible says: “The LOVE of money is the root of all evil”, which is obviously very different. 

So I believe that money is a powerful tool for teaching children essential skills and moral values about money’s proper place and how to be responsible with their money, and that’s what the lessons for my kids are based on. 

Here’s what we covered in each episode this week:

• Give and save before you spend
• A twist on money doesn’t grow on trees
• Money is earned, not a birthright
• Debt is a prison to be avoided, not a means to fund a lifestyle
• And lastly, the rule of 72

Hopefully, after listening to the One Minute Retirement Tip this week, you picked up a couple of ideas and principles that can help you in shaping your child’s healthy relationship with money. It’s never too late to start teaching your kids, especially if they are still under your roof at home. 

If you missed any of these episodes or if you want to revisit any of them, you can find them on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play by searching for the “One Minute Retirement Tip with Ashley”. If you want more in-depth videos on retirement planning specifically for business owners and entrepreneurs, check out my YouTube channel - True North Retirement.

Tomorrow, we are starting a brand new theme: Stress test your retirement. I’ll talk about scenarios you’ll want to run on your retirement plan to see if it can take the heat. You can just plan for retirement hoping for the best, so I’ll talk about some smart scenarios you can throw at your existing retirement plan - like will you be okay if your social security checks get cut or if inflation is higher than you planned for. I’ll talk about the most common and important stress tests you can run on your retirement, next week. 

That’s it for this week! Thanks for listening and I hope you have a blessed Sunday! 

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the “One Minute Retirement Tip”.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m talking 5 things I’m going to teach my kids about money. 

Today, is the only lesson about investing that I’m sharing this week, and in my opinion it’s the most important lesson you can teach your kids about investing. And older kids, especially ones who like math, will really enjoy learning this lesson. It’s the rule of 72. The Rule of 72 is a simple way to determine how long an investment will take to double given a annual rate of return. By dividing 72 by the annual rate of return, you can get a rough estimate of how many years it will take for your investment to double in value.

So for example, let’s say you are looking at investing you money in a savings account or the stock market.  A savings account that pays 2% over it’s lifetime will take 36 years for that investment to double in value. 72 divided by the 2% rate of return = 36, so it will take 36 years to double in value. Yikes! 

On the other hand, you could invest in a diversified stock portfolio that we expect to earn 8%. Using the rule of 72, you divide 72 by 8, and you get 9 years. Only 9 years to double your money compared to 36 with the “safe” savings account. 

The rule of 72 illustrates how rates of return apply in the real world. Many people struggle to translate a return of 2% or a credit card annualized interest rate of 24% into real numbers, and understanding the rule of 72 helps kids and adults alike understand this important concept.

Importantly, the rule of 72 also shows the consequences of being too conservative with your investments and stashing it under the mattress, which is a mistake that I see many young people make when I’m working with them through their company’s 401k plan where I serve as their plan’s advisor. 

Once you understand the rule of 72, kids can be taught about the power of compound interest, which is something I like to call the 8th wonder of the world. Compound interest is a big part why the rich get richer, since as wealth grows, it accelerates and grows like a snowball gathering snow as it barrels down the hill. It’s also responsible for why people struggle to dig out of the hole they’re in when debts increase. 

So teach your kids about the rule of 72. It’s a fun way to use math and apply it to the real world to help them understand compounding interest and the power of growth on their investments. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m sharing with you 5 things I’m going to teach my kids about money. Today’s money lesson for my kids is debt is a prison to be avoided, not a means to fund a lifestyle. 

Between student loans and access to credit cards, most young adults become burdened with at least some debt before they fully understand what that debt will mean for them over the long-term and how they’re going to go about paying it off. 

In addition to credit card debt and student loans, many young Americans add car loans and a mortgage to the debt load by the time they’re 30. Then throw in the expense of a couple kids and it’s no wonder that 40% of Americans have virtually no emergency savings and 15% of us have nothing at all saved for retirement.

So what can we do as parents to prepare our kids for life in the real world and help them understand that debt all too often becomes a prison? There are lots of ways you can teach your children about debt, but one of the things that we’ll be implementing in our family is that at a certain age, our children will be expected to pay for large, discretionary purchases that they can’t afford through work and/or loans. Loans for new purchases that they can’t afford to buy on their own that will include interest and repayment schedules.

If you think it’s harsh to play the banker to your children, repaying a loan teaches several important lessons about debt. First of all, you can calculate and show them the ongoing repayment schedules so they can see in advance how those loan repayments will impact their cash flow and their ability to buy other things, since their money is spoken for and they must pay the bank first. Second, you can show them how interest payments increase the overall cost of the purchase, and third, they can learn to be resourceful to work for pay to pay off the loan sooner.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m sharing with you 5 things I’m going to teach my kids about money. Today’s money lesson for my kids is perhaps one of the most important lessons you could ever teach your children about money - regardless of life’s circumstances and social class, and that is: money is earned, it’s not a birthright. 

Many children today don't grow up learning the dignity of work and earning money. Everything from basic needs to clothes, new shoes, toys, bikes, phones, etc is purchased for them 100%. When we give our children these things without giving them an opportunity to learn the value of working for these possessions, and when we deprive them of the pride that comes with purchasing and caring for those things, we do them a tremendous disservice. 

Instead, by expecting children to work for pay and purchase many of their own things they are taught to be responsible, to be grateful for what they do have, and are less likely to fall victim to one of the worst vices plaguing many Americans today - materialism. 

In practice, this translates to several parenting choices: 

1. Children must work and do age appropriate chores around the house to earn their weekly allowance, which if you heard my earlier tip this week, it’s a whopping $1/week for my 5 year old, but that will grow with time as her responsibilities around the house grow and she takes on more. 
2. If my 5 year old wants to buy something at the store when we go shopping, she needs to bring her own money and pick out something to buy herself that she can afford. I will occasionally buy my kids a treat when we’re at the store, but that’s an exception, rather than the rule. This has already paid tremendous dividends, because my kids never whine about something that they want when we are out shopping and it saves me a lot of aggravation. 
3. And 3rd, outside of special occasions like birthdays and holidays, I rarely buy my kids new toys and new stuff. So they aren’t conditioned to expect new things all the time, and when they want something, especially something big like a bike, they know they have to wait until their birthday to get a bike. 

If you still have kids at home, teaching them through your actions and parenting choices that money is earned, and it’s not a birthright is one of the most valuable life lessons you can teach them. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m sharing with you 5 things I’m going to teach my kids about money. Today’s money lesson for my kids is a twist on one of the most annoying lessons that almost all of us hear as kids. If you’ve ever asked your mom or dad to buy you something they couldn’t afford, you’ve mostly heard them bark back - “don’t you know that money doesn’t grow on trees!” 

What I’m planning to teach my kids is a slightly less annoying lesson with the same underlying principle: Money used in one way prevents it from being used for something else. 

Money is a limited resource, so when we use it in one way it prevents it for being used for something else. If I spend $5 every day on a latte and $500 eating out every month, I may not be able to afford to take a vacation this year. The daily latte and frequent restaurant visits isn’t inherently wrong, but I better make those decisions to spend my money in that way, because I get more satisfaction from spending my money in that way vs. sitting on a beach in Hawaii for a week. 

With the guiding principle in understanding that money is a limited resource, and when you use it in one way, it prevents it for using something else, something else that could potentially be more important. 

Spending decisions (even the seemingly inconsequential daily spending decisions on a little something here and there) should be subject to the scrutiny of this understanding of what am I missing out on or is there a higher or better use for my money that what I’m choosing to spend it on. 

Learning this principle will also reinforce one of the most important life lessons that any child can learn - delayed gratification. If my kids learn to discern whether or not a current use is more valuable than a future use, they’ll be able to apply the value of delayed gratification. 

Money is a powerful tool for teaching delayed gratification, and understanding money as a limited resource that doesn’t grow on trees and something that must be used wisely, will establish a foundation for your children for making smart, well thought out decisions in everything from money to relationships to their health.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m sharing with you 5 things I’m going to teach my kids about money. I have 2 young children and a 3rd on the way, so there are some things I need to wait until later to teach my kids, but one of the first things you can begin to teach your kids, even when they’re toddlers, is today’s lesson: Give and save before you spend. 

More specifically, I am teaching my kids about how to allocate their piggy bank funds into 3 categories - giving, saving, & spending. My daughter receives a whopping $1/week in allowance, and she receives that allowance in dimes. We’ve taught her to allocate 10% to giving, 10% to saving, and the rest she can split as she chooses. 

To help keep this visual and easier to understand for young kids, there are a lot of compartmentalized piggy banks that will allow your kids to separate the funds on their own. It’s important to me that my kids prioritize giving and saving, rather than just hoarding all their money for themselves. If you have older kids, there are a lot of apps and tools out there to let them create the same buckets in their bank account or online wallet separate their funds in the same way. 

Allocating their allowance builds a foundation for kids to be generous in serving the poor, delaying gratification and saving up for larger purchases, as well as establishing ratios for saving and giving that will be important for them to continue into adulthood. 

On top of that, research shows that being generous makes you happier, and I see that in action as my daughter lights up when she gets to contribute her giving funds to the collection basket at church or when she gets to help me buy a toy for a needy child at Christmas. She is so happy that that little boy or girl had a more joyful Christmas because of her generosity, and she already has a big heart for the poor even though she isn’t in Kindergarten and can’t yet read. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

Welcome to a new week and a new theme here on the One Minute Retirement Tip! 

This week I’m talking about 5 things I’m going to teach my kids about money. I have a 5 ½ year old, a 2 ½ year old, and a 3rd on the way, arriving in September.  If you still have kids at home or even if you have grandkids, hopefully you’ve taught them a few principles about money through your words and your actions. 

Too many young adults are released into adulthood with no clue how to handle money the right way. Few parents and few schools teach the next generation this critical life skill, and yet the world is eager to create materialistic, debt-loving consumers. So instilling the right money values are vitally important from both a practical and a moral standpoint. 

Now I have to warn you, my views on money are somewhat counter-cultural, so you’ll hear a different perspective than your typical advice for teaching kids about money. My views on money are also highly influenced by my faith, so you’ll see biblical principles threaded through these tips as well. As a side note, if you are a Christian yourself, I highly recommend that you read the book Money, Possessions, and Eternity, by Randy Alcorn. This book serves as the most comprehensive guide I’ve ever read about what the bible says about money. This book changed my life, and has had a massive influence on the principles that guide our family’s decisions about: Lifestyle, Income, & Work, Giving, Wealth & Estate Transfer, and the topic of this week’s tips - what I plan to teach my kids about money. 

What I plan to teach my kids about money places the highest priority on teaching gratitude, responsibility, delayed gratification, incentives, investing, saving, and giving, and I’ll be addressing all of these principles in this week’s tips. Money is a powerful tool for teaching young people about so many important life lessons and values that will serve them well throughout life, so if you have kids still at home or even grandkids, I hope you’ll benefit from the tips and ideas that I’ll be sharing this week. 

That’s it for today, but before you go...If you haven’t already left a review for the One Minute Retirement Tip, please consider leaving an honest review in Amazon or iTunes. I read them all, so feel free to leave any feedback or topic suggestions there too. 

Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m talking about some of the best and most unique financial planning opportunities available during this coronavirus crisis. There are several tried-and-true opportunities that present themselves in nearly every crisis and market downturn, but there are also several that are unique to this current crisis.

Today I’m talking about one of those unique opportunities that has presented itself during this current crisis. If you have kids in college, who have received tuition refunds because they’re not in school right now, you can actually re-invest those refunds back into a 529 plan. If you receive a refund for funds paid from a 529 plan, you have 60 days to roll those funds back into a 529 plan. 

The advantage of doing this is that you could reinvest those funds at lower values because the stock market has dropped or if you’re going to take the funds back out within a few months, even just putting the money into short-term bonds to earn some interest while you wait and see when they’ll be able to return to school is a good plan, because any earnings and growth will be tax free. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m talking about some of the best and most unique financial planning opportunities available during this coronavirus crisis. There are several tried-and-true opportunities that present themselves in nearly every crisis and market downturn, but there are also several that are unique to this current crisis.

Today I’m talking about perhaps the most tried-and-true opportunities that exist in every stock market and economic downturn - the opportunity to invest while the market is low and while bargains abound. 

But how do you actually go about doing that? Well, first of all you have to have the funds to do it. So if you have excess funds in cash or in your bank account that aren’t earmarked for emergencies or what’s needed for a small cash stockpile, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get that cash to work! 

You could also rotate already invested money out of bonds and other investments and into stocks if it makes sense in your situation. 

But when you have cash to invest we want to get that invested. There are 2 ways to go about that. You could throw a dart and hope that the market doesn’t get worse from here and invest it all at once. Or and especially if you have a lot of cash on the sidelines, it’s prudent to invest gradually over a period of 3-6 months. That way if the market drops further you sidestepped some losses, but still got that cash to work while the stock market was going through it’s bottoming process. You could invest gradually over a longer period than 3-6 months, but that of course is up to you. 

The key is that you put a plan in place to get that cash to work that doesn’t include the losing strategy of waiting until things look better before you invest. If you wait until you see blue skies, the stock market is likely to be much higher by then and you’ll have missed a massive opportunity. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast