This week’s theme is millionaire habits. Paying attention to the habits, behaviors, and attitudes of the most successful among us can teach us something about how to reach and maintain a financially secure retirement.

There’s this video on YouTube that I’ve watched over and over again. It’s a compilation of a bunch of quotes from motivational speakers set to music. I like to watch it when I need a little inspiration.

One of the quotes in the video is “The average millionaire has made 10,000 good decisions. That’s meticulous. The rest of us are just sloppy.”

I tried searching for the author of this quote in google, but it came up inconclusive. If you know who this is, please leave a review on iTunes or Alexa and let me know who it is.

Ok, so back to the quote. 10,000 good decisions. If you think about it and look back on your life, the windy path that got you to where you are today was marked by many decisions. Your decisions shape your outcomes in life.

How good are you at making decisions?

Do you weigh the risks along with the upside of every important decision? Are you able to make logical decisions and remove your biases? Are your decisions based on seeking pleasure today or are you willing to make a decision that delays your gratification?

Making decisions is hard. We all have baggage and biases that cause us to make bad decisions all the time.

But successful people understand that their decisions today will impact their lives tomorrow, and that awareness helps them make better decisions.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening.

Tomorrow we’re going to talk about the worst question you could ask yourself when planning a big purchase.

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

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, millionaire habits, what millionaires do, how most millionaires are made, rich habits, building wealth, wealth building ideas, how to build wealth, get rich, positive habits, delay gratification, delayed gratification, 10,000 good decisions, how to make better decisions

This week’s theme is millionaire habits. The habits, behaviors, and attitudes of the most successful among us can teach us something about how to reach and maintain a financially secure retirement. So this week, I’m focusing on the millionaire habits that I observe most often among my clients.

Back in December when the stock market was in free fall before Christmas, I spent more time than usual talking to clients with rattled nerves.

But during that month, I didn’t have a single client call who begged me to get them out and sell everything. Most of the clients I talked to were concerned, having lost thousands of dollars that month alone, yet they took it in stride.

Part of what makes a successful investor, successful, is their ability not to let fear dictate their investment decisions.

Someone who panicked and sold before Christmas when the market was plunging also missed the single biggest point gain in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average - up 1,086 points on December 26th. And then they missed the day after that when the Dow was up big again!

In fact, some of the best days in the stock market’s history have come shortly after big drops.

You have zero control over the events of the economy & the stock market, but you have complete control over your reaction to those external events. So the next time you’re tempted to panic sell, think about the last time you’ve met a millionaire market timer.

Yeah, I’ve never met one either.

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

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, millionaire habits, what millionaires do, how most millionaires are made, rich habits, building wealth, wealth building ideas, how to build wealth, get rich, positive habits, december 2018 stock market crash, dow jones industrial average, fear and greed

This week’s theme is millionaire habits. The habits, behaviors, and attitudes of the most successful among us can teach us something about how to reach and maintain a financially secure retirement.

Today’s tip is all about how baseball can help you be a better investor. Let me explain.

First of all, let me just say that I know next to nothing about baseball. But I do know that baseball isn’t just about smashing home runs. It’s also about strategy and hitting base hits when the situation calls for it to get other players into scoring position.

The same is true with investing. Too many investors aren’t successful because they ignore base hit opportunities...all the while, wildly swinging at every pitch and praying for a home run. But all it leads to is strike after strike.

Hitting base hits isn’t as fun as hitting home runs, and it requires more patience, but investors can build serious wealth by patiently sticking with base hits, knowing that if they are patient, they will likely hit a few home runs along the way too.

This means sticking with a boring, diversified portfolio and not chasing the hot stock tip of the day, or betting everything on the next big trend.

I rarely have a client come to me with a hot stock tip; something that they must buy because they don’t want to miss the boat, and I think it’s for good reason.

Most of our clients are successful at investing because they patiently pursue base hits, and don’t let greed, or fear of missing out cloud their good judgement.

That’s it for today! Thanks for listening. Tomorrow we’re going to talk about why I’ve never met a millionaire market timer.

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

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, millionaire habits, what millionaires do, how most millionaires are made, rich habits, building wealth, wealth building ideas, how to build wealth, get rich, positive habits, fear of missing out, how to be a successful investor

This week’s theme is millionaire habits. The habits, behaviors, and attitudes of the most successful among us can teach us something about how to reach and maintain a financially secure retirement.

The most common millionaire habit that I see among my clients is that they save and invest first. In other words, they make sure that they set aside money in savings and retirement accounts before they pay their mortgage and their other bills.

This is the exact opposite of what most Americans do. Most people pay everyone else first, and pay themselves last. When all you get is the scraps and leftovers, it’s much harder to build wealth. It also leads to inconsistent savings habits. Some months you might save and other months you don’t. Then your retirement and financial future is left to chance.

The good news is that if you have a 401k or similar retirement plan through work, you’re already paying yourself first.

But, if you are currently paying yourself last, you can flip the switch by setting up automatic transfers from your checking account into your savings and retirement accounts. Setup the auto-transfer within a couple days of your paycheck hitting your bank account. It’s a simple way to make sure you pay yourself first, and pay yourself consistently every single month.

That’s it for today, thanks for listening! I can’t wait to hang out with you again tomorrow, where I’m going to share with you how baseball can help you be a better investor.

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

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, millionaire habits, what millionaires do, how most millionaires are made, rich habits, building wealth, wealth building ideas, how to build wealth, get rich, positive habits, pay yourself first, pay yourself first definition

This week’s theme is millionaire habits. The habits, behaviors, and attitudes of the most successful among us can teach us something about how to reach and maintain a financially secure retirement.

Many of the clients I work with have a 7 to 8-figure net worth. Most of my millionaire clients have not inherited their wealth, but they’ve achieved affluence through a combination of hard work, consistency, strong habits and good decisions.

Each day this week I’m going to share with what I’ve learned over the last 11 years, working with my affluent clients.

I strongly believe that your choices and habits determine your success and failure in life.

Just like maintaining a fit body and a healthy weight...It doesn’t happen by accident. If you want to look good, you have to exercise and eat healthy. It’s simple, yet hard to do because it requires discipline and consistency.

Building wealth is no different. So this week, I’m going to focus on the habits and behaviors that I beleive are the most influential, along with some practical advice on how you can get started building better habits if you’re not yet where you want to be.

Before you go, please leave a review and comment in Alexa or iTunes. Your feedback means a lot to me. Also, if there’s a retirement topic you want me to cover, let me know in the comments as well.

That’s it for today, thanks for listening! I can’t wait to hang out with you again tomorrow where I’m going to share with you the most common millionaire habit I seen in nearly every one of my clients.

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

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, millionaire habits, what millionaires do, how most millionaires are made, rich habits, building wealth, wealth building ideas, how to build wealth, get rich, positive habits

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

This week’s tips were aimed at helping you better organize your financial life.

If you didn’t catch all of the episodes this week, here’s what we covered:

• An overview of how to start the process of organizing your financial life
• Why a personal financial inventory is the easiest and quickest way to boost your financial organization prowess.
• What to keep and what to shred (and what you should keep forever)
• And...How to keep your financial documents organized and secure

If you missed any of these episodes, you can find them on iTunes by searching for the “One Minute Retirement Tip with Ashley”.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for listening.

I can’t wait to hang out with you again tomorrow morning, where we’re going to start a brand new theme: The core principles to abide by if you want to be a successful investor for the long-term. The habits, behaviors, and attitudes of the most successful investors can teach you something about how to reach and maintain a financially secure retirement.

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

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, organizing financial documents, financial management, document management, go paperless, financial organizer, what to do with old statements, how long to keep records, how long do you keep bank statements, how long to keep investment statements, how long should I keep tax returns, financial inventory, personal financial inventory spreadsheet

One important thing that you’ll want to take some time to really reflect on is: what organizational system works for you to keep all of your financial documents organized?

As a type A, OCD kinda person, with a former professional organizer as my mother, I know a thing or two about organizing things. I used to rearrange the furniture in my room because I thought it was fun. Instead of playing with my Barbies, I would just stage the furniture in their home.

There are 3 main organizational systems that work for financial documents:

1. A binder system - visual and convenient, it also forces you to keep your files from expanding, unless you want to keep buying more binders.
2. Files and a filing cabinet - also visual, but you must be consistent in your labeling to ensure that your filing system works well
3. Scan and file - ah, ok - I am technically a millennial, so I like the idea of scanning documents. The beauty of the scanning system is that you can store and find information quickly, while getting rid of all the papers you have! A win-win!

I’m a big proponent of the scanning method. I haven’t adopted it at home, but we use it at True North, and it makes it so easy to find documents. The other thing I love about scanning is that it allows you to purge and shred the originals, so you don’t have to keep storing so much paper.

Just make sure that if you save your important files to your computer that you password protect your computer and take the necessary security measures to ensure those documents remain safe. Also, be sure to backup your files, which you can do with a secure cloud storage system. That way, if your computer is irreparably damaged, you won’t lose all of your records.

That’s it for today. Tomorrow, we’re going to recap the week and I’m going to give you a little preview of next week’s theme.

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

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, organizing financial documents, financial management, document management, go paperless, financial organizer, what to do with old statements, how long to keep records, how long do you keep bank statements, how long to keep investment statements, how long should I keep tax returns, financial inventory, personal financial inventory spreadsheet

This week’s tips are aimed at helping you better organize your financial life, and today I’m tackling one of the most common question that I get: “Ashley, how long should I keep all of my financial documents?”

That’s a really good question! Yesterday, I talked about what you can shred, so today I’m going to focus on what you should keep.

One of the most common questions on what to keep revolves around your taxes. How long should you keep your tax records?:

7 years is a good rule for keeping your tax records. It’s a good idea to keep annual tax filings, 1099s, and other tax forms for 7 years. Keep them in a file by year, then just cycle out the file every 7 years.

For your investment accounts, keep your annual summaries. I like keeping all of the year-end summaries, going back indefinitely, especially for taxable accounts where it matters knowing when you bought something and what you paid.

Speaking of when you bought something...

I also advise clients to keep trade confirmation statements forever. You may have bought a stock back in 1991, you still own it, and it has a massive gain. You’ll want to know what day you purchased the stock, at what price, and how many shares you bought to keep accurate records of the stock. Also, if you’ve been investing for a while, you’ve probably received those shareholder class action letters. If you ever want to participate in one of those, you’ll need to show proof of when you purchased the stock, so it’s just a good idea to always hold on to trade confirmations.

If you’re like, “crap! I haven’t held on to any of those things!” That’s ok. Go back to your financial institution or your tax advisor and see if they can send you copies of old tax records, year-end summaries, and trade confirmations that you might be missing.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening.

Tomorrow we’re going to talk about how you can organize and keep track of all of these important documents that you need to hang on to.

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

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, organizing financial documents, financial management, document management, go paperless, financial organizer, what to do with old statements, how long to keep records, how long do you keep bank statements, how long to keep investment statements, how long should I keep tax returns, financial inventory, personal financial inventory spreadsheet

This week’s tips are aimed at helping you better organize your financial life, and today I’m tackling what you don’t need to keep and the financial documents that you can shred.

The good news is that you can get rid of more documents than you might realize.

Here’s some guidance on what you can shred and when:

• Bills - go ahead and shred these when the payment clears
• Credit card and bank account statements - You can shred these after reviewing and verifying that everything looks correct, especially if you have online access to your accounts.
• Paycheck stubs can be shredded after you verify the stubs match your W-2 and there are no other discrepancies
• Investment account statements - your monthly or quarterly statements can be shredded after you receive your annual summary after the close of the year. This one is a big one, because I see clients who keep every monthly statement going back 5, 10, or 20 years, and it’s really not necessary. And when each statement is several pages long, it will really free up space in your files if you just keep the year-end summary.

With online access, you won’t need to keep most things that you can get access to online, so keep that in mind as well.

Once you know what you can shred, you can also get in the habit of shredding more often, so you don’t store things that you don’t need.

Today, my challenge is for you is to start purging anything you’ve been hanging on to that you don’t need. Have a little shredding party and experience the profound cleansing euphoria that happens when you rid yourself of unnecessary documents!

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

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, organizing financial documents, financial management, document management, go paperless, financial organizer, what to do with old statements, how long to keep records, how long do you keep bank statements, how long to keep investment statements, how long should I keep tax returns, financial inventory, personal financial inventory spreadsheet

This week’s tips are aimed at helping you better organize your financial life, and today I’m continuing with yesterday’s theme, which is how to take inventory of your financial accounts. By the way, if you missed yesterday, go back and check it out. Creating a financial inventory is single best thing you can do that will give you a quick win on getting your financial life organized!  

Today’s tip is a continuation of your personal financial inventory. Now that your loved ones and at least 1 trusted contact know where your assets are located, we want to help them get in contact with the right people.

Once you’ve created your financial inventory list, add a list of advisor contacts and their contact info. You’ll want to include your:

• Accountant
• Attorney(s)
• Financial Advisor
• Insurance Agent
• Bank or banker
• Executor, Trustee, & power of attorney
• Employer/HR contact

If you’re looking for a template for your personal financial inventory, Vanguard has a pretty comprehensive pdf template. I’ve linked to it in the show notes on iTunes for todays episode, episode 80:

Your Personal Financial Inventory Template: http://www.vanguard.com/pdf/FM_inventory.pdf

That’s it for today! Thanks for listening. Tomorrow we’re going to have a shredding party, so you get get rid of all that paperwork you don’t need anymore!

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

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, personal financial inventory, financial inventory list, financial inventory spreadsheet, organizing financial documents, financial management, document management, financial organizer