Break out the calendars and flip the page to October – we’re officially ¾ of the way through 2021! Can you believe it?! Time to dig up those new years resolutions you made for the year and revisit your goals. Did you resolve to save money this year? Commit more to savings? Make significant progress […]

Recently I had my first experience playing Blackjack at a casino.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I don’t tend to gamble, mostly for the reason that winning requires skills, which I have not had the experience to acquire, and in my opinion a hefty dash of luck (although some research out there may […]

We recently helped a business owner who is nearing retirement unwind his company’s work plan. This can happen for several reasons, but it is usually because the business is closing or the plan itself is ending. Either way, it’s important for the participants to know their options and avoid some common pitfalls.

Schools are back in session, and for parents, the tradeoff of having kids at school all day is the added chore of helping kids do their homework at night. When the Yakel kids were in elementary school, it was sort of fun to feel smart helping with 3rd grade spelling or 2nd grade math. But […]

Imagine for a second that you had a little financial fairy godmother sitting on your shoulder, promising to save you money on your healthcare expenses and help lower your taxes all while helping you invest for retirement. It would seem too good to be true, right? Well, here is the best part: that “fairy godmother”

Is there such a thing as overdoing it when it comes to contributing to your 401k / employer sponsored plan?  If you are in the position to be questioning this, then congratulations, that is an excellent place to be financially! Obviously yes, there are limitations as to how much you can put into your 401k […]

TL;DR: more cute dog pics below 😊   Over our 20+ years in the industry, my partner Sarah Yakel and I have heard the refrain ‘I’ll get out of the market now and get back in when things look better’ countless times. In the least accusatory tone possible, that is almost never the right thing […]

The old adage of “Money Can’t Buy Happiness” has been tested in several high profile academic studies—the first major study was in 2010, when a paper was published that showed a correlation between higher household income and increased levels of satisfaction (happiness). That original study showed happiness

Our dog Dude is a reeling ball of energy, not surprising given his breed as a Blue Heeler and their intuitive need to be constantly occupied with a job or a purpose. As of right now we don’t have any field animals for him herd, so by default he has latched onto our two kids […]