While it’s true that saving for college is easier the earlier you start, all hope is not lost if you waited a few years to get started. Despite the rising cost of a four-year degree, it’s still an important asset for climbing the career ladder in most professional settings.

Paying for college is a financial goal for many parents but with an 18-year savings timeframe, it can easily fall by the wayside. Many people get so wrapped up in the day-to-day realities of getting the bills paid that they don’t get serious about college savings until their children’s preteen or teen years.

Welcome to a new feature on the blog, each Friday I will share with you interesting articles from across the web. I hope you enjoy and absolutely feel free to share and pass along.

Our Kansas City Financial Planner Weekly Roundup

Welcome to our weekly roundup of great articles I ran across this week. From learning some lessons from what it means being poor in the Ivy League to some of the best podcasts to help improve your life, I have you covered.

When it comes to making investment decisions, sometimes our emotions take over for common sense. While we usually rely on our knowledge and experience to point us in the right direction, investing doesn’t always work that way.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to keep on the right track. While you can’t control the markets, you can control your own behavior and how you respond. When making investment decisions, it’s essential to take into account a few potential pitfalls.

Have you ever been afraid to log into your bank account or check your credit card balances? If you’re losing sleep over your personal finances, you’re not alone. According to a Bankrate survey, 36 percent of Americans are losing sleep over money troubles.

While money anxiety can be more common than we realize, it’s important to address it sooner rather than later. Ignoring your finances will hurt you in the long run, even if it feels better to bury your head in the sand right now. Money troubles never go away unless you take charge of your situation and address them head-on.

Welcome to a new feature on the blog, each Friday I will share with you interesting articles from across the web. I hope you enjoy and absolutely feel free to share and pass along.

Our Kansas City Financial Planner Weekly Roundup

If you live in Kansas City, then you just experienced our first snow of the year yesterday. And, in my opinion, hopefully, the first of many more to come. It’s always fun to see snow on the ground.

Budgeting and saving money are closely related because budgeting is the most effective tool people use to save money. And no, budgeting isn’t just about tightening the belt and spending less. It’s about putting your money to work for you so that you prioritize and spend on the things that are most important.

So today I will be sharing with you some of the most effective tips that you can use to be successful when it comes to budgeting and saving money.

If you’re approaching retirement and looking for ways to beef up your monthly income, there are many strategies to consider. You could pick up part-time work or start a side hustle like tutoring or delivering groceries. Or, you could just rent out your home or part of your home for cash and travel the world.

If you think that final suggestion is intriguing, you’re not alone. Thanks to technology brought to use by companies like Airbnb and VRBO.com, it’s more common than ever for senior citizens or anyone approaching retirement to use their home as an income-producing asset so they can do…well….whatever they want.

With student loan debt, it can seem like your payments will last forever. But, there are ways to make paying off your student loans much easier. Whether you’re in the thick of paying them off, considering taking out student loans, or somewhere in the middle, knowing the right strategies to use will save you a lot of money and stress when it comes to paying off your student loans faster.

As the second highest consumer debt, the average student loan balance tops $37,000 for the Class of 2016. If most of your paycheck goes to pay student loans because you haven’t yet met your earning potential, you can feel trapped.  There is hope, and you can get rid of your debt faster by upgrading your student loan repayment options.

By now, you’ve probably heard of the FIRE movement. FIRE, which stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early, is everywhere. As a matter of fact, there is even a new movie coming out called Playing With Fire. The film itself documents a young family’s journey into the FIRE subculture as they look for a way to cut down time spent working versus time spent with their family.

Financial freedom is a term used loosely, along with financial independence, and while they are very similar, they aren’t quite the same. The difference? Financial freedom allows you to completely walk away from your career without owing anyone a thing.

Check out our Ultimate Health Savings Account Guide Infographic. We think it's pretty awesome and sums up the true power of an HSA. For more information, check out our Ultimate Guide to Health Savings Accounts.

Are you thinking about working with a financial planner but just aren't sure if it's a good fit? Check out this video where we cover all the value we provide for our client's and distinguish how we're different (in a good way) from other wealth management firms. We think you'll agree. Contact us if you any questions and don't forget to take advantage of our free check-up of your financial health.

Check out our featured page and interview on Kiplinger! It was a blast doing it and I thought it came out great. Stay tuned as we'll have an accompanying video that goes along with the piece as well. We should have it up and ready next week. Share your thoughts and let me know what you think!

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Our love of Health Savings Accounts continues! Check out our guest post at Good Financial Cents where we cover everything you'd ever want to know about Health Savings Accounts. It's a great piece and one I highly recommend. Check it out here! 

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Are you familiar with a Health Savings Account (HSA)? If you’re like most people, you’ve heard the term but you’re probably not sure what it is or if it makes sense for you.

If that’s the case, then it’s your lucky day because we’re going to dig into exactly what a Health Savings Account is and, most importantly, why I absolutely love them. So with that, let’s check out a few statistics that just might surprise you.

When entering the job market out of college, the concept of retirement seems like a lifetime away. Most people can’t even fathom thinking about retirement let alone save for it. And others know the day is coming, but they are relaxed in the notion that it’s too early to even begin thinking about saving for retirement.

Such thinking is certainly misguided. Regardless of the confusing retirement savings types, retirement is a natural part of life. It can be a wonderful experience for many families, especially those who planned early. It’s a new chapter in life, where people get to enjoy the fruits of their labor for the next few decades.

Congratulations! You’ve worked for decades to prepare for retirement and now you’re there, or almost there, ready to start what can be the most enjoyable phase of your life. Very likely, you’ve got plans to travel, see family and friends and maybe even revisit hobbies you’ve neglected for decades.

However, as you are most likely aware, you must also make plans related to your money. Specifically, you want to be sure you have enough retirement income to last you for the rest of your life.

Do you have a 529 plan? Do you work with a financial advisor? Do you have a 529 plan that’s managed directly through your financial advisor?

If you answered yes to the first question, then that’s perfectly fine. If you answered yes to the second question, that’s great as well. However, if you answered yes to the third question, well, that’s where I tend to differ from a lot of financial advisors… and yes, that’s coming from a financial advisor.

Did you know that real estate has produced more wealth than any other industry in the history of time? Retail real estate alone has produced an average annual return of 10.8% over the past two decades, according to data from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries Index.

However, as with any other business, property investing isn’t without its pitfalls. If not wisely planned, the cost of the property investment can quickly override the profits.

In today’s day and age of the internet, you can find just about anything in no time. Looking for a restaurant nearby? Go to the internet. Need a place to get a haircut? Go to the internet. Looking for background information on a financial advisor? Yep, go to the internet.

It amazes me how we found things before we had the internet. I guess we just asked for referrals from our friends, looked things up in the phone book or drove around until we found out what we were looking for…the indignity.

Have you ever wanted to invest in real estate? Or, maybe you’ve already tried your hand at it once, and it didn’t exactly go the way you were expecting.

I’m not sure what the appeal is to investing in real estate – being a landlord is not for me – but I do get asked the question quite a bit.