Justin Brammer

Having cash is a necessary part of a complete financial plan.

But too much cash can be a very inefficient move at the same time.

We help clients establish a maximum cash threshold and automatically distribute the rest to the next best use.

This has resulted in us moving millions of dollars of idle cash to a much more efficient and productive place.

Now that rates have been cut, it might be a good time to review your current debts and see if opportunities exist to refinance to a lower rate.

There's no guarantees in life, but a mortgage that takes up less than 15% of your household income gives you a pretty good shot at keeping stress levels low.

Don’t play short-term games with long-term money.

Always a good trip to the Bay Area to cheer on All Pro GO.

Great start to the season on primetime for the Niners!

Rescued a 401(k) participant today who was paying…wait for it…

A 1.2% EXPENSE RATIO for an index fund and they had no idea.

It was costing them over $4,500 EACH YEAR.

This is your reminder to know where you’re invested and how much it’s costing you.

Keep in mind that if all of your investments are in a 401(k) or IRA, you will pay the tax once you pull out those funds in retirement.

So many retirees forget this part when they go to withdraw funds.

For instance, if you're in the 20% tax bracket and need $40,000 from your account, you'll need to take out close to $50k to get your $40k.

That's why it's important to have various accounts so you can control your tax bill during your retirement years.

One of the most powerful retirement accounts?

A taxable brokerage account.

You get:

1. Unlimited contribution amount
2. No income limits
3. Easily accessible
4. Tax-favorable withdraws

And MOST people I meet don’t even know these exist.

We’ve been trained to only think of a 401(k), IRA, and Roths when it comes to planning for retirement.

There’s so much more!

"What does it look like working with you?"

1️⃣ Icebreaker Call - establish whether or not we're a good fit for each other

2️⃣ Discovery Meeting - comb through every piece of financial data relevant to your life and also discuss what would would have to happen to make our time spent worthwhile

3️⃣ Recommendation Meeting - based on previous conversation, we map out an actionable plan. This includes (but not limited to) a plan of attack for debt, cash flow plan, savings strategies, tax planning opportunities, estate plan review, investment strategy and rules for investing, insurance review, group benefits optimization and much more

4️⃣ Implementation Meeting - making changes can be difficult and that is why we make sure the plan is realistic and sustainable. This is where we make sure everyone is on the same page with the strategy being implemented.

Quarterly Progress Reports - our clients receive personalized feedback from us once a quarter. We review and analyze their entire financial picture behind the scenes even when we're not having a formal meeting.

Spring & Fall Progress Meeting - each spring and fall we reach out to schedule a check-in meeting with all our clients. Not all want or need to meet, but we ensure everyone is hearing from us more than once a year.

No one enjoys talking about insurance and protection.

But it's the one area you only get one shot at getting it right.

Not proper coverage on your auto insurance? One wreck could set you back decades.

Not enough life insurance? Your spouse and family would likely be forced to make signifiant lifestyle changes.

No disability insurance? Without income or reduced income, life would like a lot different.

No estate plan? The state will decide who gets custody of your children and who gets your stuff.

Sometimes it’s ok to get a little less sleep to create a lifelong memory with your kiddo.

And that’s exactly what we did last night.

Out and back to Cincinnati for a football game was well worth the trip!

Do not fall into the trap of "I'll start investing when I make more."

This is only an excuse and you're lying to yourself.

Apparently, all good things must come to an end.

What a privilege it was for us to have Macy back as intern for a second summer!

Excited to see where her career goes as she wraps up her last semester of college!

The majority of new clients I bring on aren't needing or wanting a solution to a complicated issue.

They are looking for clarity and peace of mind that they are on the right track to reach their full potential.

Just starting the discovery process with a referral client.

A perfect example of someone who will benefit from our comprehensive and holistic planning relationship.

Your portfolio doesn’t care who wins elections.

Time in the market > timing the market.

Controlling your cash flow is necessary, especially if your income fluctuates month to month.

How do I help people overcome this?

We have several clients who direct-deposit their paycheck into an account we control. We then turn around and send them a fixed amount each month.

We first create a cash reservoir that essentially is a buffer to help levelize the ups and downs. We aim to have a minimum of 3 months of expenses in this account.

If they need $10k to live each month and they bring in $15k in a month, we take the extra $5k and either fill up the reservoir or sweep it out to their investment account.

If they bring in $6k the next month, we still send them the $10k but pull $4k from their buffer account. Then in a future month, we just use the excess to continually make sure they have sufficient cash to prepare for leaner months.

This then takes away the constant fear of not knowing where their income is coming from and allows them to focus on what they're good at and passionate about.

I'm a firm believer that not everyone needs an advisor.

I've met many who are very capable of managing their own finances.

But the majority of people I meet just don't have the time or desire to make a plan and stick to it.

How many times have you heard "but this time is different."

Turn on the news this morning and you'll be lead to believe the world is ending.

We've been through this before and we'll go through it again.

It's times like this where you feel the urge to have to do something or make changes just for the sake of making a change.

Tune out the noise. Control what you can control. Keep earning. Keep investing. You'll get through this.

Busy last few days in the Brammer household.

Two kiddos started school last week with the third starting preschool next week, celebrated my little girl’s big first birthday, Nolan had his first football game on Saturday, celebrated our 11th anniversary with my beautiful bride, Anna, and hit up Colts camp on Sunday.

Life can be crazy at times, but wouldn’t change it for anything!

Today marks the biggest single day decline in the market since the last biggest decline.

There is probably going to be another decline in the future and then you’ll forget about this decline.

The average investing rate across all of my families I work with is 11.4%.

Pretty awesome to see.

With interest rates being so high, it's forcing people to be more patient with buying a new home.

I've had this conversation many times in the last few weeks with clients. Strategizing around a future home purchase while not derailing their financial future.

Don't fall for the "now's the best time to buy! Interest rates will eventually come down!"

Unless you can afford the payment today, don't buy a house with the assumption rates will be lower next year.

Cause guess what, they were "supposed" to be lower by now...but here we are.

2024 investment account limits:

- IRA: $7,000
- FSA: $3,200
- HSA: $4,150
- 401k: $23,000
- SEP IRA: $69,000
- Simple IRA: $16,000

5 months left to maximize these.

Helping a client understand their cash flow is paramount in building a plan.

This is a helpful visual each client receives after I've built out their initial plan so they better understand how everything fits together.

What a LLC does: protect you from liability

What a LLC does not do: magically create the ability for you to write off whatever you want to

Instead of complaining about money printing, focus on investing

Instead of complaining about inflation, focus on growing income

Instead of complaining about taxes, focus on doing real tax planning

Focus on what you can control.

Great insight as always from Thomas Kopelman.

You pull up to your kid's soccer game. You're surrounded by families driving $60,000+ SUVs. Tahoes, Grand Wagoneers, Mercedes, Escalades. You ask yourself... "where did I go wrong with my money?"

You didn't.

Consider this: many of them are robbing their future selves to create a status image today.

How do I know this?

One, the average car loan length is nearly 6 years.

Two, the average new car payment is over $600 per month.

Three, a 2022 survey found that 37% of Americans do NOT save for retirement.

Riddle me this - after a mortgage, groceries, the cost of raising children, discretionary spending, and a $600+ per month car payment, do you believe the majority of your peers have room left over to fund their financial goals?

Or, do you think they'll find themselves scrambling to fund retirement in their 50s and hope their kids get college scholarships...?

Don't get caught up in this pursuit of an unsustainable status quo.

Your future self will thank you.

Great insight from Zac Spainhour.