Quoted: Member Media Roundup - February 2018

XY Planning Network members regularly serve as subject matter experts for major media outlets. (We invite our journalist friends to submit requests using our media portal.) We've compiled this roundup of recent articles featuring some of our superstar advisors. 

What Being a Millionaire Means Today

U.S.News & World Report, featuring XYPN Member Vid Ponnapalli

Accumulating $1 million does not necessarily guarantee feelings of financial security.

Who wants to be a millionaire? Who doesn't? The high net worth status has long been considered a prime target for the aspiring rich. And an increasing number of Americans are achieving that goal.

In 2017, there were 9.4 million American millionaire households, according to the annual Market Insights Report from investor research firm the Spectrem Group. That's up from 9.1 million in 2016.

If you look at different sources, however, you'll find drastically different counts. In the annual World Wealth Report from consulting firm Capgemini, the number of U.S. millionaires reached 4.8 million in 2016, up 7.6 percent from 4.5 million in 2015. (The tally for 2017 data was not available at the time of reporting.) The annual report from financial services company Credit Suisse estimates there were 15.4 million U.S. millionaires in 2017, up from 14.3 million in 2016. Read more...

15 Powerful Money Habits to Adopte Before the Year Is Over

Entrepreneur.com, featuring XYPN Member Ryan Inman

1. Set One Major Financial Goal.

Ryan Inman, a fee-only financial planner for physicians at Physician Wealth Services recommends setting one major financial goal for the coming year that you can start making progress toward now.

To achieve it, "break that goal into smaller more manageable goals and actually put them in a calendar to set deadlines," Inman said. Not only will this keep you accountable, but it will also help you achieve a bigger goal over time that you might otherwise have been reluctant to tackle. Read more...

Yes, You Can Find a Financial Planner Even if You're Not Rich

The New York Times, featuring XYPN Members Anna Sergunina, Inga Chira, & Jason Howell

Many of the best financial planners want to charge you a fee each year based on the assets that they manage for you, say 1 percent every 12 months. But before they will even consider working with you, you generally have to have many hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So it was refreshing to find out recently that a fledgling collection of financial planners, the XY Planning Network, had grown to nearly 600 people in just under four years. The key? To be a member, you have to agree to offer clients the option of paying via a recurring fee. Often, it’s about the same price that those clients pay for their bundled cable bill.

Alan Moore was not the first financial planner to experiment with recurring billing, but he was just stubborn enough, after he was fired from a previous financial planning job at 24, to think he could hang a shingle and make it work. Read more...

What We Can All Learn From Millennials and Their Saving Habits

GOBankingRates, featuring XYPN Member Galen Herbst de Cortina

Are millennials deserving of their bad financial reputation?

Millennials have a bad reputation when it comes to their saving habits. The 18- to 34-year-old age group is often viewed as being fiscally irresponsible — but not all of their saving behaviors are worthy of reproach.

Read more...

11 Little Things You Didn't Realize Impact Your Credit Score

Bustle, featuring XYPN Member Jon Sycamore

If you feel like few things in life are as confusing and convoluted as credit scores, you're definitely not alone. It can be tough to remember all the things that can impact your credit score. And when it comes to fixing a poor score, it truly can feel like a losing game.

But do not fret — not all is lost. If you check your credit score — and you should check your credit score — and notice that it needs work, there are steps you can take to start correcting any damage that's been done, while also making smart choices to build your credit and swing that score in the other direction. Read More... 

XY Planning Network's media request program is available to all XYPN advisors as a member benefit. Interested in joining our community of expert advisors? Read more about XYPN's marketing support and download our Member Benefits Directory