Good Financial Reads: 6 Stages of College Savings, Why You Should Reject Materialism, and More

Following along with the blogs of financial advisors is a great way to access valuable, educational information about finance — and it doesn’t cost you a thing! Our financial planners love to share their knowledge and help everyone regardless of age or assets.

Catch up on some of the latest posts with this week's roundup:

The 6 Stages of College Savings

by Jeff Rossi, Peak Wealth Advisors

If you’re thinking about financing your child’s college education, there are a number of steps you can take right now, no matter what age your child is to help build the savings you’ll use for college. Don’t fret about some of the outlandish college costs that we’re all seeing out there. The price tag is daunting now, and it will be in the future, but the sooner you start, no matter what your capacity to save, the more you’ll have when the time comes.

Let’s look at the actions you can take during each stage of a child’s journey to college.

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Materialism: Why You Can and Should Reject It

by Brandon Marcott, Edify Financial Planning

After the hustle and bustle of the holidays have died down, we are left to decompress and regroup for the new year. Many of us travel over Christmas or New Years, and upon returning home life is as it was. Well, it’s as it was, plus more things.

For most of us, the Holidays mean a time of giving and getting. While we each vary on how many more things we have after our respective celebrations, most of us have at least a few things.

Some of what we get over the holidays is great and purposeful, and some is just going to take up space on a desk, in a junk drawer, or closet.

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Why Is Money Important To You?

by Cady North, North Financial Advisors

I recently finished Carl Richards’ new book called, “The One-Page Financial Plan,” and it was so clearly written, it inspired me to write up a summary. Many of the people I work with are entrepreneurs or want to create a side business one day. They often like to get straight to the point with the question, “So, what should I do with my money?” Even though the question is cookie-cutter, the answer will never be the same for two people. It all depends on your goals and values. This book provides some easy ways to get at the answers, and digs into some of the reasons why finances can be so difficult for people to understand.

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Market Downturn; Schmarket Downturn

by Brent Dickerson, Trinity Wealth Management

Well, so far 2016 is starting out as a pretty terrible year on Wall Street. Since the start to the year, the Russell 3000 Index is down about 8.5%. I like to use the Russell 3000 because it is a broad market index which I feel captures the true sense of the economy much more so than the S&P 500 or Dow Jones Industrial Average which only track the largest companies in our economy. The Russell 3000 tracks 3,000 stocks ranging from large to small companies and includes growth and value stocks. So with 8.5% of the value of our market being erased, think of that as eight-and-a-half cents for every dollar. That means that the value of the market may have lost over $1 trillion just since January 1.

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