Summertime is off and running with scorching temps here in Raleigh, North Carolina – and on much of the east coast. Some of you may be ready for a well deserved vacation at this point. Before you head out to the beach or mountains, take a few minutes and consider this about pay increases. Are you intentional about what you do with your Step and Grade increases? See this month’s video below for two ideas on where to direct at least a portion of any new money hitting your bank account. Then make some popcorn and review our checklist for a few more tips.
Meanwhile, if you know another Federal Agent Family that faces this question, feel free to pass this on – we’re all in the Battle for Financial Independence together:
VIDEO: What To Do With Step or Grade Increases
Question of the Month:
Do you help with investments?
Easy Answer: “Yes”, by first and foremost teaching you how to do it yourself so you can reduce fees. But for our Federal Agents who don’t have the three “Ts”, we do offer investment management services (see above) at a low cost.
Wait, what are the three “Ts”?
Answer: We enjoy teaching families how to invest in low cost, time-horizon specific investments on their own. This puts clients in the driver’s seat by reducing fees (including ours). We encourage a “quit-messing-with-it” mentality when it comes to investing. However, sometimes the three “Ts” come into play:
Time – a client simply doesn’t have or want to make the time to do their own investing.
Temperament – a client can’t gain distance from their emotions (most of us struggle here) so they are prone to making mistakes such as timing the market, exiting when inappropriate, and taking unnecessary risks that are not aligned with their values.
Talent – a client doesn’t wish to wrap their available brain power around investing; other things in life take precedence and require their attention.
When a client doesn’t have all three “Ts”, they can lean on us as a trusted partner that has the time to get them invested wisely, the temperament to walk with them through turbulent days and the talent to guide them in the alignment of their money to their true inner values.
Happy 4th !
God bless all those who serve us – at home and abroad.
Great timing – we just spent a recent weekend touring the Naval Academy! Our 9-year-old son (pictured below) got to see one of the most prestigious institutions in the country. He loved the history, architecture and meaning behind this beautiful campus in the heart of Annapolis.
In an ironic twist of fate, it was almost exactly 40 years prior that I took the Naval Academy tour with my parents (that’s me in the front with a good childhood friend). Given that my Dad is a former Marine and that we lived in Maryland at the time, the tour was a family tradition.
May you have a wonderful, happy and safe 4th of July with family and friends! Make those step and grade increases intentional. Then take some time to be grateful for your blessings and don’t hesitate to do a “10-4 check” on a friend. Cheers!
Our Goal for You
Our goal for you – always be thinking about what money really means to you and yours. Partnering with Charles Michael Financial means stepping into your own values, aligning them with your money, and being part of a bigger community that believes the same. Stay with us on the journey…
Be the Hero for You and Yours!
