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Flood insurance is not covered by standard homeowners policies. If you’ve been a client of ours for long, you’ve no doubt heard this before but the point bears repeating. We regularly speak with clients who believe they have coverage under their homeowners policy for damage caused by flood. Rising water from too much rain? Not covered. River or creek overflows its banks? Not covered. Storm surge due to a surprise weather system? Not covered. The good news is flood coverage for homes is available through a separate flood insurance policy, but even this protection has limitations and restrictions. Let’s review…
A buddy of mine messaged me recently asking me whether it was time to worry about his investments. Over the last couple days, the market has apparently taken a big dip – it’s got people like him worried that this might be the big correction that we’ve all been waiting for. His question was, what could he do to minimize his losses. As most of you can guess, I told him exactly what most of us here in the financial independence community preach when it comes to investing – do nothing and stay the course. But what about all of…
My wife and I are currently in the market for a new house. We have plenty of money saved, have a high household income, and after a decade of living well below our means, we think we’re ready to start inflating our lifestyle a bit more (or a lot more if we’re being real). I’m not talking about buying Teslas or a boat or anything crazy like that. But getting a nice house for our family – that’s something we’d like to have at this point in our life. Of course, I’m nervous about making such a big change to…
One of the challenges that I’ve had to deal with during my (admittedly short) investing career is avoiding the persistent urge to tinker. There’s this thing that I think happens to a lot of us as we begin to learn more about investing. We start devouring a lot of information and get a handle on what we think is the best way to invest. Then we digest more information – which starts to add complexity and various nuances to what we initially thought. Eventually, we start second-guessing ourselves, which leads us to tinker some more with our money. You see…
Home and auto insurance policies may not have high enough limits for certain claims. That is why personal umbrella insurance exists. Consider a few real-life examples of where a personal umbrella insurance policy would have been a benefit: The Clumsy Plumber A client had a plumber and trim carpenter working on their house at the same time. The plumber was walking down the stairs after finishing a job and grabbed the handrail that the carpenter was working on. The handrail wasn’t secured yet, gave way, and the plumber fell, severely injuring himself. He sued the homeowner for injuries and lost pay…
Getting ahead financially isn’t merely about earning more. It’s also about what you do with that money once you receive it. Investing can help your net worth grow, but debt can eat away at it. That means most people understand they need to invest and pay down debt. But it leaves a lot of people asking what they should do, pay down debt, or invest first. There are important considerations to make when it comes to canceling your debt or investing more of your income. To help you make the decision that’s best for you, let’s explore these considerations,…
When I look back at my investing life, one of my biggest regrets is just not getting started sooner. It’s really kind of a shame when I think about it. I didn’t start investing until I was 27 years old, almost a decade after I had graduated from high school. That’s years of potential growth that I can never get back. It gets worse when you consider that I graduated from college in 2009, right when the market was at its bottom. If I had started investing back then, even just a little bit, I could be killing it right…
Our situation was not unique. Fewer than half of all U.S. homeowners receive enough from their insurance policy to fully rebuild their home after it is damaged. According to Marshall & Swift, 60% of homes in the U.S. are undervalued for insurance by an average of 17%. That means that for every $100,000 of home value, most owners fall short by $17,000 in protection. Many homeowners don’t check to ensure their home is appropriately valued or that their insurance coverage keeps up with inflation, but for what reason? Why Would Someone Underinsure Their Home? False Savings Some homeowners choose to…
A question I often get from people beginning their working careers is whether they should wait for the market to cool off a bit before they get started investing. For the new investor, my response is always the same – ignore whatever the market is doing and just get started now. Of course, I totally get the concern. Since the great recession, other than the occasional bump in the road, we’ve pretty much been on a never-ending upward climb. Assuming we’re due for a correction at some point, it seems like it’d make logical sense to just wait a little…
Insurance should not be boxed and sold as a standardized commodity. Why? Because it protects individuals, and just as each person is unique, so is their need for insurance. As alluring as the idea of cookie cutter coverages may be to more easily shop and compare, they will never meet everyone’s needs. One client may be renovating a portion of their home and need protection for work in process. Another may use the family van to drive their child’s class on a field trip. Still another may run a business from their house. Life is beautiful and gives us such…