Just Ok is Not Ok

I mentioned the mental minutes we use before practices last year in one of my blogs. The 'just ok is not ok' mental minute is one of my favorite ones. Many of you probably remember those AT&T commercials ‘Just OK is...
Read MoreWhat’s on our mind? You can read about it in our blog. Whether it's industry trends, economic commentary, or just observations on life, you can read about it here. Keep checking in. We’re glad to have you reading along.
I mentioned the mental minutes we use before practices last year in one of my blogs. The 'just ok is not ok' mental minute is one of my favorite ones. Many of you probably remember those AT&T commercials ‘Just OK is...
Read MoreI ran to Dairy Inn for lunch last week. I ordered at the outside window and as I was waiting for my food an older gentlemen pulled in to order an ice cream treat. This is a man in the community I know and have great respect...
Read MoreMany of you likely followed the 2023 Cannon Falls Bomber Baseball journey to the state tournament. There are so many great things I could say about the players and what made this team so fun to be part of. In all honesty,...
Read MoreIn being a financial planner for 20+ years I have helped many people navigate their retirement planning. It seems in recent years more and more of our conversation revolves around Social Security. Not just for retirees but...
Read MoreMaybe I'm just going through a mid-life, but, as human beings, I think there are always things in our heads that we battle. Am I doing the right things? Will people like me? Look at what they're doing. How can...
Read MoreClick HERE to received a FREE Family Financial Workshop Ebook
Read MoreIn this life we are confronted with many things. Some of those things are expected, some catch up by surprise but they can come from many different directions. For many situations it helps to have clearly defined values,...
Read MoreThe kids were talking about the snow coming tomorrow morning. Their hopes are set on there being no school (or at least two hours late). The anticipation of a possible snow day is almost as exciting as Christmas morning...
Read MoreWelcome to Olive Garden-We recently went to Olive Garden for a family meal. To be completely honest, I am more of a burger and fries kind of guy but it was Tammy’s birthday so we headed to Olive Garden. As the usual...
Read Moresubmitted under RegEd under #4211667
Read MoreYou've worked hard for many years....maybe even a couple of more than you wanted to. You've done a good job saving....putting as much aside as you could afford at the time. It's almost time to make that transition in to retirement...
Read MoreRemember just 12 short months ago when many of us were all taking a deep breath of relief from the busyness of life and forced to slow things down due to a global pandemic? Yeah, me neither 😉. I've heard quite a few people mention how...
Read MoreIf this past year has taught us anything I hope it has taught us to live in the present, not take things for granted and appreciate the company of the ones we love. Early in the COVID pandemic I looked at the clock and it was 11:11. In...
Read MoreLearn how to set up to receive documents electronically.
Read MoreAdmittedly, I am about a week late to writing my monthly blog or recording a video and I have no idea what to say. Then I thought about all of the times in life when we aren't sure what to say. It seems like there's been a lot of those...
Read MoreMaking good financial decisions requires understanding of our current financial condition and knowing where all of the things we've accumulated over the years and what they mean for helping us reach our financial goals. We have the...
Read MoreI am going to share this because I’ve had a number of friends, clients and colleagues that I’ve talked to recently that have had a hard time getting motivated. You can put whatever title you want to it (slump, slight...
Read MoreI started hunting white tailed deer when I was about 14 or 15 years old. I borrowed my Uncle Nick's .410 and hunted on my Grandparents land. I don't remember much about the hunting that year but I do remember going in to my Grandma and...
Read MoreWe are here to help our clients make good decisions about money. Many times those decisions revolve around life events; marriage, kids, buying a home, changing jobs, etc... As we get closer to retirement we have even more financial...
Read MorePride is a great thing....until it isn't. Sometimes the pride that got us to where we are, stops us from growing in to more. It eats away at our time, it can eat away at our fears, it can make us paranoid, it certainly can take away...
Read MoreJust 12 short months ago we were talking about getting back to school and ramping up for fall sports. What a difference a year makes! We can only control what we can control. Since I don't want to get political, I will get spiritual....
Read MoreThis months video discusses a few common questions we're hearing from clients right now. What does the amount of debt our Federal Government is accruing mean? How are we going to pay for it and how does it impact my money?
Read MoreWe have many folks calling or meeting with us to have some of their questions answered on Social Security. I put together a zoom video in hopes of answering some of those questions for you and educating you on what those decisions...
Read MoreMy friend and colleague Andy Vix and I have talked about doing a podcast for a while now. This is our first attempt at it. Andy and I have worked together for nearly 15 years. Over the last 3 or 4 years, we have both taken more of a...
Read MoreWhenever someone utters the phrase, 'please, have a seat', we know there's typically bad news to follow. Typically the deliverer of bad news is either priming the recipient for the bad news or they are truly worried that person may...
Read MoreWe understand there are many people concerned with what is going to happen with their personal financial situation through this uncertain time. We also understand money is a difficult and emotional topic to discuss and can cause some...
Read MoreA day like today is why I do what I do. A day like today is why we have conversations about risk tolerance. A day like today is why I ask how much money my clients might need in the next couple of years to live on and we diversify...
Read MoreThere isn't an easy way to say this so I am just going to say it. I am almost 41 years old. I've lost friends and family as I've walked through life. You have too. If someone on this earth is counting on you, you need to have life...
Read MoreI am not sure if you have ever heard of Mike Rowe. He is the host of a popular tv show called Dirty Jobs. In this show Mike travels around the country
Read MoreI was at a conference last month and one of the main speakers talked about gratitude and it being directly tied to happiness. I am not a psychologist and I don't have the time or resources to conduct a study on gratitude so I took some...
Read MoreAs many of you know I love coaching sports. This fall is my second year as the Cannon Falls Youth Football Coordinator so I help coordinate and coach kids 1st through 6th grade. No doubt there are times that test your patience but...
Read MoreI love reading, listening or watching headlines the media comes up with. I really love it when the headline draws you in to an article and the article you read barely resembles anything highlighted in the headline. That said, when a...
Read MoreSummertime is such a great time of year. Especially summer in the upper Midwest. We endure a long, hard winter and are rewarded with great temps, sunshine, lakes and a winning professional baseball team (at least this year). I always...
Read MoreRespecting your elders or respecting your mother and father is an important value to have. It grounds us and allows us to listen and gain wisdom from their life experiences. It humbles us and helps us appreciate all they do. That said,...
Read MoreOver Memorial Day weekend I had the opportunity and pleasure of playing in a baseball tournament with a few of my former college teammates. Some of those guys I haven't seen since 2001. Of course, I think we all had a bit of...
Read MoreIf you've driven through the countryside in the last month you've probably run in to a tractor either plowing, fertilizing or planting. I know I was recently observing a tractor in the field caught a whiff of the natural fertilizer...
Read MoreOk this article is not about NFL Free Agency but it is about something that pertains to NFL Free Agency and any other product or service bought or sold in free markets....supply and demand. I just thought NFL Free Agency was a better...
Read MoreFebruary was quite the month, huh? Cold, snow, wind and cancelled school days. As always, some people have escaped south to
Read MoreBelieve it or not the title of this article does not reference the stock market. Although it certainly does describe the markets recent ups and downs. The title is more about a life mantra than anything. About getting up when life...
Read MoreOuch....that hurts! We've all said it before. Whether it was our sibling or friend punching us, a boyfriend or girlfriend dumping us, a loss of someone we love or any multitude of things, sometimes things hurt. Fourth quarter markets...
Read MoreBeing in Minnesota we understand what it feels like to be confined indoors for long periods of time. What many of us adults forget is the unending energy we had as kids and the need to burn it off. The world has changed a lot in the...
Read MoreTime. Something we all have a limited supply of. So many fitting quotes about time, 'Time is money', 'The days are long and the years are short', 'Time is something we'll never have more of','Time is something we want most, but use...
Read MoreThis past week I was blessed and fortunate to make a fly-in fishing trip with some of my family. My grandfather (who's 87), cousin, uncle and his wife, parent's, brother and his son, my oldest son and myself made our way to Canada...
Read MoreAlbert Einstein once said, 'Genius is making complex ideas simple, not making simple ideas complex.' A great quote to say the least. In this life, we find ourselves trying to solve issues with complex answers but the answer is usually...
Read MoreI think everyone would agree that the market has been very good to investors over the past 18-24 months. Almost to a point of us forgetting that there is actually volatility from time to time. As the father of three kids (7th, 5th and...
Read MoreWe all have our own definition of success, our own personal and family circumstances, our own challenges to overcome and our own successes to celebrate. The culmination of all of those things becomes our story, our journey....our life....
Read MoreThe recent stock market volatility has some people a little bit nervous. I have had a few clients ask the question, “Have we seen the peak of the market?” “Is it time to get out of the market?” I wanted to...
Read MoreI am not a shrink, nor do I intend to become one. I do feel one of the biggest issues facing our great nation is the value of the individual. The value and the purpose we feel as individuals and how we can be of value in an ever...
Read MoreProcrastination -- a word that we all seem to know a lot about. As human beings we procrastinate on a lot of things. Some of us procrastinate getting out of bed to work out. Some of us procrastinate calling that loved one that you know...
Read MoreI've been reading a book that speaks about taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. Many of those opportunities can be camouflaged as major challenges but, those who jump in and tackle the challenge with their...
Read MoreNot sure about you but I pretty much stopped listening to the weather on the news. It is so hard for me to change my schedule and plan for the day based upon something that might happen. Something that they are predicting 3, 4 and 5...
Read MoreOne of the things my kids hear me say from time to time is fair is not always equal. What I mean by that is, just because someone got something, doesn't mean that you're entitled to the same thing as they did. I think too often that we...
Read MoreI had a conversation with a client recently and he made a comment that stuck with me, 'We talked about doing this 20 years ago but never got around to it. I guess two weeks becomes 20 years pretty quickly.' In the financial planning...
Read MoreI am not an Estate Planning attorney, but in helping people make educated decisions about money, one of the most common recommendations I have is to go talk to an estate planning attorney to write a Will and Last Testament. I’ve...
Read MoreThe holiday season is a great time to be thankful for all we have. It is also a time to think about the things that are really important to us. In today's age of technology, connecting, media, etc... we can become very distant with...
Read MoreI would like to congratulate Josh Hofstedt, his staff and the Bomber football team on a great season! The amount of time and effort from all of the individuals involved helped make the season a successful one. Many of the players and...
Read MoreWell....I'm about ready for this election to be over. How about you? The candidates have been posturing for almost two years and it's getting to be about enough if you ask me. The worst part is everyone seems to be voting against the...
Read MoreHappy Gillmore is one of my all-time favorite comedies. A fun movie about a hockey player turned golfer. In that movie Happy’s coach, Chubbs, urges Happy to find his ‘happy place’. Happy then has a daydream about a...
Read MoreThings in this world are changing, we can all recite things that we remember ‘back in the day’ as being better than they are today. Change has always been around. We’ve changed Presidents 44 times, our society has...
Read MoreTeenagers are sooooo Irrational. I have decided I am going to write a monthly blog page. The blog is going to be about things I encounter in my life of family, faith, baseball and finance. Most will be simple observations and how it...
Read MoreWith the Super Bowl a recent memory and Peyton Manning being the winning quarterback, the topic of retirement is front and center on every news media outlet in the country. John Elway said something that really struck me. Obviously we...
Read MoreA couple of weeks ago I had a client make a comment that made me think about the praise and gifts we give people. He was in a drive thru with his father-in-law and the car in front of him had paid their bill. As they drove away his...
Read MoreBefore you read this I want to say a couple of things. First, I am not writing this to get in a debate with anyone or say look at me (and if you don’t agree just please keep scrolling or delete this post from your newsfeed). I...
Read More