In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden, discuss one of the strategies used by many investors, dollar cost averaging.  What is it?  How does it work?  Is it really better than investing lump sums of money?  They may not be able to answer that last one for you, but learn more about it and decide for yourself!

Dollar Cost Averaging Basics:

• Investing equal amounts of money at equal intervals over time.
  • For example: Investing $1,000 on the first of each month.
  • When share costs are higher, you will purchase fewer shares; when share costs are lower, you will purchase more shares.
• Lots of this happens automatically!
  • When you invest in your retirement plan at work.
  • When you make your IRA contribution annually.
• On the flip side, many folks argue that instead of spreading out contributions, you are investing money as soon as you determine it is appropriate to invest that money. Three out of four years the stock market is up, so why not just invest sooner than later?
• Ideally, you are doing both. Investing money immediately on a periodic basis as you have extra funds from your paycheck, etc.

There are lots of considerations when deciding whether or not to dollar cost average.  Things like how large a lump sum contribution may be, whether you are reinvesting money that has already been invested, and what your risk tolerance is.  Bottom line, do what you need to do to get money into the market and try not to make emotional decisions based on the world and your perception of current stock market values.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden, discuss some of our impulses to measure our financial success by comparing it to others.  How do we avoid this trap?  Or do we really need to avoid it? 

Humans are competitive by nature (or is it nurture?): 

• If you come across a bear in the woods, you don’t need to be faster than the bear, just faster than the person running with you. 

• In sports, it’s usually the same!  You don’t need to achieve a specific internal goal to “win” you just need to beat your competitors. 

• This is not always helpful in finances! 

• Trying to win with finances often focuses on outward signs of wealth and success which do not always line up with your own goals and interests. 

• This has become worse in the age of social media, where everyone advertises their homes, vacations, and perfect children. 

This is one of those things that is easier said than done but try to focus on your personal goals and benchmarks as a measure of success instead of comparing yourself to others.  And understand that many folks with external signs of wealth may be struggling financially.  Listen to the full episode for more tips! 

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media!  LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance  

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice. 

Financial Clarity for Doctors tackles some student loan updates with hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff.  On December 10th, the Department of Education proposed a settlement in the case challenging the SAVE plan and agreeing to dismantle the payment plan (pending court approval, so maybe not officially dead).  What does that mean for the seven million borrowers still enrolled in the plan? 

Next steps for SAVE plan participants: 

• Most folks will likely need to apply to move into a new income-driven payment plan or move into a Standard repayment plan. 

• This means recertifying income and enrolling in one of the remaining plans.  Currently, those options are IBR, ICR, or PAYE with the new RAP plan being rolled out this coming summer. 

• If the goal is to work toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), you will likely want to enroll in the plan that equals the lowest payment. 

• When you reach 120 months of qualifying employment, you can look into the “Buyback” program to see if you can make payments from your time in forbearance. 

• If the goal is not PSLF, you can explore lots of options, payment plans, and even refinancing.  Although move slowly with refinancing!  Moving to a private bank has some downsides. 

As with everything, your student loan approach should be determined based on your goals and needs.  Any strategy (including loan repayment) depends on the specifics of your situation.  If needed, consult with a professional to try to find the best strategy for your loans.  They were an investment in your future!   But we don’t want them hanging over your head forever. 

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media!  LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance  

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice. 

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff do their annual crystal ball check and venture some guesses for 2026. 

Tune in to hear more Corey and Rachelle’s 2026 predictions on: 

• Student loans and schooling 

• The housing market 

• The economy 

• Interest rates 

• Basically, everything that you can’t really predict! 

For 2025, the hosts did okay!  But Rachelle was pretty wrong about the stock market.... 

• Corey predicted positive stock market performance correctly, but Rachelle thought growth would be much more muted. 

• Interest rates remained fairly high. 

• Quite a few correct guesses for the year!  But maybe that’s because the guesses were pretty safe! 

It’s a lot of fun to make predictions, partially because we already know how incorrect they might be!  As always, have a little fun, but build your financial plan by focusing on the things you can control, not on random guesses about what may happen next.  To hear more, listen to the full episode. 

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media!  LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance  

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice. 

As we approach another new year, we take a moment to reflect on our financial plans and make adjustments as needed.  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff walk through all of the things you should be revisiting.  Even if you’ve made a plan, don’t let it get stagnant and out of step with your current life and goals.

Parts of a financial plan to revisit include:

• Goals and priorities: we change over time, so this will likely change as well!
• Progress toward those goals: you may need to adjust if you are off track!
• Beneficiary designations on accounts, retirement plans, etc as well as estate planning documents.
• Insurances: the coverage you need at Age 40 is likely not the same coverage you will need at Age 55.
• Investment allocations: as your risk tolerance changes, so should your investment strategy!
• College savings: as your kid(s) get older, you may have a better idea of what they will need.

It’s a great idea to do at least an annual review.  You may not need to adjust each of these things every year, but that will give you an opportunity to recognize anything in your plan that is out of step in a timely manner.  I think we’d all rather know if we are off track sooner than later so we can make the necessary changes.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

The stock market is a wild and unpredictable place sometimes!  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff chat through stock market “bubbles” and whether or not we might be in one right now.  

This episode covers: 

• The basics of a “bubble”. 

• An overview of the dot.com bubble from the late 90s/early 2000s. 

• Stock market performance and recovery times during and following this period. 

• The value of diversification. 

• Similarities and differences between the current stock market and the stock market during that period. 

• How to approach long-term investing in the wake of uncertainty. 

We don’t have a crystal ball!  Realistically, we can assign valuations to any given company, but the stock is worth whatever price a buyer and seller can agree upon.  That’s part of the reason the stock market is unpredictable, and timing the market generally does not work well.  Instead, focus on your long-term goals and come up with an allocation that makes sense for you. 

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes. 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice. 

Let’s do a quick review of disability insurance!  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff dive into the details of long-term disability insurance.  This coverage is very important for anyone who is still reliant on their income.

Discussion topics include:

• When and why you need this insurance.
• Different kinds of disability insurance.
• Details of long-term disability including a breakdown of many common riders.
• A comparison of employer/group coverage vs. individual coverage.
• How to apply for coverage.
• When you may need to increase your coverage and when it’s okay to cancel it.

No one likes paying for insurance, but insurance allows you to share some larger financial risks with a third party.  Disability insurance is a great example of that.  Most of us feel invincible until we’re not.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff discuss some potential complications of declining property values.  Don’t panic!  This may not even apply to you, but it’s good information to understand. 

If your home is worth less than you expect: 

• If you purchased in the last couple of years and want to refinance, you may not be able to do so. 

• Many banks require a certain percentage of equity to refinance your loan. 

• Try to get the details of refinancing before you buy! 

• You won’t be able to borrow against the value of your home unless you have enough equity. 

• If you need to sell, you may end up actually paying money to get out of the house. 

• For example, if you purchased a home for $900,000 and paid 10% down but your home is now worth $800,000, the proceeds from the sale may not be enough to pay off your mortgage and pay the closing costs on the loan. 

• If you’re staying put, it may not be a big deal at all! 

 Generally, the longer you plan to stay in a home, the less likely you will be hit with some of these problems.  You probably will have much more equity in a home you’ve lived in for ten years than one you lived in for three years. 

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.   

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice. 

Let’s go back to macroeconomics class!   In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff discuss the basics of inflation.  Why do prices continue increasing?  We’d rather pay 25 cents for milk too!  Unfortunately, capitalism and supply and demand make price stability pretty much impossible.  And that’s not always a bad thing. 

Some Basics on Inflation: 

• Generally measured in the United States by something called the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which tracks the costs of goods and services. 

• Sky-rocketed coming out of covid times with supply chain issues, cheap money (low interest rates), a tight labor market which generally means higher pay, and stimulus funds. 

• Lots of demand because people had money, but supply was low, so prices went up. 

• Now hovering around 3%, but still dealing with the effects of large increases over the past few years. 

• Wages generally increase over time, which is another upward pressure on price through supply and demand. 

• The Federal Reserve has a dual mandate to keep inflation in check and keep unemployment low. 

• That does NOT mean zero inflation.  They have a target inflation rate of 2%. 

• One of the biggest ways they do this is by increasing interest rates, therefore making it harder for people to purchase things they would need to finance. 

• To protect against inflation: 

• Keep short-term savings in something like a high-interest savings account where you can earn interest. 

• Negotiate pay increases based on your cost of living. 

• Retirement money should be invested so that it has a chance to grow and outpace inflation – although we know this is not a guarantee, inflation is the bigger risk to long-term money. 

Inflation is a part of the global economy!  We can’t get rid of it, so the best we can do is protect our personal finances as best we can from its effects.  Listen to the full episode to hear more. 

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.   

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice. 

Financial Clarity for Doctors spends a lot of time talking about how to balance your financial priorities and achieve your goals with the resources you have.  In this episode, hosts Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden take some time to delve into those life goals.  We often ask clients, “What’s the fairy tale for you?”  Spending some time thinking about the things you’re working toward can be a lot of fun – and motivating! 

Your goals can be anything! 

• Maybe for you it’s working less now and taking more time for family, friends, and hobbies now. 

• It could be longer-term traveling plans.  Someday maybe you’ll have the luxury of a trip that lasts a month or two instead of a week or two. 

• For some folks, it’s having that very special place to land with friends and family.  Beach house anyone?  A place in the mountains? 

• Others want to have the ability to make dreams come true for their children or even people they’ve never met. 

 Take some time to think about your own motivation.  It may help you find the balance between living for today and saving for the future. 

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.   

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice. 

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden dive into the world of financial advice driven by Artificial Intelligence.  Computers are becoming more and more sophisticated and nuanced in their ability to answer questions and provide advice and information on a wide range of topics.  Can we rely on AI for good financial advice?

In this episode we walk through:

• Current uses of AI in financial advising including sophisticated note taking and answers to questions based in facts. For example, what is the 401k contribution limit in 2025?
• We also talk about some of the limits of AI in this world.
  • One of the biggest factors is not knowing what information to provide in order to get a good output. For example, if you forget to prompt for inflation, would that be included in an answer regarding retirement readiness?
  • Financial advice can also be very nuanced and influenced by individual goals, how much risk a person can tolerate, compromises between partners, and personal experiences. It’s hard for a computer to know you well enough to take those things into consideration.

In short, artificial intelligence may be helpful to solve some of the factual and math questions in finance, but it doesn’t seem like we are there yet with the personal side of things.  Which is a very big part of planning!  Listen to the full episode to hear more about ways that AI may be able to help in plan, and areas where it may struggle a bit.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden unpack many of the assumptions that are built into financial planning.  This is necessary when you can’t predict the future, but how conservative or aggressive your assumptions are can greatly impact your chances of success.

Some of these assumptions include:

• Your projected age of retirement
• How much money you will need to be comfortable in retirement
  • What inflation rates will be between now and then
• Investment returns
• Estimated taxes at different points during your career and retirement
• How much you will be able to save
• How much income you will receive from social security

No two projections will look the same.  They all rely on assumptions, because we don’t have all the data we need for the next 30, 40, or 50 years.  When you are working through financial projections, it is a great idea to adjust the inputs to see how your assumptions are impacting your plans.  For example, if you adjust your inflation estimate from 2.5% to 3.25%, you will need to save MUCH more or modify your standard of living to reach your goals.  We recommend focusing on the things you can control (mostly your spending and your savings) but also understand how different future outcomes outside your control can affect your plans.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden walk through some details of selling different types of medical practices to private equity.  This trend is growing and could potentially affect you whether you are employed by a large hospital system or the sole owner of your own practice.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Discussion of the movement away from physician-owned private practices to larger groups and hospitals.
• The growth of private equity in medicine.
• The objectives of private equity firms and the doctors who are looking for investors.
• A few examples of how a buyout can be structured.
• Considerations when you are trying to decide if it is worth it. Or even possible.

If you’re curious about these sorts of transactions, give this one a listen!  Even if you aren’t currently employed in a situation where this is possible, it could come up in the future.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

This episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors delves into some updates to charitable giving under the new One Big Beautiful Bill as well as some other items in the bill that may affect listeners.  Hosts Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden walk through some highlights.  Keep in mind that federal policy evolves as the executive branch and Congress evolve.  This is the tax structure for now, but not forever.

Changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act include:

• Non-itemizers may deduct charitable gifts of up to $1,000 per person, $2,000 per couple.
• Itemized deductions will be limited to gifts exceeding 0.5% of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).
  • Grouping gifts into a single tax year may still be beneficial for many people.
• Tax brackets, higher standard deductions, and high estate tax exemptions have been made “permanent”.
• Student loans from the federal government will be limited for new borrowers.
• Student loan payment plans will be limited to two options for new borrowers: a standard repayment plan and the income-driven RAP plan.
  • The new RAP plan will be 10% of AGI (not discretionary income).
• Existing borrowers may need to switch payment plans if they are on SAVE or PAYE before July 2028, but still have more options than new borrowers.
• Most tax credits geared toward energy efficiency are being phased out.
• Introduction of “Trump” accounts with a $1,000 federal government deposit for kids born from 2025 to 2028.
• Increased requirements for Medicaid reimbursements may affect many providers.

This bill was huge!  You can listen to the full episode to hear more, but if there is a specific item you think may affect you, do some additional research.  Pay special attention to the energy tax credit phase out if you were planning to do some of this in your home/life, student loans for your kids and your loans if you still have them, and how Medicaid reimbursements may affect you as a provider.  Listen to the full episode to learn more!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

For those of you that are interested in giving, let’s try to do so as tax efficiently as possible!  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff walk through a few ways you can give money to the causes that are near and dear to your heart and pay a little less in taxes at the same time.  Often, the larger the gift, the more tax benefits, but even small gifts can potentially have tax benefits.

A few ways to get tax deductions for charitable contributions include:

• Smaller gifts to qualifying non-profits if you already itemize on your taxes.
• Gifting appreciated stock from non-qualified accounts.
• Gifting money to donor-advised funds.
• Setting up private foundations.
• Bequeathing money from a potentially taxable estate.
• Setting up a trust specifically for charitable giving.

Some of your tax money may go to causes you support, but choosing your own causes can be much more rewarding and potentially lessen that tax burden.  Listen to the full episode to learn more!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

There is a lot of “common knowledge” in life that may or may not be right for you.  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff debunk some financial planning myths that simply don’t hold true for most people any longer.  As always, you should take the specifics of your situation into consideration when making any financial decisions.

“Myths” discussed include:

• You can set up a financial plan once and then call it good!
• All debt is bad.
• Renting is a waste of money.
• Social security will go bankrupt (and there will be no remaining benefits) by the time you retire.
• The goal of investing is to get the best returns.
• And so many more!

As we start feeling a little more comfortable talking about money, we can learn a lot from the people and resources around us!  But we can also gather information that is incorrect or just isn’t appropriate for your own plan.  Take a little time to make decisions (especially big ones) with your personal goals and information in mind and don’t rely on “common knowledge”.  Listen to the full episode to learn more!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Some investments are flashier or more exciting than others.  But do you really need flashy and exciting to meet your financial goals?  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff talk about alternative investment strategies and whether you may need them as part of your investment strategy.

This episode covers some basics of alternative investments including:

• Advantages and disadvantages of these kinds of tools.
  • Advantages include diversification and potentially higher returns.
  • Disadvantages include potential for greater losses, higher costs, lack of liquidity, and less regulation than more traditional investments.
• Different types of alternative investments (hedge funds, structured notes, private equity, etc.)
• How to evaluate whether these may be an appropriate addition to your plan.

As always, whether a particular strategy makes sense for you depends on your financial status, goals, and even personality.  Most folks will not need complicated alternative investments to meet their goals, but it can be something to consider for folks who are willing to take on more risks and costs to explore something a little different (and potentially exciting if you are successful).

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff discuss how our expectations adjust over time.  If we continue to want more and more, how will we ever be satisfied with what we already have?

Discussions in this episode include:

• Nostalgia about the “good ol’ days”.
• Comparisons of expected standard of living in the middle of the twentieth century and today.
• How personal expectations change over time. Most folks don’t want to live like college students as working adults!
• The idea that rising expectations leads to more work and money to meet those expectations.
• Ways to potentially curb your expectations so you are less reliant on money and work.

Much of financial planning is behavioral.  If you can adjust your behavior, it may be much easier to meet your goals.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a hot topic for many medical professionals still trying to work their way out of school debt.  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff walk through the current state of the program and whether or not it’s still worth pursuing.

This episode discusses:

• The basic parameters of Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
• Historical context of proposed changes to the program.
• The current payment plan drama, including where we are at with the SAVE plan.
• Possible next steps for folks with federal student loans.

As with everything, whether a particular path is appropriate for you depends on your individual circumstances.  If you believed PSLF was a good fit for you previously, chances are that program is still a good “Plan A”.  But just like other parts of your financial plan, it is always helpful to have a Plan B.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors Finity Group financial advisors, Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden, discuss a few ways you can work through how to value your own time.

Valuing your time:

• Why does it matter? This can help you decide all sorts of things!  Such as….
  • How much to work (assuming you have the flexibility to decide)
  • Whether it makes sense to do something yourself or pay someone else to do it
  • How to discuss finances with family and loved ones
• Your time spent in training is an investment in future earnings, which are not simple to predict.
• As an attending, think about how much time you spend to be able to work. This includes time at work, getting to work, continuing education, and time at home spent on work tasks.
• If you know your total time commitment per year and your annual pay, you can get a basic hourly rate for yourself and use that to decide lots of things.
  • For example, buying this new car is equivalent to me working five hours per month – is that worth it to me?

Money isn’t everything.  Some people work to live.  If that’s you, take some time to consider how much work you are doing to support your lifestyle and whether that’s worth it to you.  Other people love their work!  If that is closer to your attitude, you may want to work more even if the pay is low.  There are no wrong answers if you are making decisions that fit you and your family.  Listen to the full episode to learn more! 

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Headlines, federal government funding issues, and stock market volatility can lead people to question how secure their own place is in the economy. How will this impact my job and my income?  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff, walk through a few things that MAY impact the job market for physicians and other medical professionals.

As always – It depends!

• Policy at the federal government level may affect your job, but this is so hard to predict ahead of time!
• Those effects could be a reduction in staff, changes in pay, or potentially just more work (if other staff is reduced).
• You may need to make some adjustments in the future if:
  • You are a federal employee
  • Your position is funded (even partially) by grant money from federal institutions
  • You have many patients on Medicaid and/or Medicare
  • You work for a hospital or university with non-profit status. This could be challenged in the future, which could potentially affect student loan repayment and your employer’s cash flow.
• These adjustments may be a change in how much you work, how much time you are spending on research, or even finding a different job entirely.

Keep in mind that as a medical professional, you generally have more job security than the average person.  But it’s still important to have adequate emergency reserves and a backup plan no matter who you are.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

One of the questions our advisors get most frequently from clients is, “Am I on track?”  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden, walk through a few ways to evaluate progress toward your goals.

Steps to assess your progress:

• First, decide on what you are trying to achieve! Goals are different for everyone.
  • This can be retirement, college savings, debt repayment, and many other financial goals.
• For debt repayment, if you have a plan and an end date, you can see if you are on track!
  • Simple debt calculators can help with this.
  • Decide on a time frame you’d like the debt to be repaid, enter in the interest rate, principle amount, and time frame and you will know how much you need to pay each month.
  • Could be anything from paying off student loans in five years to repaying your mortgage before you retire at Age 60,
• For college saving, this can vary dramatically depending on your goals.
  • Simple calculators for this online as well, but must use many assumptions about the costs and investment returns.
  • A little more challenging!
• Can be very challenging to assess progress toward retirement goals.
  • Think about the lifestyle you’d like to have, when you may want to retire, and how much you are able to save. These are things you can control a bit, whereas you cannot control investment returns.
  • Don’t pay attention to benchmarks online. This is different for you based on your career trajectory.  Look at your individual situation.

Many young medical professionals are not “on track” based on common online metrics, because you are getting a late start!  Do your best to focus on these goals early in your attending career, and you should be able to make progress very quickly.  Then assess your progress over time.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden, discuss some of the basics of pensions.  How do you get one, what are the benefits, and exactly how do these things work?

Some pension basics covered in this episode include:

• What type of employers off these retirement plans and who contributes to them.
• The types of investment risk associated with these plans (and who takes that risk).
• How pension benefits are calculated – this can vary but is often offered as a monthly or annual benefit amount in retirement.
• How to compare the benefit of a pension to other employer retirement plan offerings.
  • This can be especially helpful if you are offered a choice between a pension benefit and a 403b or 401k.

Lots of folks think of pensions as an additional benefit provided by employers that are working hard for their employees, but every plan is different.  Some of funded by the employer, some are funded by the employee, or a combination of the two.  Take some time to evaluate the quantitative benefit of any retirement plan when you’re considering new employment opportunities.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden walk through some of the most common questions they hear from clients.  Everything from ‘why is the sky blue?’ to ‘how do you capture a swarm of honeybees?’  Just kidding!  They’re all questions about money.  Below are a few examples.

Common questions include:

• Is now a good time to invest?
• Should I make changes to my investments based on current news headlines?
• Should I try to pay off my mortgage quickly?
• Should I invest in real estate?
• Should I pay for my new car in cash or take out an auto loan?
• Do you think PSLF is going away?
• Do I really need disability or life insurance?
• And many, many more….

Everyone has questions!  Listen to the full episode to hear how Corey and Rachelle tackle these ones with clients on a day-to-day basis.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, you can reach out to them at podcast@thefinitygroup.com. They would love to hear your questions and ideas for upcoming episodes.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Most folks, including doctors, do not end up staying in their first jobs long-term.  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden talk over some of the financial implications of career transitions.

These implications include:

• Changes in income amounts and the structure of pay
• Differences in work requirements
• Tax differences from place to place
• Things to look for in retirement plans and how to compare them
• Other benefits, including insurances
• How to negotiate as you consider a change

This episode also covers many of the reasons physicians may choose to switch jobs and how to make transitions as smoothly as possible. Job changes can be hugely stressful, and being well-informed is a very important part of that process.  Listen to the full episode for more to keep in mind as you think about making this big life change!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff walk through some of the attention-grabbing headlines during the first few weeks of President Trump’s second term.  Most people have at least some reaction to everything we see, but how might this affect your finances?

Topics covered in this episode include:

• Policy proposals and potential economic impacts (or lack of economic impacts).
• How is the stock market reacting to dramatic headlines?
• The potential impacts of new policies on medical careers.
• Student loans.

When you are investing for the long-term, it doesn’t usually make sense to adjust your strategies based on what’s happening in the world at this moment.  BUT it is completely understandable to want to debrief.  We are all notoriously terrible at how current news headlines will affect the economy and the stock market, so try not to let your knee-jerk reactions impact your investment decisions.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff discuss all the fun expenses that come along with pet ownership.  When you love something, it tends to cost you a little more!

Topics covered in this episode include:

• Basic ongoing expenses of pet ownership.
• How the costs of pet ownership have changed over time.
• The ins and outs of pet insurance.
• How to be prepared for large, unexpected costs and deal with them when they arise.

We have all heard or experienced the horror stories of a nine-week-old puppy eating socks or chocolate.  As a pet owner, expecting the unexpected is a great place to start.  To learn more, listen to the full episode.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

If you’ve researched financial planning and professional advice, chances are you have come across the word ‘fiduciary’.  But what does it really mean?  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff unpack the word and other qualifications for Financial Advisors.

Tune in to hear more about:

• The different standards financial professionals are held to depending on their licensing, including:
  • A fiduciary or best interest standard
  • The suitability standard.
• Regulations in finance and how they have worked over time to protect consumers.
• Ethics in financial planning. This can be upheld by an employer to a certain extent but is also dependent on individual professionals.
• Additional certifications that financial professionals can work toward and how they encourage an ethical approach.

Regulations and ethics standards are important, but when working with any professional, their ethics and your relationship with them will always be the most important.  Referrals can be a great way to find someone that has already built a trusting relationship with clients.  Folks are unlikely to refer you to someone they don’t trust!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle check the accuracy of their crystal ball and try out some predictions for next year (even though they have proven they’re not great about it!).

Tune in to hear more about what they expect on:

• The stock market
• Student loans
• Interest rates
• Basically, everything that you can’t really predict!
• For 2024, moderate guesses tended to be fairly safe, but the more outlandish ones were way off base. Who would have guessed!
  • Neither thought there would be a recession in 2024 – correct!
  • Both thought there would be modest interest rate decreases – correct!
  • Corey thought Taylor Swift would make the Forbes 400 list – not yet, but she can still make it!
  • Rachelle thought we might meet some aliens in the future – who the heck knows….

Predictions may be fun, but as always, we try to make our plans based on the things we can control.  Things like how much we’re spending and how much we’re saving.  So have some fun, but make some solid plans as well!  To hear more, listen to the full episode.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, our hosts Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff chat through some upcoming changes to retirement savings rules. A handful of adjustments happen every year, but there are also some new updates coming up because of the Secure Act and the Secure Act 2.0.

Updates include:

• Details on increases to contribution limits.
• New 401k/403b catch up rules for folks aged 60-63.
• New Roth rules for catch up contributions starting in 2026.
• Updated limits on social security wage limits and covered compensation for workplace retirement plans.
• How to set aside as much as possible into your tax-advantaged accounts whether you are a W-2 employee or self-employed.

For most people, retirement plans are one of the best ways to save on taxes.  Make sure you are using them to your advantage as much as possible!  To hear more, listen to the full episode.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle walk through when it makes sense to tackle home renovations (and when it doesn’t).  As always, think about your goals and the resources needed to achieve those goals.

Good examples of renovations include:

• Necessary repairs and maintenance. If you don’t do it now, you’re likely going to NEED to do it later.
• Smaller cosmetic updates like paint. These are typically lower cost and can increase the value of your home.
• Larger remodels (kitchens and bathrooms) and expansions that help you make your current home more livable.
  • These will not add enough value to your home to make the cost worthwhile financially, but can potentially help you stay in a home with a much lower mortgage interest rate.
  • This doesn’t usually make sense if you are not planning to stay in the home for a long time.

Downsides of renovating include:

• For most larger renovations, you will likely not recoup the cost through appreciation in your home value. For example, the Return on Investment (ROI) for kitchen and bathroom remodels is less than 50%.
• It can be incredibly disruptive to your home life. Depending on the size of the renovation, your home may not be livable for a while.
• Most remodels go over budget and are not completed on time.

A remodel can be enticing, especially when interest rates are high and getting into that next home may be out of reach.  But go into it with a very clear understanding that the process will have a lot of bumps in the road – more money, more time, more stress than you expect.  To hear more, listen to the full episode.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle talk about the pros and cons of paying extra on your mortgage.  When interest rates were lower, there was not a lot of incentive to pay down a very low-interest rate debt faster than necessary.  But with higher rates, it may make sense for you.

Some things to consider include:

• Your mortgage interest rate
  • Do you have a magical pre-2023 sub 4% interest rate mortgage? That is much different than the 7% plus on most mortgages right now.
  • How large of a tax deduction are you getting for your mortgage interest?
• Do you think you will stay in this home longer term?
• Think about all the things you could do with extra money each month
  • Save more for retirement
  • Start college savings
• Your risk tolerance
  • Paying down debt has a predictable pay off
  • One alternative to paying down debt is investing more money. You could potentially make more this way, but there are always risks to investing.

The mortgage pay off sheet from the bank will give you a bad case of sticker shock.  No one likes to see that total interest paid amount.  But consider all of the ways you can productively use extra cash flow before deciding that paying down your mortgage is the right choice for you.  To hear more, listen to the full episode.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

The economy is doing well, but if that’s the case, why do day-to-day expenses feel tight for so many people?  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle tackle one expense that has been hit hard by inflation.  But why has home and auto insurance become so much more expensive?

In this episode, we tackle:

• The basic structure of home and auto insurance
• A few reasons why these insurance lines have become more expensive, including:
  • More expensive/larger homes and cars.
  • Increasing costs of supplies and repairs
  • A rise in lawsuits
  • More weather-related claims
• And what to do to make sure you are not overpaying.

With underlying costs being higher, it makes sense that the insurance costs are also higher.  But you can shop around and structure your coverage in more efficient ways to reduce costs as much as possible.  Or you can drive a really old car to see if that helps!  To hear more, listen to the full episode.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In the midst of a housing shortage, Corey and Rachelle walk through some of the reasons housing has become so expensive in this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors. Is it possible for this to get better in the future?

Some of the topics discussed include:

• Supply and demand for housing
  • The influence of the 2008 housing crisis and the pandemic
• The affects of regulation on housing costs
• The changing dynamics of home ownership including foreign investors and short-term rentals
• Possible solutions for this challenge, including increased multi-family housing, government subsidies, and naturally changing demographics.

Every location is different, and when making decisions about home ownership or renting, look at all the factors.  This can include things like how long you plan to own the home, where you are living, and the price of comparable rentals.  It is often assumed that buying is better, but that’s simply not the case every time.  To hear more, listen to the full episode.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle tackle planning for couples.  Whether you are working on moving in with someone, getting married, or separating after a long-term relationship, you will have some big financial decisions.  Open communication can be key, but what should you even be talking about?

Financial topics that affect couples include:

• The simple things like paying bills!
• How to manage banking and split household expenses.
• Questions of ownership.
  • What if you owned a house and then got married?
  • What if you bought real estate with a partner when you were NOT married?
• How to make sure your assets pass to the person you would like to have them if you pass unexpectedly.
• How and when to consider things like life insurance.
• How to get on the same page (or at least come to an understanding) on long-term goals like retirement savings.

Just like with almost every relationship issue, talking openly about your current financial situation and your goals can be key to making sure there are not misunderstandings with your partner when it comes to money.  Many decisions about how to manage specifics are personal preference, but it’s great to get on the same page if possible.  To hear more, listen to the full episode.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Politics can certainly make life spicy and a little stressful!  But how should things like a presidential election affect your investment decisions?  Should they at all?  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff discuss some of the implications of investing during a presidential election year. 

In this episode you will hear about:

• A few basics on how the stock market functions, including everyone trying to use their crystal balls to guess what happens next.
• Statistics on stock market performance under different presidents.
• Policy issues that can potentially affect the stock market (taxes may be the best example).
• Things that affect the stock market and are not related to politics. Hint – this is a much longer list!

The bottom line is that politics matter a lot!  BUT they do not affect your investments nearly as much as you think.  As we go through this election, don’t let politics influence your investment strategy.  There are too many other things that matter much more.  Listen to the full episode to learn more.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

It’s September and that means we are diving into life insurance awareness month!  The reason we need a whole month to raise awareness on this topic is because nobody wants to think about their own mortality; but it’s still important.  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff discuss why, when, and how to explore life insurance. 

In this episode you will hear about:

• Some of the reasons people secure life insurance.
• The process to get life insurance.
• The differences between term life insurance and permanent life insurance.
• Things to think about when securing coverage, such as how much coverage and how long you need it to last.

The goal of this conversation is not to be morbid or pessimistic.  The goal is to consider a plan to make sure if we lose someone unexpectedly, we have less to worry about on the financial side of things and can spend more time focusing on family and healing.  Listen to the full episode to learn more.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden discuss the changing interest rate environment and a few things to think about as the economy adjusts. 

Interest rate discussion topics include:

• How the Federal Reserve uses interest rates to influence the economy.
• How interest rates can potentially affect the stock market.
• Mortgage interest rates and refinancing.
• Housing costs.
• High yield savings accounts and certificates of deposit.

Interest rates have a short-term effect on everything from the stock market to the interest on your bank account.  With most financial planning topics, the goal is to set a course and stick to it, but interest rate changes could mean a change to your short-term strategy.  Listen to the full episode to learn more.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff revisit the topic of saving for college in this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors.  We walked through some basics on this topic a few years ago, but things change over time! 

Some of the topics covered include:

• Discussing how you would like to support your children with higher education. Establish some goals!
• The increasing costs of higher education.
• Savings ahead of time vs paying out of pocket as expenses arise.
• Different types of accounts that can be used to fund education.
  • Recent changes for 529 college savings plans.

Tune in for more on ways to save and recent developments in college savings planning.  Keep in mind that this may be one of many financial goals, and one important step is to make sure you understand where this fits on your priority list.  There are loans for school; there are not loans for retirement.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode, Corey and Rachelle talk about when and how to potentially decrease your savings.  We spend a lot of time talking about how to save more over time, but sometimes life happens and you may need to make some adjustments in the other direction.  Listen to the episode to learn more about how to thing strategically about making these adjustments.

Thoughts to consider from this episode:

• Assess why cash flow is tight: New baby?  New mortgage?  Is this a temporary change?
• Go back to your goals and move things around if needed. Don’t lose sight of what’s important to you.
• Review your spending to see if you can make any changes there BEFORE reducing savings. Can you potentially shift some short-term savings to long-term savings now?
• If you ultimately decide you need to decrease savings, start with non-qualified accounts. Try to keep maxing out retirement plans as much as possible.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about how to implement these strategies in your own plan.  If you do find yourself in a position where you need to decrease savings, try to start increasing those savings again as soon as possible.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In today’s episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff discuss the ins and outs of Social Security.  Some of the history behind it.  How the benefits work. Will it be around in the future?

Some highlights from today’s episode:

• The history of Social Security and what it was designed for.
• How it is funded.
• How benefits are calculated and where to find your estimated future benefits.
  • Some examples based on when you start receiving Social Security benefits.
• The future outlook of Social Security.
• How to incorporate Social Security into your financial strategy.

Listen to the full episode to learn more!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In today’s episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff discuss some basics of what it means to inherit money.  Projections show that there will be a large transfer of wealth from Baby Boomers to younger generations.  How will that be taxed?  What should you do with the money? 

Inheritance considerations discussed in this episode include:

• How do assets move from one person to another when someone passes away?
• What happens when someone passes away without a will?
• How are different kinds of things taxed when you inherit them?
  • There are big differences between retirement accounts, property, business assets, and non-retirement investment accounts.
• Do I need to worry about estate taxes?
• What should I do with the money I receive?
  • Review your goals before you decide!
• How do I know if the investments in accounts are appropriate for me?

This topic is complicated and there’s a lot to discuss.  Listen to the full episode to learn more!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode, Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden walk through some key economic indicators of the US Economy in early 2024.  The media would have us believe things are going very poorly, but how do we interpret the data?

US Economic Indicators:

• Inflation is the biggest issue people mention, but has decreased substantially to 3.4% year over year in April of 2024.
  • When adjusting for wage increases, people are generally not paying more as a percentage of their income in 2023 for goods and services than they did in 2019.
• Unemployment is currently going on 27 months of a lower than 4% unemployment rate. Which is more than a 50-year record!
• Housing is challenging. Prices remain high and interest rates are high, which means prospective new home buyers will pay much more for a home each month than they would have a couple of years ago.
• Many things cost less today as a percentage of income than they have in the past.
  • In the 1950s many people spent more than 20% of their income on food. Today the average is under 10%.

There are many different things that make up the “economy”.  It is always nuanced, but keep in mind that the media has a vested interest in keeping your attention.  Doom and gloom grabs a larger audience than feel good stories.  Be aware of what’s happening in the world, but focus on what you can control.  Chances are, a lot of you are doing pretty well!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Rachelle Vanderzanden and Corey Janoff tackle some ways to increase occurrences and the impact of good luck (and decrease the impact of bad luck) in this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors.  There will always be things out of our control, and we might as well prepare for them the best we can.

How do you increase chances of “good luck” and decrease chances of “bad luck” in your financial plan?

• Have some extra cash on hand for emergencies.
• Work hard and be kind. If you have the support of the folks around you, they will often help things go more smoothly.
• Take on less debt than you can afford.
• Be aggressive with your savings.
• Build some diversification into that plan!

Things will not always go as we plan.  It’s important to have plans B, C, and D lined up just in case.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden talk about the moving goalposts of what it means or feels like to be “rich”.  Such a loaded word!  But how much you earn or have may not matter nearly as much as where you live or even your attitude.  If we compare ourselves with some averages, it can put things into perspective a bit.

How do you even measure being rich?

• Income – Keep in mind that many of our listeners are in the top 5-10% of earners in the US.
  • Median household income was $74,580 in 2022.
  • Only 12% of households earn above $200,000 per year.
  • Only 2.6% of households earn above $400,000 per year.
• Net Worth – This is a little harder to measure. You can look at the things you own/money you have set aside and then look at your debts.  Early career physicians often have a negative net worth with the student loan balances, but many are able to build this fairly quickly as attendings.
• Cash Flow – High fixed expenses (like mortgage, student loan payments, and childcare) can make things feel tight from month-to-month. Definitely does not make you feel rich.
• Comparisons – Who are you comparing yourself to? A person making a median income with a median net worth, or your older colleagues at work who have had more time to grow their wealth.

Money is only one way to measure wealth.  We can also look at things like health, time with family, and a sense of purpose.  Even if you are not a top earner or a person with a large net worth, that doesn’t have to stop you from feeling rich.  Is your glass half empty or half full?  Listen for the full episode to hear more.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In today’s society, there are many, many things that we feel we need.  But in reality, many of those things are not needed, they are wanted.  To be clear, there is nothing wrong with wanting things!  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle and Corey will chat about how to differentiate between needs and wants in your life to help keep things in perspective.

This can apply in many areas of our lives including:

• Housing – Yes, we all need a roof over our heads. But beyond that, how much house do you really need?
• Transportation – Many people need a vehicle to get around in these days of suburban sprawl, but the kind of car you need is likely very basic (and not new).
• Even food – Yes, we all need to eat, but you can spend a dramatically different amount of money on groceries depending on where and how you shop. Depending on where you live, even lower cost grocery stores offer some of the same high-quality foods.

There is nothing wrong with spending money on things that you want and enjoy.  Where we run into trouble is when we overspend by telling ourselves we need something that we don’t.  Housing is a great example, where we can decide we “need” a 2,500 square foot home when a 1,700 square foot home may be very livable.  If you can afford that 2,500 square foot home – go for it!  Just keep things in perspective!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle tackle a question they get from a lot of clients – “Is it a good idea to get into rental properties?”  As with everything in financial planning, the answer is, “It depends!”  There are a few questions you can ask yourself to help you decide.

When you are thinking about getting into rental properties, ask yourself:

• Am I okay with the additional risk?
  • Likely taking on debt you will have to pay yourself if you can’t rent out your property.
  • Being responsible for potentially large home repairs.
  • If the value of the home declines, you may owe more than it is worth.
• Would the potential rental income of this property cover the costs of the mortgage, insurance, property management, taxes, and upkeep?
• How long do I want to rent out this property and what are the tax implications if I sell it?
• What else could I do with the down payment money instead of investing it in property? What am I giving up doing this?
  • Additional retirement savings
  • College savings
• Do I want to deal with renters?

There are lots of things to consider when you want to get into real estate.  It is very important to run the numbers and see if it’s a good fit for your finances and for your personality.  Real estate is not right for everyone.  Listen to the full episode to learn more and hear about how real estate can compliment your financial plan if you do decide it’s a good fit for you.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Many people avoid insurance because they believe it is a waste of money, or worst case, a big scam.  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors Rachelle and Corey talk about some of the reasons you may need insurance, and others most people can avoid.

First ask yourself:  If this happened, would it be financially devastating to me or my family?  If so, insurance is at least worth exploring.

• You pay an outside company to share a risk with you. Simple as that.
  • Their goal is to make money. This is a business.
  • Your goal is to waste the least amount of money possible, but also to make sure if something big happens, it’s not all on you to figure it out.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about specific coverages that you may need, and others that you can almost always skip.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode, peek behind the curtain of Corey and Rachelle’s personal financial plans.  In social situations, it can be uncomfortable to pick your friend’s brains about how they approach financial planning, but on Financial Planning Basics for Doctors, we are an open book.  Here, and probably in our personal lives more than we should be!

Rachelle and Corey will chat about how they approach:

• Emergency reserves
• Spending and cash flow planning
• Debt management
  • Do they pay extra on their mortgages???
• Insurances
• College savings
• Retirement savings and investing
• Tax planning
• Estate planning
  • Hint: They struggle to be on top of this just like everyone else!

The bottom line is that we practice what we preach.  Savings, insurances, and proper debt management are important!  We also want to make sure that our plans reflect our values.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

We often focus in life (and in this podcast) on the things that are constantly evolving.  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle discuss some of the constants in finances – the things you can anticipate AND address.

Some constants include:

• How much you save matters.
• The easier and more automated things are, the more you can do them consistently.
  • Be prepared for the lazier aspects of the human personality!
• Discomfort can be a great tool for learning and improving.
• Diversification reduces risk.
• There is a trade off between risk and reward.
• Death and Taxes!

We can’t prepare ourselves for many things in life because we don’t know about everything!  It makes sense to be cognizant of the things we DO know and act accordingly.  We’ve talked about this before, but focus on what you know (and also what you can control).

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In today’s episode, Rachelle and Corey talk about some of the scarier aspects of financial planning.  As we approach tax filing, retirement savings, and investing, there is often the nagging worry in the back of our minds.  We don’t want to mess up and get in trouble or derail our financial plan.  With potential errors, there are often ways to avoid pitfalls and even make corrections when needed.

A few examples of potential missteps:

• Taxes! Everyone is worried about this right now because it’s that time of year.
  • For example, if you forget to record a Traditional IRA contribution for your “backdoor” Roth, you may end up paying taxes on an amount you shouldn’t have! BUT you can file an amended return.
  • Many tax errors are fixable with an amended return, but depending on the error you may have some penalty or late payment taxes.
  • If you’re really worried about it, it’s worth seeking the assistance of an accountant.
• • Betting big on something risky or more volatile…. You can definitely lose money this way, and with riskier investments it’s a good idea to treat those like gambling. Maybe throw a little money that way for fun, but that’s about it.
  • Not saving enough is probably the biggest risk here, but saving more is a great solution!
• House purchase gone wrong.
  • Moving to a new city/job and buying a house immediately is risky.
  • If you end up needing to move, you can sell the home, but likely at a loss. Or you can potentially keep it and rent it out.
  • In the grand scheme of things, this is not ideal, but also something you can likely recover from.

There are so many other examples in this episode!  There are lots of errors we can potentially make, but also many ways to avoid or fix them when they happen.  Listen to the full episode to hear more.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode, Corey and Rachelle discuss a few ways you can leave room for error in your financial plan.  Nothing goes perfectly!  Buffers in various aspects of your financial life can go a long way toward helping you achieve your goals.

“Room for Error” can mean a lot of different things:

• Extra cash on hand! This may seem inefficient, but even some hugely successful companies do this.
  • When Bill Gates headed up Microsoft, they kept enough cash on hand to keep the company afloat for a year without revenue.
  • Ideally, you have enough to at least cover your bills for three to six months.
• Wiggle room in your monthly spending.
  • If you can spend less than you’re making, you have room in the budget for the unexpected.
• Boring, but very helpful when it comes to the unexpected.
  • Winter storms wreaked havoc this year with downed trees, burst pipes, and car accidents. Insurance is incredibly helpful in these circumstances.
• Extra retirement savings. You may plan to work to Age 65, but there is no guarantee you will be able to.  Saving more can put you in great shape to make changes if needed.

Spending every cent you earn and living life to the fullest may be a lot more exciting, but it can also cause unnecessary stress.  Having a little “extra” set aside can help buy you some peace of mind.  That is a huge part of financial planning!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Most people get a little advice from their parents once in a while.  A lot of times it’s great advice!  When it comes to financial advice, sometimes our parents may be advising based on the economic reality they faced, not the one you’re facing.  In this episode, Rachelle and Corey address some of the changes over time that have made financial planning different for our generation, and what may impact future generations.

Differences include:

• Where people save money and how they use credit or debt as a tool.
• Differences in housing affordability.
• Staggering student loan debt for many of you.
• A wide variety of retirement accounts and investment tools that are easily accessible to retail investors.
• Less access to pensions and concerns about the future of Social Security Income.
• And maybe the biggest difference – a willingness to talk about money! Not just with your parents, but with friends and colleagues as well at times.

The bottom line is that every person’s individual circumstances determine how we should approach paying down debt, saving for retirement, and many other financial goals.  Chances are, your situation is different than your parents’.  And different that your colleagues’ or neighbors’ for that matter as well!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Generally, Rachelle and Corey are big fans of keeping things simple on Financial Clarity for Doctors.  But in some situations, a little more complicated can be a lot more helpful!  For those in higher tax brackets, direct indexing can be a more tax efficient way to invest in the broader market than using mutual funds or ETFs.  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, learn a little more about it.

In this episode, learn:

• How indexes are a measure of the performance of lots of different companies in a particular category.
• How mutual funds and ETFs are designed to mirror that performance.
• The difference between investing in an index fund and direct indexing.
  • The index fund realizes gains and losses when it places trades to be more in line with the performance of the underlying index.
  • With direct indexing, you can choose if/when/what to buy and sell to minimize capital gains.
• The benefits of index investing and direct indexing.

This strategy may be more complicated than many people need in their financial plan, but can make a big difference in when and how you pay capital gains taxes, especially in large accounts.  If you have a large sum of money to invest in a brokerage account, definitely something to learn more about and consider.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

The New Year is a great time to pause and reflect on your goals and values.  Your financial plan is a huge part of that!  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle offer some suggestions of things to reflect on and how to use that to adjust.

What should you focus on?

• Worried about anything financially? - Start there!  This can be uncomfortable but is likely the most productive use of your time.
• Reflect on your spending and ask yourself if you’re spending money on the things you value.
  • Love good food? – Awesome!
  • Enjoy traveling, but not enough to feel like your $20,000 spend was appropriate? – Plan smaller or fewer trips this year.
• Double check your progress on debt repayment.
  • Knocking out credit cards?
  • Crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s for PSLF?
• Review your progress toward short-term savings goals like a home down payment.
• Add up how much you were able to save toward your long-term goals. Was it 10% of your gross income?  20%?  20% is often a good goal to work toward as a medical professional.
• Take some time to make sure you have enough insurance coverage for your current situation.
  • More kids and more income, may mean you need more life insurance for example.
• Speaking of kids, check your progress toward any college savings goals and other goals you may have for them.

This is a lot!  Sometimes you feel comfortable reviewing on your own, but this is also a great thing to do with your financial advisor.  If you review a bit on your own and have specific thoughts or concerns for your advisor, schedule a meeting and make some adjustments.  When you have a better understanding of how you’re doing, you can plan much more effectively.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle and Corey try to predict the future!  We know we’ll be wrong about lots of things, but it’s still fun to try.  From predictions about the economy this coming year to thoughts about Taylor Swift and aliens, this episode has a little bit of everything.

Prediction highlights include:

• Will the US economy be in a recession by the end of 2024 or not?
• Will the housing market finally slow down?
• What will happen to tax rates over the next few years?
• Will we continue to see good long-term returns in the stock market?
• And most importantly, are we going to meet some aliens here on Earth?

To be clear, we don’t know the answers to any of these questions!  Lots of people try to predict the future, but if they get it right, it’s probably just luck.  Humans are great at speculating though, and we are no exception.  Send us some of your predictions, and we can do an episode in the future about what we all got right and what we got terribly wrong.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

For many of us the holidays are joyful, and for others they are stressful (realistically, a combination of both!) – family stuff, cold and flu season, anxiety about gift giving?  There is something for everyone!  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle discuss some ways to approach gifting a bit more thoughtfully to reduce your stress around at least one aspect of the holidays.

Gifting with family and friends:

• When giving gifts to family and friends, make sure you establish reasonable expectations that work for everyone.
  • You don’t want to make competitive gift-giving a sport in your circle, creating stress and possibly spending more money than necessary.
  • With kids, redirect their attention to things that are not gifts. So many things to enjoy during the holidays!  Yes, they will want presents, but it doesn’t have to be the only thing that brings them happiness.

 Charitable giving:

• There is no right or wrong answer here, but if you are charitably inclined, this is a great time of year to gift.
  • Set a budget for gifting and then find causes that align with your values (Charity Navigator has a great search function).
  • Sometimes there are matching donation campaigns which make your impact larger.
  • You can involve family and/or kids! They can help you select organizations or even participate in activities like putting together cold weather kits for the houseless.

Giving is supposed to be about bringing joy to those receiving gifts, not stressing out the person giving the gift.  We can get back to that with a little thought.  Happy Holidays everyone!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

The world is constantly in flux, sometimes in ways that are scary or violent.  This can sometimes cause us to reassess everything.  But it when it comes to your investments, that may not be the best strategy.  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle chat about how to approach investing during times of geopolitical uncertainty.

Reviewing your investments:

• Take a moment to review the reasons you are investing. Is it for retirement in 20 years?  A home down payment in two years?
  • With a period of time like two years, ideally, you are protecting your dollars from the risk associated with the stock market (whether there is some global turmoil or not).
  • For your long-term money, if you don’t need to sell out of those investments soon, we don’t need to worry as much about what is happening in the short term.
• Put the current situation into perspective.
  • On a global scale, terrifying, heartbreaking, surprising things are happening every day.
  • Some of them affect us more than others, but the turmoil itself is not new.
  • For the stock market, it has weathered a lot of storms over the decades.
• Keep in mind that for long-term investors, time is on your side.
  • When Corey was born, the S&P 500 closed at 244.
  • When Rachelle was born, the S&P 500 closed at 162 (she’s older!).
  • On 11/15/2023, the S&P 500 closed at 4,502.88. That’s huge!
  • Focus on what you can control, and don’t let the rest affect your investments.

All that being said, you can (and maybe should) care about what’s going on in the world.  Just don’t necessarily make big investment decisions based on those events.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

For many folks, it’s open enrollment season!  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle and Corey discuss the ins and outs of health insurance and how to decide which one is the best fit for you.

Health insurance:

• Most importantly, make sure you have health insurance!
• Some plans have a higher deductible and a lower premium. Other plans have a lower deductible and higher premium.
• When it comes down to it, you want to estimate how much you may pay out of pocket for medical expenses over the year and compare that to the cost difference for your insurance premiums over the full year.
  • Pick the one that might save you money! We say “might”, because there is some element of unpredictability with your health!
• When calculating estimated costs, consider:
  • Deductible – How much do you pay out of pocket before some expenses are covered?
  • Co-payment – Do you just have a co-payment for office visits and prescriptions or do you have to pay for all of it before you hit your deductible?
  • Co-insurance – What percentage of costs are you responsible for paying?
  • Out of pocket maximum – Very important to know the MOST you can be on the hook for in a serious medical event.
• Other things to consider – Can you put money into a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to pay for costs pre-tax? Keep in mind that the FSA is a “use it or lose it” account.

These decisions can save you a few hundred or maybe even a few thousand dollars over the course of a year, but if you have coverage, you are in good shape!  Don’t stress about it too much.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle and Corey talk about the hypothetical value of shares of stock.  Sometimes financial markets can feel very opaque and mysterious, and that’s for good reason!  This is confusing sometimes!  But when you buy a share of stock, you are buying something that is backed by tangible goods and services.  It’s real, but still very hard to determine its worth.

The value of stock is:

• Driven by the goods and services provided by the company behind it.
• At any given time, the value is the price that a buyer and a seller can agree is fair.
• There are two main ways that a shareholder can earn money from owning stock, which influences how much they may pay for that share:
  • Dividends are profits that are distributed by shareholders.
  • Stock price appreciation is when the value of the stock itself goes up. You realize gains, when you sell your shares when the price is higher than what you paid.  You can also lose money!
• Human nature makes things more complicated!
  • People get excited about new companies doing new things.
  • Personal values can influence whether you think a company’s stock is worth buying or not.
• When deciding a fair price for buying and selling stock, larger buyers and sellers have an advantage. Retail investors generally don’t.

It can be very exciting to buy and sell individual shares of stock, but that is partially because it is much riskier than buying shares of an index fund.  You can do a lot of math to determine if you’re buying at a fair price, but you have no control over what other people will think is a fair price in the future.  More diversified investments are less exciting, but also less risky.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Do you feel like you are spinning your wheels with your financial plan?  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle talk about how it can be challenging to see improvement in your finances because those improvements can be slow.  When trying to view progress, look over a longer period.  And remember, that progress can be very challenging when you are still in training.

Change is often gradual:

• Your physical health doesn’t improve overnight. Medical advances don’t happen overnight.  We shouldn’t expect to become millionaires overnight either.
• To see progress:
  • Calculate your net worth over time and compare today to two, five, or even ten years in the past. This will look better once you reach that attending phase of your career.
• Things that improve your net worth include:
  • Building your emergency reserves
  • Paying off debt
  • Retirement savings/investing

Remember to focus on what you control.  Investment returns can have a huge impact on your overall progress year-to-year, but what you are saving (and spending) matters a lot as well.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle and Corey tackle some strategies for using all your hard-earned money in retirement.  This is what a lot of us are working toward, and using your money efficiently in retirement means there may be more of it to use and to leave behind.

In this episode learn about:

• Where to put money that you need immediately, in the medium-term, and in the long-term.
  • Even when you retire, some of your money is still for use decades in the future!
• Spending patterns in retirement.
• How each of your investment accounts will be taxed in retirement (and when inherited).
  • And how to withdraw in ways that are as tax efficient as possible.
• Other sources of income in retirement, including social security and home equity.
• Potential large end-of-life costs.

Saving as much as possible is the best way to make sure you don’t run out of money later in life, but we can also stretch those dollars as much as possible.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Lots of people value experiences like travel in their lives.  With clients, this often makes the top three for short-term goals.  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle and Corey walk through some ways to travel without breaking the bank - so you can do the thing you love right now, but also put some resources aside for your future self.

Travel tips discussed include:

• Timing when you go and when you pay!
• Bringing the kids only when it makes sense.
• Being selective about where you travel.
  • Balancing big trips and little trips.
  • Is Santorini worth almost twice as much as Crete?
• What to do when you get to your location.
• Using points and rewards.

Financial planning is all about priorities.  If traveling is a priority for you, then do it!  But you might as well do it in a smart way.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle walk through the time consuming (and somewhat rewarding!) process of building a custom home.  Corey speaks from personal experience and walks through the entire process.

Tune in to learn about:

• All the pros and cons (marital discord and all).
• The process – from buying the land to deciding which way you want your windows to open.
• The costs – Surprise! Sometimes it may be less expensive to build your dream rather than buy an existing home and try to make it work.
• Financing options.
• And the time commitment! It takes a long time and can be like another full-time job!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this week's blog, we dive into college savings strategies, as well as some recent changes to the rules around 529 college savings plans.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Why is it that people get so nervous and uncomfortable when discussing money?  Many of us were taught as children that it is rude to discuss money, but knowledge is power!  In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle discuss a few taboo money topics and why money needs to be a part of our everyday discourse.

In this episode we walk through the following off-limits topics (and a few more!):

• Salary – Sometimes this is even specifically prohibited in the workplace, but how else do you know whether you are being paid fairly?
• Debt – Discussing this can help you feel less shame (they have loans too!) and can help you come up with some solutions to deal with it.
• Gift giving – We have made this a habit and expectation in our culture but refuse to talk about the money and resources that go into it.
• Big purchases (house/luxury items) – Sometimes these purchases take a lot out of us, but we pretend it’s all easy and under control. Discussing the reality can help others understand the sacrifices we sometimes make to attain these things.

Social norms change all the time, and this one is worth changing.  We need to learn to discuss both the positive and negatives of money and help younger generations understand and learn from our own experiences.  We can’t do that without talking about it.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

If you are looking for more resources to dive into financial planning, this episode is for you!  Corey and Rachelle list out a few of their favorite books, blogs, and podcasts.  There is a little something for everyone here!

Books:

• Some of our favorites include:
  • Financial Planning Basic for Doctors by Marshall Weintraub, et al.
    • Advisors at our firm wrote this one!
  • The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
  • Behavior Gap and The One Page Financial Plan by Carl Richards
  • The Opposite of Spoiled by Ron Lieber

Blogs:

• Everyone’s favorite, The White Coat Investor! A little biased against advisors and a little heavy on the advertisements, but still a wealth of information.
• Another classic, The Physician on FIRE. For those that want to achieve financial independence as quickly as possible.
• If you like numbers and analysis, Of Dollars and Data with Nick Maggiulli is great.
• If you like a little of everything, Abnormal Returns aggregates daily finance articles and blogs from around the web.

Podcasts:

• Do you really want or need anything other than our pearls of wisdom? Maybe! Different perspectives can be very helpful and cover different topics.
• Bonnie Koo at Wealthy Mom MD talks about her own journey through medical training and debt.
• Corey’s favorite, Morgan Housel, has a podcast!

Listen to the episode to hear more about these resources and our thoughts on them.  With any media, especially resources found online, use your critical thinking skills and verify information before committing it to long-term memory.  In the end, a lot of this is behavior-based, and you have to find the resources that work well for you.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

They’re coming!  Take one final breath of fresh air before your federal student loan payments resume.  Finally.  In today’s episode, Corey and Rachelle chat about what to expect when payments resume and some of the additional changes to income-based repayment plans.

The final stretch:

• If all goes as planned, interest on student loans is resuming in September and payments are resuming in October.
• If you haven’t already, log into your student loan servicer’s website to verify your next payment due date and amount.

REPAYE to become SAVE:

• If you are currently enrolled in Revised Paye as You Earn (REPAYE) you will now be enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan.
• The payment amount will still be 10% of your discretionary income, but discretionary income is determined using 225% of the federal poverty level instead of 150% as it was in the past.
• If your income-driven payment does not cover the interest, 100% of that accumulating interest is eliminated.
• You will be able to file separately from your spouse and only use your own income with SAVE. With REPAYE, you had to use both incomes.

Other changes this summer:

• IRS integration for income verification and family size which will mean automatic income recertification if you enroll.
• Redesigned and simplified application through Studentaid.gov.

To hear more about the details of these changes and others, listen to the full episode.  To read more about the SAVE plan, read the Federal Student Aid announcement on the program here.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

This week's blog post is an overview of the financial topics you should be addressing during your training years.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode, Rachelle and Corey discuss the value a Financial Advisor can provide to different types of people.  Not everyone is the same, so the answer to this question is not always the same!

Folks that we think could potentially get a LOT of value from working with an advisor include:

• People that feel very uncomfortable dealing with money. This is a lot of people and can be for any number of reasons.
• People who haven’t been taught the basics of managing their finances. This includes folks that aren’t sure how to protect themselves from risk, how much to save, how much they can afford to spend on a home, and much more.
• People who ignore all things related to money. You can’t ignore it forever!
• People who want to delegate some of the financial aspects of their lives. Some folks don’t want to spend the time and mental effort managing all of this on their own.

For the Do-It-Yourselfer:

• There are some folks that really enjoy learning about financial topics and prefer to tackle this on their own.
• If you can understand your own biases, save a lot, and do things very consistently, this can be the way to go!
• For these folks, sometimes it can make sense to use a fee-based or fee-only advisor to review and spot check things occasionally. Totally up to you!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

This episode contains a client story that is based upon an individual client experience and may not be representative of the experience of other customers and should not be considered a guarantee or indication of future performance of success

In this episode, Rachelle and Corey use a LOT of metaphors to explore the idea that investing for long-term growth should be boring!  This isn’t a game; it’s trying to achieve your goals (like having enough money when you retire) without taking on unnecessary and often unsuccessful risks.

Our favorite metaphor:

• Did you know that Greenland sharks have a life expectancy of 250-500 years?!
• They grow very slowly, live in cold water, and are more or less immune to most cancers and diseases.
• Definitely a slow and steady wins the race creature!

Applying this to investing:

• When you invest for exciting returns in the short-term, you win some and you lose some. Not usually the best results when you do that over a long period of time.
  • More exciting = more risky
• Taking a well-diversified approach does not usually result in “exciting” returns. Sometimes your portfolio goes up a bit, sometimes it goes down.  But it gives you the best change of “good enough” returns over a long period of time.
  • Less exiting = less risky

Sometimes folks think investing is glamourous; but if you’re doing it right, it’s more like the Greenland shark.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

This week's blog post dives into 11 ideas you can implement to help educate your children about money. 

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

In this episode, Rachelle and Corey tackle some basic goals you can tackle at each stage of your career.  These goals build on each other over time.  This is not designed to be a comprehensive list, but can be a great quick-start guide!

Examples include:

• Living frugally and focusing on minimizing debt as a student.
• Starting some basic retirement savings and protecting your income as a trainee.
• Maxing out tax-advantaged retirement plans and building a good savings buffer as a new attending.
• Clarifying your longer-term goals as you are settled into practice.
• Refining your exit strategy as you get ready for retirement.
• AND spending your hard-earned savings sustainably as a retiree.

 Listen to the full episode for more tips on how to approach debt repayment and savings over time.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

This weeks blog, written by Peggy Haslach, discusses financial planning for the LGBTQIA+ community.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

Corey and Rachelle dive into the idea of housing arbitrage in the newest episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors.  If you bought a home or refinanced it at historically low interest rates, you may be able to work that to your advantage in a unique way.

The scenario this episode explores involves:

• A homeowner in a desirable area with a comparatively low monthly cost.
  • Example cost (mortgage, taxes, insurance): $6,000 per month.
• Exploring moving to a neighboring town where costs are lower, but want to rent first.
  • Example rental cost: $3,000 per month.
• In the meantime, will rent out their existing home (in the desirable area).
  • Example rental income: $6,500 per month.
• By doing this, they are generating positive cash flow of $3,500 per month!
  • Lower monthly housing costs for them, and a bit more income than expenses on the home.
• This could potentially apply in other situations, where you are considering a move to another city with a lower cost of living as well.

Listen to the full episode to learn more and explore some of the potential risks.  This is not for everyone!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this week's blog, we dive into the costs of buying, selling, and owning a home and whether it makes sense to buy or rent in the short-term.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

In this week's blog, we dive into what to look for in a disability insurance policy, so you can secure the policy that's right for you.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

In this special 100th episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Rachelle and Corey discuss some principles of money that are worth incorporating into our daily lives.  Bottom line – A lot (but not all) of this is behavioral!

Numbers Driven Principles:

• Some of this needs to be backed up by data! Including discussions of:
  • The time value of money
  • Risk/reward trade offs
  • Diversification
  • Inflation and compound interest (compounding can work for you AND against you)

Behavior-Driven Principles:

• Luck is luck. Don’t get too hung up when you are randomly on either side of it.
• Uncertainty is a given. Stop trying to focus on what may or may not happen and focus on what you can control!
• Stop comparing yourself to others.
  • People have different goals and values and different ways of supporting that with their resources.
  • Appearances can be very deceiving.
• Separate fun from investing. It should be boring!
• Financial independence can have a huge impact on happiness and satisfaction.
  • Even if you are working, you are doing it on your own terms now.

 Listen to the full episode for these tips and so many more!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle weigh the pros and cons of different types of employers.  It’s job search time, and while money isn’t everything, it is important to understand the financial benefits of each job to make an informed decision.

Financial Considerations When Deciding on a Job:

• First – Pay! Not just the dollar amount.
  • Is it salary or production-based?
    • If production-based, get some estimates of what new physicians have earned.
  • Are there bonuses and how likely are you to get these bonuses?
  • What are the hours? Call?  You may not be getting paid more if you’re working twice as much!
• You can assign these a dollar value as well!
  • Retirement benefits can be huge!
    • Matching, flat employer contributions, pension benefits.
  • • How much will you pay for medical insurance?
    • How much life and long-term disability insurance do they offer?
    • Will you need to purchase tail insurance if/when you leave?
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and other loan repayment programs.
    • Does your prospective employer qualify for PSLF or other programs?
    • How much could you potentially have forgiven?
      • The larger your loan balance, the more attractive loan forgiveness is.

Look beyond the obvious when making employment decisions, and don’t sell yourself short!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Today on Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle unpack some of the details behind the fall of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).  Is the whole banking industry in trouble, and should we be worried?

Banking is reliant on trust:

• Depositors need to trust that the money they place in the bank will be there when they need it or the whole system collapses.
• If banks give customers reasons to be afraid, then people may withdraw their money.
  • Lots of SVB depositors tried to withdraw money within a short period of time, and the bank could not easily liquidate investments (some of which had lost money) and distribute all those bank account balances at the same time.
  • Federal government stepped in to make the depositors whole again.
• Federal protections in place to help facilitate trust in the banking industry.
  • Look for FDIC insurance coverage at your bank, which protects most balances up to $250,000.
  • In the case of SVB, the government helped make depositors whole above the FDIC limits.

Simple steps like double-checking FDIC limits and coverage at your bank, can help ensure that your deposits are safe.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Today on Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle discuss different ways of purchasing a home.  With housing inventory still being low in many places, it can be helpful to explore all your options.

Types of Homes to Consider:

• Homes for sale by another owner (pre-owned homes).
  • Can include single family homes, but also condominiums or townhomes.
  • This is the fastest way to get into a home generally, but the home is what it is.
  • Can potentially negotiate on price and other items.
• New construction homes that have already been built or are in the process of being built.
  • This will be a brand new home, and you may even get to pick some of the finishes if the build is not complete.
  • Much less negotiation with a new home.
• Custom homes
  • This can be more expensive, slower, and more challenging to finance, but will be the closest to exactly what you want.

You may be limited a bit by your timeframe, but if you have the time, it is well worth it to explore all options available to you.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this week's blog, we through 10 tax deductions for doctors for ways to potentially save money on taxes.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle tackle some of the best places to put extra cash savings.  Having “too much cash” is a good problem to have, but we want to be as efficient as possible with anything you don’t need for your day-to-day expenses.

Topics discussed include:

• Good reasons to have cash reserves and not-so-good reasons
  • Emergency reserves and short-term spending needs? Both good reasons to have cash on hand!
• High-interest savings accounts
  • Very liquid and quite a few yielding a decent amount of interest at this time
• Certificates of deposit
  • Potentially a higher yield than a savings account but less liquidity
• I Bonds and other treasury bonds and bills
  • Lots of different amounts of times to be invested
• Structured investments including market-linked C.D.s and issuer-protected or buffered notes
  • More complicated, but can potentially participate in some stock market performance with less risks

Ideally, we are not keeping too much money on cash (we may be better off investing some of those dollars), but for the dollars that we do need to keep fairly safe and/or liquid, let’s try to at least earn a little interest!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle discuss the benefits of pre-tax and Roth retirement accounts.  We love savings, but it’s important to understand when and how you pay taxes.  You will have to pay taxes on your retirement savings, it’s just a matter of when.

Pre-Tax Retirement Savings:

• Tax deduction now.
• Can grow without paying taxes along the way.
• Pay ordinary income taxes on withdrawals.
• Can contribute through work retirement plans up to a maximum.
• Generally, not accessible before age 59.5 without penalty taxes.
• Best in your peak income earning years if you are in a high tax bracket.

Roth Retirement Savings:

• No tax deduction now.
• Can grow without paying taxes along the way.
• Withdrawals in retirement are tax free.
• Can contribute through Roth IRA (potentially “backdoor” Roth) and many employers offer a Roth deferral option. These plans have a maximum as well.
• The growth in the account is generally not accessible until Age 59.5 without penalty taxes.
• Pay taxes now at a known rate, instead of later at an unknown rate.
• Best when you are in a lower tax bracket than you expect to be in the future or in retirement.

One last note – keep in mind that taxes change over time.  We can make decisions now based on current tax rates, but we don’t know what tax rates will be later in our careers or in retirement.  Ideally, we have retirement savings that is diversified across tax treatments, so that we can adapt to changing tax environments in retirement.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this week's blog, we talk about own-occupation disability insurance for physicians and how to estimate how much coverage you should get.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

In this episode, Corey and Rachelle take a little inspiration from Bill Perkins and his book ­Die with Zero.  It’s an interesting concept (but scary to most people).  Ultimately, the idea is to use the resources you have while you can enjoy them.

In this episode, they will chat about:

• Thinking of every dollar you leave behind as hours you worked.
• Strategically planning WHEN to use your money and other resources including time.
  • When you are young and healthy, you are better able to enjoy things.
• Planning to gift money earlier rather than at the end of your life.
  • Kids may benefit more from resources earlier on when they don’t have a lot of their own resources.
  • Charitable organizations can always use support sooner than later as well.
• Ways to protect yourself in the case of a long lifespan.
  • Creating income streams.
  • Using insurances to mitigate some of the larger risks like high-cost end of life care.

It is still important to develop healthy savings and spending habits, but it’s also important to use and enjoy the resources you have.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this week's blog, we walk through benefits of working locums as a doctor.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

In this episode, Corey and Rachelle discuss a few retirement savings and tax law changes.  One thing we like to say in planning, is that tax laws change all the time.  This is one example of how those changes can affect you and your retirement savings.

This was a large part of a huge spending bill, and the below notes are not intended to be comprehensive.  There are just a few tidbits we thought our listeners might find interesting.

Highlights from the bill:

• For small business setting up a 401k, you can now apply for a tax credit of up to 100% of the startup costs (an increase from 50%).
• Employer matching contributions can now be Roth as well as pre-tax. If Roth, the dollars would be taxable to the employee at the time of contribution.
• Employers can now match student loan payments into a 401k or 403b.
• The deadline to set up a Solo 401k will now be the tax filing deadline instead of the end of the calendar year.
• You can now make Roth contributions into both SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs.
• There will be additional opportunities for “catch-up” contributions. These are increased contribution limits for older retirement plan savers.
• Required minimum contributions will not be required until you are age 75 starting in 2033.
• For 529 plans that have been established for more than 15 years, can roll up to $35,000 total from the 529 into the beneficiary’s Roth IRA.
• And so much more! Listen to the episode for a few more tidbits.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

In this week's blog, we walk through some ways to estimate how much money a doctor needs to retire.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

In this episode, Corey and Rachelle discuss how to approach leaving money behind, whether that is for family, charitable causes, or the government.  Just kidding!  The goal is for YOU to be able to direct where your wealth goes, which can include minimizing taxes if possible.

What are your goals and your family’s goals for passing on wealth?

• Make sure to consider what you really want in terms of legacy and estate planning. Passing on wealth is not for everyone!  Your goal could be to spend every cent you have and enjoy life to the fullest, and that’s okay too.
• If your goal is to leave a legacy, then reassess these goals periodically. Things change over time.

If you’ve decided this is an important goal for you:

• Spend conservatively and save A LOT. Remember, you want to have more than enough for your own retirement.
• Using Roth and brokerage accounts can be very helpful for passing on wealth in a tax-advantaged way.
  • If you inherit a Roth account, you do not pay taxes on the growth if you take qualified withdrawals.
  • Taxable brokerage accounts get a “step up in basis” when inherited. The dollar amount that is exempt from taxes is not the purchase price, but the price when the investments are inherited.
• Think about gifting money (at least up to the gift tax exclusion amount) during your life.
• Make estate planning a priority! Talk to an attorney to make sure your wishes are very clear and to potentially help manage taxes.
• Consider charitable donations. These can be made in a variety of ways to reduce your tax burden during life and on your estate.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

In this week's blog, we list 23 financial goals you can shoot for in 2023.  Don't worry about accomplishing them all!  Pick several to commit to and go from there!

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

In this episode, Corey and Rachelle breakdown cash balance retirement plans.  What are they and are they a good fit for you?

What the heck is a cash balance plan?

You can potentially put a LOT of money into them, but you can’t set them up just anywhere.  A cash balance plan may be a good fit for you if:

There are lots of rules with these and costs as well.  It can be a great way to save a lot of money for retirement while saving on taxes, but proceed cautiously and learn as much as you can first.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

This episode is an extra special one where Corey interviews his dad, Dr. Kenneth Janoff, a retired surgeon about his career in medicine and achieving financial independence. 

He shares stories from growing up in New Jersey, going to medical school at Temple University, what it was like transitioning from med school in North Philly to residency in Portland, OR in the late 70’s. He shares his experience starting his own practice straight out of fellowship and successfully running that practice for over 30 years.  They also talk about how medicine has changed over the past four decades.

They get into what started his interest in business and investing, some of his investment successes (and misses), contributing factors to achieving financial independence (such as prioritizing saving and investing early on), and offer advice for how to prepare for an enjoyable retirement.

He wraps up the conversation with a story about getting disabled midway through his career (fortunately it wasn’t permanent) and the importance of disability insurance. 

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

In this week's blog, we list five important actions to take in order to become financially independent one day.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

How to Approach Investing When Markets Are Down

In this episode, Corey and Rachelle take a slightly different approach to talking about the stock market this year.  There have been many ups and downs over 2022, but as investors, how do we deal with that volatility?  What should we do differently, if anything?

In some situations, doing nothing is the best option:

• First, unless you have a specific reason to do so, now is not the time to exit the stock market. Selling investments when they are down locks in losses.  If you are a long-term investor, it’s unlikely that makes sense for you.
• Quit looking at things every day! We all know things have been messy this year.  Looking at your accounts every day will not change that, but will increase your stress level.  You should be reviewing your accounts every few months, but for long-term investors it is generally not necessary to do that daily.

There are a just a couple more proactive things you can consider as well:

• You may want to consider rebalancing back to your original target allocation. When the market is volatile, your allocation can become very skewed to any areas of the market that have outperformed relative to others.  Not the same as selling out of your investments entirely.
• Think about investing “extra” money you have on the sidelines. If you are sitting on money you do not need in savings (NOT your emergency fund) put that money to work for you.  This is always true, but especially so when the market is down.  Treat this like a sale on investments.
• If you have money in a taxable brokerage account, you can also consider doing some tax-loss harvesting. More on this topic was recorded in Episode 29 on Tax Loss Harvesting.

If the market is making you nervous, do your best to avoid the constant doom and gloom financial reporting.  And keep in mind your time horizon.  If you are not retiring for 20 or 30 years, it doesn’t make sense to stress out a bunch about the stock market right now.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media! LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

In this week's blog, we discuss the power of compound interest, how it can benefit you if you get it working in your favor, and how it can potentially hurt you if you get on the wrong side of it.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

In this week's blog, we discuss what an IRA is, benefits of using one for retirement savings, and how to set one up.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.