I’m purposely writing this blog on US election-eve to prove a long-term point to you. I care not of short-term, media-created reactions. Who knows if the first boomerang president since Grover Cleveland or the first switch-a-roo president was elected- let alone have a winner yet for any race. One can always remain hopeful, patient, and sane in the democratic process. Running a republic was never meant to be fast, efficient, or fulfilling. Don’t worry, be happy everyone.

Back in August, I asked my wife what she’d like for her birthday. Like myself, she knows what she wants- which I greatly respect. If you don’t know what you want, then you’re like a boat going in circles with no destination. Being a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, my goal every day is to help my clients identify their goals and then work towards those goals in all seasons.

Sorry, not sorry. It’s the universal truth that should motivate us to make every day count. When it’s your time, it’s your time. What do you want to accomplish before your sand runs out? Visualizing ‘your end’ and working backwards is a great life hack to provide urgency and to keep you honest everyday. Both of my parents are going to turn 79 next year. Statistically, we’ve been on bonus time. If there’s a chance to spend time with them, it’s a ‘YES’, every time.

On the flight back from the Future Proof Festival last week, I couldn’t help but think about the amount of fun, vision, and hustle I had just witnessed and taken part in. It’s an electric event with access to just about anyone in my industry and where one’s dreams can become realized. My mind then went to two people I’ve read extensively about, that share/shared the same energy being released.

There are a few moments in one’s life that something happens so dramatically and publicly, that you remember it for the rest of your life. For my grandparents, the end of WWII. For my parents, it was JFK’s assassination. For me, it was 9/11. I still remember it like it was yesterday. Cloudless, clear blue skies, and a radiant sun on a beautiful fall day.

This past weekend, while waiting on my youngest daughter to get out of her Saturday choir practice, I stared down at my left arm. When you’ve been wearing something for most of your life, it’s easy to overlook it and forget it’s there. For me, it’s two 6+ inches scar-lines covering two metal plates for the two bones I broke back in 9th grade during noon rec.

After heading out this past weekend on a Sunday morning bike ride down, I had the idea of how to achieve similar risk v. reward activities. My usual low-risk bike path down and back to the Horseshoe with the high reward of fresh air and exercise, took an unexpected turn when I got stung on the forehead halfway through. Did I stop? Nope. I kept going because the ice pack and baking soda were at home and it needed to wait. Perseverance in any situation pays.

Sometime after college, when I was struggling to figure out the real world and make a living for myself, my mom gifted me a small figurine with two words inscribed on it. Now, this was after I had been gifted a ‘you owe us’ loan statement, post-graduation to pay back all the money I had borrowed in college to get by. Most of that bill was for a truck to get back and forth to work. I’ve always held a job since age 16, so working during school was a foregone conclusion.

Summer brings the excitement of warm, sunny skies, no school for the kids, pool time, BBQs, and vacation for the family. Just having returned from our annual trek across the pond to visit my wife’s family in Europe and some bonus sightseeing in Paris pre-Olympics, my ‘handy’ (German for ‘cell phone’) is full of memories to look back on years from now.

As I was packing for my family vacation, I had my luggage out and my backpack side-by-side. Pondering for a moment, these questions came to me to ask of you: Do you plan out your vacations? Of course! You need to get plane tickets, rental cars, event tickets, and definitely a hotel or Airbnb. Do you get up early to make your flight? 5am flight to Florida, no problem! Monday to Friday 5am wake-up for fitness, I’ll pass…

Welcome to the summer grilling season. Men everywhere wait for this moment all year to sit back, sip a cold one, and do our part cooking at least once a week. I’m a reformed gas griller that went all-in on a smoker two Father’s Days ago. Why? My Dad recommended it, and my little brother seconded it, but with the caveat the learning curve will make you curse the first few times. Ok, what the heck…

Back in 2020, extraordinary things happened. People being stuck at home looked around and asked themselves, ‘what now?’ Their zoom attire resembled mullets (business on top, party on the bottom), they created neighborhood ‘bubbles’ for their children to play in and driveway happy hours, and finished all their honey to-do lists. We had all the time in the world to decide ‘what now?’ and how you spent it said a lot about you.

You only need four hobbies. For you recent grads out there: LIFE is a great balancing act. Dr. Seuss’s ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go’ sums it up perfectly. Forget the money kids- you can always make more of that. Time is the number most valuable asset, followed by experience. Pondering this, I read one of those Insta-articles that lists ‘regrets on someone’s death bed.’

At Boyer Financial Group, our slogan is: ‘We Serve Everyday Heroes’. That means first responders - the people you don’t want to meet while they’re on duty, but are glad they’re ready to respond and make your bad day have a better outcome. Just like any insurance: hate to pay it, but glad when you have it.

I grew up during the golden age of hip-hop. Before it became commercialized, face tattoos, and turned rap entrepreneurs into billionaires. Hip-hop has been the soundtrack throughout my life- especially from my teens to early adulthood. My generation witnessed its evolution from the 80’s gold chains, breakdancing, and boomboxes, to the early 90’s hardcore rap wars, and the over-the-top rap videos and lifestyles of late the 90’s. Just like rappers, I’ve made my fair share of bad money mistakes

At first glance, you might be thinking of social security where private employees are required to pay into it through employment taxes. Public employees have a similar tax in the form of pensions from their salaries. If you’re working, you’re paying into one or the other. But this isn’t a required federal tax or state pension- this is a self-tax.

If you’re winning at this game called adulthood, you’re probably working on your taxes right now… and hoping for a big refund. If you’ve done this a few times before, you may even know they’re due: April 15th (a helpful reminder). This is something you must do every year, but hey, at least it’s only once. There’s another task you should be working on every month to win at adulthood: Your Adult GPA.

It’s February. The only thing different this year is we get an extra day. Great- one more day for the winter blah. I don’t know about you, but the past few weekends have been spent dreaming about summer vacation to escape this and look forward to trips away, if even a picnic down the street in the green grass, birds chirping, and the leaves swaying in the breeze. With each day though, you can see the sunrise a bit earlier and the sunset a bit later. Spring is coming- hang in there y’all!

Baseball cards, comic books, and cassettes. Every holiday we get our family together, my mom says, "she always knew I'd end up doing something with money." So true. I can vividly remember back in my childhood when my net worth was sports cards, comic books, and my music collection. I felt richer every time I was able to save up, or trade, and add more to my collection.