3 Surprising Habits of Wealthy People

These habits are simple, cost nothing, and could pay back big.  How do seemingly ordinary people get rich? What makes the wealthy different from us? It’s easy to write off the differences and assume that wealthy people were born ...

5 Tips for Raising Grateful (and Financially Responsible) Kids

Gratitude is one of those things like diet and exercise—we know it’s good for us, we know it should be a daily habit, and yet so often we just shove it to the back burner as we plow ...

What You Need to Know About Fractional Share Stocks

With just a few dollars, you can get a piece of some of Wall Street’s hottest stocks—as long as you know how.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have a stock portfolio fat with heavy hitters like Netflix, ...

Tips to Make Difficult Financial Conversations Easier

Whether it’s talking to kids about affording college, aging parents about ongoing care, or to our bankers, financial planners, or partners and spouses about a host of money-related issues, handling a difficult financial conversation can be a major stressor. ...

5 Money-Smart Strategies for College Students 

Help your student use the college years to build good money habits. College can often seem like a time when money woes are more common than money victories—after all, school expenses and potential debt can lead to feeling overwhelmed ...

Save on Off-Season Travel with these Budget Fall Travel Destinations

This summer found travelers dying to make up for lost vacations due to the pandemic—making for a messy, expensive, and crowded summer travel season. If you opted out of the pricey rooms and endless waits for a restaurant table, ...

5 Smart Ways to Plan an Amazing Staycation

Save money while being a tourist in your own town.  While many of us may have the itch to travel this year, COVID still has people feeling cautious both about being on the move and spending lots of money. After ...

Money-Saving Lawn Care Tips

While having a beautiful yard is a great investment in your home’s value, keeping your outdoor space green, lush and lovely can also quickly turn into a money pit if you’re not careful. These surprising tips will not ...

Teaching Teens to Save Money

Here are 4 things you must do to help your teen become a smart saver. 1. Have a “why.” The power of why is a well-known goal-setting tool that can help your kids stay focused and on track when it comes to ...

Ways to Make More Money In Your Current Job

You don’t have to quit or start a dreaded side hustle to boost your income.  The easiest way to improve your cash flow is to increase your income—but upping our salaries, especially if we work for someone else, ...

Budgeting for Baby

Financial tips to help you save a bundle for your new bundle of joy.  How much does it cost to have a baby? The answer is “it depends,” but you could just as easily say “quite a bit.” For many ...

How to Raise Financially Smart Kids

Kids as young as age 4 or 5 can start learning good money habits for life.  Financial health isn’t something that just happens, or that we learn when we reach adulthood. It’s a complex combination of habits, life experience, mindset, ...

Grandma was Right: 5 Time-Tested Money-Saving Tips

Any successful financial plan includes thinking about how we spend our money, and on what. Older generations had a whole other retail reality to contend with, which helped inform a more frugal money mindset. Here are five ideas to borrow ...

4 Money-Saving Refinancing Tips

Know your credit score. Finding out where you stand with your credit score is the best place to start the refi process. Why? Because your credit score determines how attractive a borrower your mortgage lender thinks you are; the better ...

5 Ways Save for Travel in 2021

As travel prices—and our wanderlust—increase, it’s time to get a savings plan to help make your travel dreams come true. After a year of restrictions and #stayathome, we’re ready to travel. With more than a year ...

4 Simple Ways to Improve Your Credit

How a few clicks and a phone call can boost your score instantly and save you money.  Our credit score is like a thumbprint, a unique identifier of our financial behavior that tells lenders how responsible we are with money ...

Tips for Making a Winning Offer in a Tight Housing Market

A hot housing market is hard on buyers, but these tips will give you the advantage you need. With interest rates remaining low and the pandemic driving people toward homeownership, the housing market across the U.S. has gotten incredibly ...

What You Need to Know About Advanced Healthcare Directives

Planning for the future means planning for all aspects, including our health and wellbeing. It might be sad to admit it, but some of us spend more time planning vacations, weddings, or even dinner parties than we do our own ...

9 Smart-Money Ways to Spend Your Stimulus Check (and How Not To)

How to make the most of an unexpected windfall.  Good news! The third round of stimulus checks is hitting bank accounts. For millions, this desperately needed relief to simply help them get by.  But if your basic needs are being ...

Why You Need a Health Savings Account

Learn why this is one of a financial planner’s favorite money-saving tools.  When you’re on a journey to financial peace and want to make every dollar work for you, a health savings account or HSA is one of ...

Spring Clean Your Finances

As the urge hits to sweep out the old and tidy things up, don’t forget your finances.  After a long (long) winter cooped up in our homes, worried about the future, maybe even struggling with finances, the impulse to ...

How Much Self-Employment Tax Should You Pay if You’re a Gig Worker?

If you have a side-hustle, here’s how to make sure you pay all the taxes you owe.  Whether it’s dog walking, Door Dashing, consulting, selling cosmetics, or babysitting, nearly 45% of working Americans report having a side-hustle. And among ...

5 Smart Ideas for Your Tax Refund

Without a plan for how you'll spend your tax refund, that windfall can easily get absorbed by mindless spending, paying bills, and day to day expenses. 

New Year, New Insurance?

Why 2021 is an especially important time to re-evaluate your insurance coverage.  “These uncertain times” sounds like an understatement these days. With the global pandemic and shaky economic realities facing so many American workers, there is a lot of downright fear ...

Why You Need Financial Planning Software

Financial software — namely a spending and budgeting tool — can set you on the path to ditching money stress and achieving financial peace. 

3 Easy Savings Habits to Start Right Now

Don’t get stuck trying to get started saving money—just choose a few simple strategies and changes that will put extra cash in your pocket immediately.  Review your subscriptions and put that money to work for you instead. Podcasts, ...

2021 Tax Outlook

With 2020 behind us, we wanted to give you a brief update on what you might be able to expect for the 2021 tax year. While we believe there’s a very good chance to see updated tax legislation passed under the ...

Credit Card SOS

How and when to use credit in an emergency Economic shutdowns, layoffs, a pandemic, political uncertainty—or all of these at once can create a wobble in even the sturdiest of financial plans. Even with some cash in the bank, ...

6 Essential Financial Tips for 30-Somethings

Here’s how to set your course for financial stability in this important time of life. Many people in their 30s might have a lot of excuses for not maximizing financial planning, such as “I don’t have enough money ...

Should You Buy Pet Insurance?

How to decide if paying for pet insurance is worth it. With pets feeling more and more like “kids” in our culture, there’s no question most of us would move heaven and earth to take care of our dogs, ...

Enjoy the Holidays without Money Stress

How to create traditions that celebrate the season without going into debt.  There’s no question that the holidays can tempt us to buy our way into the spirit. Decorations, gifts, special outfits, travel—all these things can serve as ...

Should You Lease a New Car?

The lease vs. buy a car debate has been a long-running one, with most financial advisers coming down on the side of purchasing a car as a better financial deal. After all, leases have restrictions and at the end of ...

Surprising Benefits of Charitable Giving

Why giving matters, even in difficult times. The season of charitable giving is hard upon us, and for many, there is more need than ever. Many of us are also feeling the pinch of a difficult economy, potential job and ...

How the 2020 Election Could Impact Your Finances

Without a doubt, presidential elections can make an impact on your personal finances. While a lot of predictions focus on the presidential elections and the stock market, personal finances are broader than just that—only 55% of Americans participate in the ...

Basics of a 401(k) Retirement Plan

Understanding this important employment benefit could put you on a path to future wealth.

What are Stock Options and How Do They Work?

When you work for an employer, there are a variety of benefits you can receive, such as health insurance or a 401k match. Another one of these benefits can be stock options. A stock option is a contract that allows ...

Financial Multi-Tasking: Achieving Multiple Savings Goals

Most of us know that multi-tasking usually isn’t an efficient way to work. But when it comes to financial planning, it actually can be. Still, the need to work toward more than one savings goal can feel overwhelming. So ...

Why Real Estate Might Be Your Next Investment Move

Real estate can play a vital role in building a successful investment portfolio. Here are a few reasons why you might want to consider real estate as your next investment move.

You Just Received an Inheritance. Now What?

The 3 most important steps to make the most of your windfall. 1. Put it somewhere safe and hit pause. First things first. If you inherit a cash amount, place it somewhere in an insured account like a money market account. These ...

Pay Down High Interest Debt

By Stephanie McElheny At Aspen Wealth Strategies, we first ensure our clients are set up with an emergency fund and a budget that works for their lifestyle. Then, we move to the next game-changer: help them tackle high-interest debt. The ...

Weekly Investment & Economic Talking Points – 9/24/20

Earnings releases of note this week: Nike, General Mills, Costco, Darden Restaurants (not a recommendation to buy/sell/hold any of these securities) Market recap: Last week, US Large Growth pulled back again with the Russell 1000 Growth down 0.84%.  Value stocks ...

How to Create an Emergency Fund (Even When You Think You Can’t)

By Stephanie McElheny Here’s a sobering statistic: According to a recent Federal Reserve survey, 40% of American’s can’t cover a $400 emergency expense. That’s less than most unexpected car repairs or medical bills. What does it mean? That ...

Budget-Building Tricks That Actually Work

The paradox with a budget is this: The less money we have, the less likely we might be inclined to make one—but the more we really need to buckle down and create a tracking system for how we spend. ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 9/14/20

Earnings releases of note this week: Dell Technologies, Lennar, Adobe, FedEx, WageWorks (not a recommendation to buy/sell/hold any of these securities) Market recap:  Last week, US Large Growth pulled back again with the Russell 1000 Growth down 3.49%.  Value stocks ...

Payroll Tax “Cut” Update

              “Caveat emptor” – aka buyer beware (or taxpayer beware, in this case). You may have heard about Trump’s recent executive order, signed August 8th, regarding a payroll tax cut. It was his original ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 9/8/20

Earnings releases of note this week: Slack, Oracle, Kroger, Gamestop, Peloton (not a recommendation to buy/sell/hold any of these securities) Market recap:  Last week, US Large Growth began to pull back significantly on Wednesday ending the week down 3.41%.  ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 8/24/20

Earnings releases of note this week: Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, Lowes, NVIDIA, Palo Alto Networks. (not a recommendation to buy/sell/hold any of these securities) Market recap: Last week, US Large Growth returned to its relative outperforming ways over ...

More Money, Less Taxes: Understanding Tax Efficiency

Part of financial planning is to use tax-efficient strategies. Aspen Wealth Strategies helps minimize a client’s tax burden and maximize their savings. People often focus on their total return on investments as a way to measure the success of ...

What Financial Planners Wish Everyone Knew About Employer Match Programs

At Aspen Wealth Strategies, one of the most overlooked and misunderstood wealth-building opportunities is the employer match option for our clients’ 401Ks. According to Vanguard funds, 95% of employer retirement plans have a company match, and up to 50% of all 401Ks ...

What Does a Financial Planner Do?

First, let’s define what a Financial Planner Is Via the CFP® Board: A Financial Planner takes part in “a collaborative process that helps maximize a Client’s potential for meeting life goals through Financial Advice that integrates relevant elements ...

Saving for Retirement 101

Saving for retirement is oftentimes a decades-long endeavor and as such, obviously can’t be encapsulated in a one-page blog post. But, if you’re just at the beginning of your journey and looking for some quick tips, these should ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 7/20/20

Earnings releases of note this week: Coca-Cola, IBM, Synchrony Financial, Capital One, United Airlines, American Airlines, Microsoft, Tesla, Union Pacific, W.W. Grainger, American Express (not a recommendation to buy/sell/hold any of these securities) Market recap:  Markets generally ...

Safety Protocol at Aspen Wealth Strategies

Office Environments Ensure a minimum of 6 feet of space between all desks/work spaces, and discourage shared spaces. Conduct office cleaning with increased frequency and supplement with high-frequency sanitation of high-touch areas (e.g. doors, stairwell handles, books, light switches, ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 6/22/20

Market recap:  For the most part, stocks and bonds rallied last week on mostly positive data (more on that below).  The lone exception was the REIT space which has been, well – interesting, to watch this year.  From the February highs ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 6/15/20

Rally on pause: Stocks pulled back the most in three months (see table below) in what appears to have been some short-term profit taking in my opinion.  There is some concern of the pandemic worsening in some specific areas like ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 6/1/20

Rally caps are on – still:  Last week, most stock markets rallied mainly again with the Russell 1000 rallying 3.11%.  Almost all other indicies followed suit; even International Markets (EAFE up 5.11%) and Emerging Markets (up 2.86%). Value stocks once again beat Growth with Value ...

Planning Opportunities in Today’s Environment

As you’ve heard us say multiple times at this point, we are in the midst of an unprecedented time – economically, financially, medically, personally. But for purposes of this post, we’re going to focus on the financial aspects. We’...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 5/26/20

Rally caps are on – for now:  Last week, most stock markets rallied mainly on the optimism around the potential of having a COVID-19 vaccine sooner than most had anticipated.  The Russell 1000 rallied 3.55% and most other indicies followed suite with the ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 5/11/20

US Unemployment: On Friday, it was announced the unemployment rate in the US reach ed 14.7%.  This is the highest number the US has seen since it began collecting the data in 1948.  It is estimated that the rate hit approximately 25% during ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 4/27/20

Coronavirus: Some states are beginning to reopen their economies, mostly in limited areas and spaces.  For example, hair and nail salons have reopened in Georgia, but Pennsylvania has eased some delivery and pickup restrictions.  For the most part, the rest ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 2/24/20

Coronavirus: In the January 27th version of this missive I wrote that, “the major concern at this point (about the Coronavirus) is disruption of global supply chains”.  Over the weekend, it seems that concerns have leap frogged past supply chain ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 2/10/20

Coronavirus: Still challenging markets.  We are about 75% through earnings season and for S&P 500 stocks, earnings are up about 4% year over year.  Coronavirus has now killed more people than SARS did 18 years ago, but the mortality rate is far ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 1/27/20

Coronavirus: Markets appear to be selling off today due to concerns over the spread of the Coronavirus outbreak.  Most of the known cases are in China, specifically the Wuhan province but the virus is quickly spreading.  The major concern at ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 1/21/20

Trade: Last week, the US and China signed the “Phase 1” part of their trade deal.  Aside from just making general progress to a larger and in my opinion more important deal (technology and intellectual property protections are not part of ...

Joel’s Weekly Talking Points – 1/23/20

Geopolitics: The US-Iran standoff seems to have dissipated to the point that markets are ready to move on. I do not believe we have heard and seen the last of this Iranian-based volatility but it’s something that markets have ...

Q&A Conference Call with Joel & MFS

Q&A Video (please start at 2:53) This Q&A features Scott T. Edgecomb, CFA who is a portfolio manager with MFS.

CARES Act – Details for Individuals & Families

On Friday, March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law to provide relief to individuals and businesses impacted by COVID-19. Below are some of individual taxpayer-focused provisions of the CARES Act.   Recovery Rebates (i.e. stimulus checks) Considered as ...

CARES Act – Details for Small Businesses

On Friday, March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law to provide relief to individuals and businesses impacted by COVID-19. Below are some of small business-focused provisions of the CARES Act, including details and application instructions. Furthermore, we have also ...

Aspen Wealth Strategies Market & Economic Update 3.26.20

Aspen Wealth Strategies Economic & Market Update 3.17.20

Getting Cabin Fever? Your Aspen Team Has Some Ideas

For those of you who may be getting cabin fever, Aspen’s compiled a list of ideas to keep you and your family mentally and physically active – while still maintaining a safe, social distance! Activity Ideas for Grown-Ups Binge some ...

The End of the Bull

Being prepared is not just something we say. It is something we live by. We have been talking about a slowdown in the economy and a possible recession for over a year. We have drawn on the whiteboard, showed slides ...

Coronavirus Update from Andy

I know Joel has been giving you very consistent and timely updates on the markets and actions we have taken to try to protect your portfolios in the past two months.  I also wanted to pass along some thoughts and ...

The Aspen Leaf, February 2020

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Forbes Again Names Aspen Wealth Strategies’ Andy McClaflin One of Nation’s Best-in-State Wealth Advisors

For the second year in a row, Aspen Wealth Strategies’ Founder and Chairman, Andy McClaflin, has been named to the Forbes list of America’s Best-in-State Wealth Advisors, which recognizes advisors from national, regional, and independent firms. (To view the ...

What the Griswolds Can Teach Us About Our Finances

The holidays can be an exciting and joyous occasion, or they can be filled with stress and anxiety, depending on how you prepare for them. But, using the Griswold’s situation in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” as a learning ...

Should You Utilize a Partial Roth Conversion Strategy?

Aspen Wealth Strategies’ Founder and Chairman, Andy McClaflin, has been named to the 2019 Forbes list of America’s Best-in-State Wealth Advisors, which recognizes advisors from national, regional, and independent firms. Andy debuted at No. 23 in Colorado! (To view the entire ...

Ideas for Your Tax Refund

Tax filing season is never fun, but for many Americans, the silver lining is the refund they’ll receive when it’s over. If you’re one of the individuals who received, or expect to receive, money back from Uncle ...

Forbes Names Aspen Wealth Strategies’ Andy McClaflin One of The Nation’s Best-in-State Wealth Advisors

Aspen Wealth Strategies’ Founder and Chairman, Andy McClaflin, has been named to the 2019 Forbes list of America’s Best-in-State Wealth Advisors, which recognizes advisors from national, regional, and independent firms. Andy debuted at No. 23 in Colorado! (To view the entire ...

Envisioning Your Perfect Retirement… Then Planning For It

Do you have a specific date marked on your calendar? Are you counting down the days until your retirement? You’ve planned for this moment for a long time now, but it’s just as important to plan for what’...

A letter from Andy

 Most of you know that 11 years ago my wife Gina was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Gina fought hard through six months of chemotherapy, multiple surgeries and five years of hormone therapy. Even though her diagnosis was a life changing ...

Weekly Talking Points

The S&P 500 ground out a positive 0.66% last week while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 1.48% on a softening of the “trade war” talk between the US and China.   International markets continued sell off with political ...

Weekly Talking Points

The S&P 500 ground out a positive 0.80% last week while the Dow Jones industrial Average was essentially flat (up 0.05%). International markets however took a breather as both developed (MSCI EAFE) and emerging (MSCI EM) declined 1.45% and 1.66% respectively. Personal income ...

Determining Your Safe Withdrawal Rate

Sequence of return risk What is it? | The risk that an investor’s portfolio returns will be low or negative early in a withdrawal period. Given the same starting principal and average return, individuals who incur low or negative returns ...

Forbes Names Aspen Wealth Strategies’ Andy McClaflin One of The Nation’s Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors

Aspen Wealth Strategies’ Founder and Chairman, Andy McClaflin, has been named to the 2018 Forbes list of America’s Top Next-Generation Wealth Advisors, which recognizes advisors from national, regional, and independent firms. Andy debuted at No. 233 nationally and No. 3 in Colorado. (...

Financial Planning for Special Needs Individuals

Caring for a special needs individual can easily deplete a family’s time and resources. Without knowing the available opportunities and potential pitfalls, you could jeopardize this individual’s financial future and miss out on significant benefits and opportunities.  &...

Navigating Healthcare & Medicare Expenses in Retirement

Preparing for healthcare expenses in retirement can be a daunting task but educating yourself and having your financial plan stress-tested are critical first steps and ones that we want to help you with. While these expenses can no doubt be ...

Weekly Talking Points

The S&P 500 was essentially flat last week returning just 0.04%, however there were some sizable moves throughout the week. Some of the biggest movers included United Continental Holdings (up 12.22%) and Netflix (down 8.78%). If anyone is looking for a reason ...

Weekly Talking Points

The S&P 500 ended the week up 1.56% as data is finally starting to win over headline fear. The S&P is now up 4.25% YTD, while the Dow lags at 0.82% up for the year. The big gainers continue to ...

Weekly Talking Points

The S&P 500 ended the week down 1.31%, mainly on continued worries over tariffs and the threat thereof. Interestingly President Trump, during his rally in North Dakota, stated rather adamantly that the “trade disputes will ultimately be worked out.” Once (...

Aspen Wealth Strategies Q3 Market Commentary

“It’s the end of the world as we know it…and I feel fine” R.E.M. (1997) – American Alternative/Indie band “It’s the end of the world as we know it…” Many of you may best remember this ...

Recent Tax Law Changes & How You May Be Impacted

Below is a condensed summary of some of the most important changes from the recent tax reform bill.  New Marginal Tax Brackets & Expanded Thresholds Who is affected? All taxpayers What changed? The seven old marginal brackets ...

Social Security Claiming Considerations

According to the Social Security Administration, nearly three-quarters of Americans choose to begin benefits prior to their full retirement age (FRA). Whether or not this is the right choice depends on a myriad of different factors which we will discuss ...

Weekly Investment & Economic Talking Points

I may be dating myself a little here, but all I could think about last week when President Trump floated his tariff plan was the movie “Ferris Buellers Day Off”. There was a scene in that movie where a rather ...

Investment & Economic Talking points

Equity markets continue to rally into this New Year with nearly all equity indicies being positive (all numbers are YTD): S&P 500 4.28%; Dow Jones 30: 4.44%; Russell 2000: 3.70%; MSCI EAFE: 3.68%; MSCO EM: 4.32%; NASDAQ: 5.21%. If early meetings are any indication, the most common ...

Weekly Investment & Economic Talking Points

Equity markets continue to rally into this New Year with nearly all equity indicies being positive (all numbers are YTD): S&P 500 4.28%; Dow Jones 30: 4.44%; Russell 2000: 3.70%; MSCI EAFE: 3.68%; MSCO EM: 4.32%; NASDAQ: 5.21%. If early meetings are any indication, the most common ...