The purpose of this podcast is to help you, our listener, feel financially empowered. Empowered that you are making the right financial planning decisions, taking advantage of opportunities that exist and avoiding common pitfalls or distractions that may arise along the way. Finance in a Flash is a personal financial planning podcast that is organized and produced by a team of financial and tax professionals from Beacon Financial Strategies in Raleigh, NC. We will spend most of our time discussing the point where financial planning, taxes and investing converge.
Inflation has been a hot topic in financial news over the past few years, but what does it really mean for consumers and investors? In this episode of Finance in a Flash, John and Dave take a step back to break down inflation—what it is, why it matters, and how it can impact your purchasing power and investment strategy.
On this episode of Finance in a Flash, John sits down with Beacon's newest team member, Dave Trettel. Tune in to learn more about Dave as he shares insights into his personal life, his professional journey in financial planning, and his experiences since joining the Beacon team. We hope you enjoy getting to know Dave!
Portfolio rebalancing is an integral part of the investment management process. On this episode of Finance In A Flash, Chip and John sit down to talk about the concept of rebalancing and discuss the benefits of implementing a portfolio rebalancing strategy.
On this episode of Finance in a Flash we welcome a special guest to the podcast. Stephanie Murray, Stephanie is Beacon's Planning and Operations Manager. Stephanie is an Enrolled Agent—a federally licensed tax practitioner as well as a Certified Financial Planner™. John and Stephanie sit down and discuss important tax forms, the tax preparation process, and much more!
On this episode of Finance in a Flash, Chip and John explore why we prefer mutual funds and ETFs versus individual stocks!
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, John interviews Beacon's Client Services Representative, Patrick Lamprey. We really hope you enjoy this episode and get to know more about Patrick as he talks about his personal life, how he got into financial planning, and his time here at Beacon so far!
Getting married is one of the biggest decisions of any persons life. On this episode of Finance in a Flash, Chip interviews John to discuss making financial decision as newly weds.
For better or worse, the financial decisions that young adults make have an ongoing impact on their lives. On this episode of Finance in a Flash, Chip and John give some advice to recent graduates on how to build a solid financial foundation.
Making the decision to retire is a difficult one. On this episode of Finance in a Flash Chip and John discuss the moving parts, many unknowns and variables that are at play that can impact the outcome and ultimately the probability of a successful retirement.
On this episode of Finance in a Flash, Chip and John discuss a few situations that might warrant selling an investment, and some rules of thumb to consider when deciding on whether to sell an investment!
Is it best to contribute to your company sponsored 401k plan, a Roth IRA, or a personal brokerage account? The answer depends on many factors. Chip and John hash out some of those factors on this episode of Finance in a Flash!
When it comes to taking account distributions, which account is best - IRAs, Roth IRAs, Brokerage accounts or 401k plans? Chip and John discuss tax strategies and other considerations to take into account when deciding which account to take a distribution from!
On this episode of Finance in a Flash Chip and John sit down to discuss, tax-efficient investing and the importance of “Asset Location.” Chip and John talk about which types of investments should be held in which accounts and why that may vary based on your stage in life.
On this episode of Finance in a Flash, Chip and John give an update on the economy and financial markets. Chip and John talk about the Federal Reserve, inflation, the market, and much more!
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, Chip and John discus Money Markets! We dive into what a Money Market is, FDIC limits, what role Money Market accounts play, and so much more!
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we wrap up our series on Estate Planning by discussing common types of trusts. Chip and John briefly discuss several common types of trusts, their objectives, pros and cons, and tax and estate implications!
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we continue our series on Estate Planning by discussing Revocable Living Trusts. Chip and John discuss key components of a Revocable Living Trust including: the primary purposes, how they are handled from a tax perspective, and other reasons to consider this estate planning tool!
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we continue our series on Estate Planning by discussing Wills. Chip and John discuss what the purpose of a will, how they are used and the important decisions that need to be made when determining the provisions within a will.
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we continue our series on Estate Planning by discussing Probate. Chip and John discuss what probate actually means, the assets included in the probate process, what assets are NOT included in the probate process, and so much more!
On this episode of Finance in a Flash, Chip and John kick off our series on Estate Planning. We discuss asset titling and the importance of understanding how different assets are titled!
In this episode of Finance in Flash Chip and John give an update on the Economy and Financial Markets. Chip and John talk performance, inflation, planning opportunities, and much more!
This is a replay of our most recent webinar: "End of Year Tax Planning Strategies". During this webinar, Beacon's team will provide important updates on 2021 tax laws and discuss several “Tax Planning Strategies” including:*Tax-Loss Harvesting*Charitable Gifting*Roth Conversions*Maximizing Retirement Plan Contributions
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we continue our series on Mid-Career Professionals by discussing Insurance. Chip and Nick discuss what types of insurance you should consider as a Mid-Career Professional, and what you should think about when determining how much insurance to purchase.If you want to learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we continue our series on Mid-Career Professionals by discussing Investments. Chip and Nick discuss how you can maximize your investment strategy as a Mid-Career Professional, as well as the different types of investment accounts you should consider.If you want to learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, Nick Faulkner interviews Erin Campbell. Erin is a Founder and Principal of Beacon and serves as the firm's Tax and Financial Planning Manager. We really hope you enjoy this episode and get to know more about Erin as she talks about her personal life, professional history, and how she came to form Beacon Financial Strategies.If you want to learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, Nick Faulkner interviews Chip Hymiller. Chip is a Founder and Principal of Beacon and serves as the firm's Senior Portfolio Manager.We really hope you enjoy this episode and get to know more about Chip as he talks about his personal life, professional history, and how he came to form Beacon Financial Strategies.To learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
On this special episode of Finance In A Flash, we interview Chip and Erin on the history of Beacon Financial Strategies. We discuss the story of Beacon, the background of how Chip, and Erin met to form Beacon and the vision of Beacon moving forward.We hope you all enjoy this episode and if you want to learn more, go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we continue our series on Mid Career Professionals by discussing different savings strategies. Erin and Nick discuss what types of accounts you should save to, and in what order. Do you save to a 529 education account before a 401k or a Roth before a personal brokerage account? We discuss these types of questions and more! To learn more about us or our podcast go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, Nick & Erin begin our series on Mid-Career Professionals. We discuss why Cash Flow, Budgeting, and having adequate Emergency Funds are extremely important and how they can impact your future plans for retirement!
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, Nick & Chip discuss the varying types of investment accounts and the pros and cons of each. Investment accounts that were discussed include; personal brokerage accounts, Roth IRAs, Traditional IRAs, and 401ks.If you wish to learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com.
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, Nick Faulkner interviews Beacon's Planning & Operations Manager, Stephanie Murray.We really hope you enjoy this episode and get to know more about Stephanie as she talks about her personal life, her professional history, and how she contributes to Beacon's success.If you want to learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
In this episode of Finance In A Flash, we discuss the new 10-year Inherited IRA rules set forth by the SECURE Act in 2020. Chip and Nick discuss what this means for people who have inherited an IRA after 2020, and what scenarios or opportunities you should think about when withdrawing funds from your Inherited IRA.
On this bonus episode of Finance In A Flash, Nick interviews Beacon's Client Services Representative, John Matto.We really hope you enjoy this episode and get to know more about John as he talks about his personal life, how he goes into financial planning, and where he sees himself in the future.If you want to learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
In this episode of Finance In A Flash, Nick & Chip continue the Insurance Planning Series and discuss "Annuities". They go through a general overview of annuities and discuss the three major types of annuities: Immediate Annuities, Fixed Annuities, and Variable Annuities.If you want to learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com.
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we continue our insurance planning series by Discussing "Disability Insurance". Nick and Chip go over commonly asked questions and discuss the specifics of Disability Insurance policies as well.If you want to learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we continue our Insurance Planning series by discussing Long-Term Care Insurance (LTC). If you are nearing retirement or already retired you should seriously look into this just because of the rising costs of nursing homes and skilled nursing care. We discuss the specifics on LTC and answer the following questions as well:What are elimination periods?What should you look for in “daily benefit amounts?”What are ADLs?Who needs LTC?What are “riders” on LTC policies?We discuss a lot more regarding LTC and we hope you enjoy this episode! If you want to learn more about us or our company got to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
In this episode of Finance In A Flash, we begin our Insurance Planning Series by discussing Life Insurance. We believe that life insurance serves an integral role in a family's overall financial health and answer important questions about life insurance including:What are some reasons someone would need life insurance?How much life insurance does someone need and what are factors when determining this?Why is it a good idea to get life insurance sooner rather than later?What is the difference between term and permanent life insurance?We hope you enjoy this episode and if you want to learn more about the podcast or our company, go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com.
In this episode of Finance In A Flash we discuss a simple, yet popular question; "Should I buy dividend-paying stocks to supplement my income?" The answer to this question varies on a person-by-person basis, but for most, the answer is a resounding no. Let us explain on this podcast!
On this episode of Finance In A Flash Nick & Chip discuss Financial Jargon. They break down common words used in the finance industry, that people may have heard before, but don’t actually know what they mean!They go over terms such as asset allocation, stocks, risk tolerance, personal brokerage accounts, and market capitalization just to name a few!We hope you enjoy this episode and if you want to learn more about us our podcast go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
In this episode of Finance In A Flash, Nick & Chip discuss the most popular types of investment vehicles in the world, Mutual Funds & ETFs. What are the differences between the two and are there advantages or disadvantages to using them? In addition, they spend a lot of time talking about the tax efficiency of ETFs and how Mutual Funds can be incredibly tax-inefficient at times.We hope you enjoyed this episode and if you want to learn more about us or our podcast, please visit BeaconFinancialStrategies.com.
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we discuss our education planning philosophy, as well as details of a 529 Education Plan.Our recommendations for saving for a child’s education are based on our belief that parents should focus on improving their personal financial situation prior to concentrating on saving for their children’s college costs. We then dive into the details of 529 Education Plans because they are the most common and used education plans used today.
This week we tackle a very important and popular question people are asking: "Is there a bubble in stocks or the stock market?" We also discuss various strategies you should take and questions you should ask yourself when feeling uncertain about the future of the stock market.We hope you enjoy this episode and if you want to learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
In this episode of Finance In A Flash, Nick & Chip discuss the story of Gamestop and how it has captivated the world over the past week. Thanks to a Reddit thread pointing out that a large hedge fund had a massive short position on Gamestop, the stock price rose almost 2,000% within a week! We break down how this happened and the important lessons everyone should take away from these recent events.If you want to learn more about us or our podcast, please go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
Welcome back to Finance In A Flash, this week we bring back our investment expert, Chip Hymiller to discuss Target Date Funds.We have a detailed discussion about Target Date Funds, the pros and cons of having them in your portfolio, and what to consider when choosing this type of investment. We hope you enjoy this episode, and if you want more information about this podcast or our company, go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com!
Today on Finance In A Flash, Nick & Erin discuss pension plans. Not many people have Pensions anymore, but we do see a fair amount in the federal and state retirement system as well as some holdovers from private companies.We are going to go over topics such as Annuity Style vs. Lump-sum pensionSurvivor Options as it relates to pensions And we also discuss leaving pensions to your spouse,We hope you all enjoy this episode and if you want to learn more about us go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
What do we think about when doing a Retirement projection? Someone walks into our office and says to us"I want to retire" or "I want to prepare for retirement", what do we do from there? In this episode of Finance In A Flash, Erin Campbell joins Nick Faulkner to walks us through this process and discuss the details of how we prepare a retirement plan.To learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, Nick & Erin discuss a very important topic in the Financial Planning world: Debt. They discuss a variety of questions such as; What is considered good debt or bad debt? Which type of debt should you pay off first? When you should look at refinancing your home, and much more!If you want to learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we talk through cash flow and the enormous impact it can have on your retirement plan. To help walk us through this important topic we bring back our tax and planning expert Erin Campbell. Throughout this episode we discuss the three phases of retirement, common cash-flow myths, and much more!We hope you enjoy this episode of Finance In A Flash and to learn more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, we discuss one of the most frequently asked questions people have when considering retirement or when they are currently retired; "When Should I Take Social Security?". To help us tackle this important question we bring in Erin Campbell our tax and planning expert!If you want to learn more about us or the podcast go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com.
On this episode of Finance In A Flash, Nick and Chip discuss the importance of contributing to 401k's and their benefits. They go through 401k frequently asked questions, tax benefits of 401k's, and have a quick discussion on how you should view investment options within your 401k plan. Chip and Nick then discuss what you should do if you have an old or inactive 401k plan and whether or not you should consider rolling it over to your new 401k plan or roll it over into an IRA. Lastly, always remember to check your beneficiary designations on your 401k plans!
In this episode of Finance In A Flash we have a little bit of a different format for you. Chip Hymiller will be interviewing our host, Nick Faulkner about a variety of topics such as why he got into the financial planning industry, what he has learned through this pandemic, his personal interests, and much more!Again, thanks for listening, and if you want to know more about us or our company go to BeaconFinancialStrategies.com.
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