Taking a Stroll Down Memory Lane – The Guide Rock Capital Market Commentary

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Contrarian Investing and the Direction of Interest Rates – The Guide Rock Capital Market Commentary

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US Government Shutdown a Halloween Trick or Treat – The Guide Rock Capital Market Commentary

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Déjà vu with a US Government Shutdown – The Guide Rock Capital Market Commentary

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The Fed’s ‘lather-rinse-repeat’ Commentary on Quantitative Easing – The Guide Rock Capital Market Commentary

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The Change in American Employment and Pay in State Government – The Guide Rock Capital Market Commentary

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Post Labor Day Employment Data and the NFL - The Guide Rock Capital Market Commentary

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The Next Big Thing in Disruptive Technology – The Guide Rock Capital Market Commentary

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European Unemployment and Moderate vs Modest – The Guide Rock Capital Weekly Market Commentary Aug 5

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How to Handle Quarterly Earning Reports and Measuring Innovation – The Guide Rock Capital Weekly Market Commentary Jul 22

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Fiddles while the US Markets Rocket Forward – Guide Rock Weekly Market Commentary Jul 15

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Second Quarter Recap and Women in the Workforce – Guide Rock Weekly Market Commentary Jul 8

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Federal Open Market Committee Policy Meeting and Is There a Housing Bubble? – Guide Rock Weekly Video Market Commentary Jun 24

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The Markets Hate the Slowing of Quantitative Easing and The Value of Renewable Energy in the US: Guide Rock Weekly Market Commentary - Jun 17

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Markets Wobble on Quantitative Easing, Are the Markets like Sports? Guide Rock Weekly Video Market Commentary - Jun 10

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Quantitative Easing, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is it Good or Bad and What is the Best Index to Follow? Guide Rock Weekly Video Market Commentary - Jun 3

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University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Survey and Phenomenon Called Heuristics – Guide Rock Weekly Video Market Commentary May-20

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Sell in May and Go Away and Where Will You Live When You Retire? Guide Rock Weekly Video Market Commentary May-13

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Does Money Buy Happiness? Guide Rock Weekly Video Market Commentary May-6

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AP Twitter Hacked and Markets Move, Who Owns all the Gold? – Guide Rock Weekly Market Commentary Apr-29

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Are You Responsible for Your Loved One’s Unpaid Debt? – Guide Rock Weekly Market Commentary Apr-22

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The Fed Makes a Mistake and Reversion to the Mean – Guide Rock Weekly Market Commentary Apr-15

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There’s a New BRIC in Town and Japanese Stagflation–Guide Rock Weekly Market Commentary April-08

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Markets Finish the Quarter Positive and How Fast Should the Economy be Growing? –Guide Rock Weekly Video Commentary April 1

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Slowing Markets and the Growing Middle Class–Guide Rock Weekly Video Commentary Mar-18

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March 11–Weekly Video Commentary: Markets & Wedding Cost

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March-4 Weekly Market Commentary from Guide Rock Capital (Video)

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Feb–26 Weekly Market Commentary from Guide Rock Capital (Video)

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Feb-11 Weekly Market Commentary from Guide Rock Capital (Video)

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Jan-29 Weekly Market Commentary from Guide Rock Capital (Video)

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Jan-22 Weekly Market Commentary from Guide Rock Capital (Video)

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What Should I Save for First? (Posted 01/18/2013)

There are really only three things you can save for: emergencies, major purchases, and wealth building. Throughout the year I have had conversations with all kinds of people and one thing I have found is that fundamentally, everyone has the same questions. When it comes to saving, the frequent question is “How do I know what to save at this stage of my life.” That’s a great question! After all, you have an infinite number of things you can spend on and save for, but a finite amount of income to allocate.

Here is how I would break out my savings by importance:

There are only a few things in life that you can count on for sure, things like, you know… death and taxes. You can also count on the fact that financial emergencies are going to come up – I don’t care who you are, eventually you are going to need to pay for something that was unexpected. This is the first thing you must save for. I call it an Emergency fund. You might call it a “Rainy Day Fund” or the “Hell and High Water Account”.

What ever you call it, you just need to have it!

So how much should you save for emergencies? A minimum of $1000. If you do not have a $1000 emergency fund right now, you need to go sell some stuff, or mow a bunch of lawns, or shovel a bunch of driveways to get it by the end of the month. I’m serious. A thousand dollars will be enough to cover most minor emergencies, but it won’t be enough for the big stuff like a job loss or injury. Your ultimate goal should be to have 3-6 months worth of household expenses set aside in the fund. Here is the other thing; you really need to have this account separate from your usual deposit account. If you have all your money in one place, you might have some temptation to use it for a 30% off sale at your favorite department store. Remove the temptation, create an imaginary barrier by holding your emergency fund in a different account.

Life is expensive. Washers and dryers, a furnace and air conditioning unit, a roof, a car… If one of these breaks down, it makes for a bad day, maybe even a bad week. It can even feel worse if you haven’t been saving to replace the major appliance (especially if you don’t have an emergency fund, see above). I suggest saving for major purchases along the way. For example, if you own a home it is only a matter of time before something will need to be replaced or repaired. I suggest saving 1.5% of the value of your home each year for those expenses. Set it aside at the same time you make your mortgage payment each month. If you have a $250,000 house, save $3750 each year or $312 a month.

Wealth building and retirement saving is third on my list. You really can’t focus on investing if you don’t already have emergencies and major purchases covered. You want to be able to have confidence and flexibility when you start to tie money up in investments – if you are worried about what you would do if something breaks at home, you really won’t be able to have the fortitude to execute in the wealth building arena. Your goal should be to save 16% of your gross income (before tax income) for retirement. That’s a pretty big number, but it is a goal. Here is how you can achieve it: Start with something more modest like 8% of your gross income.Then each year raise your contribution by 1%. You probably wont even notice the increase from year to year and before you know it, you will hit your goal!

Here is the deal guys. I know some of you are reading this and saying: “Yea, Andrew, that would be nice, but I don’t have any extra to save.” 

I don’t believe you. You should really be saying “Yea, Andrew, that would be nice, but saving is not a priority for me.” HELLO! The only way you will do any of this is if you make the decision that you no longer want to live in crisis any more. You have to choose to do what it takes to move from doing what you have always done to doing what you wish you could do. If you establish an emergency fund, it will change your life. If you build wealth, you will change your family’s life. Only you can choose to take this path.

As my high school swim coach used to say: No Excuses, Just Results.

Financial Tech Podcast – Guide Rock Weekly Market Commentary

Hi guys! The Financial Tech podcast with Jim Collison is back. Go check it out at TheAverageGuy.tv and watch it in the browser or download it. We will be doing a live market commentary each Tuesday at 7:00pm cst, you can watch at TheAverageGuy.tv/live.

Financial Tech Podcast: The Guide Rock Capital Management Weekly Commentary

Hey guys! The Financial Tech podcast is back with Jim Collison on theAverageGuy.tv go check it out at:

http://theaverageguy.tv/2013/01/15/financial-tech-the-guide-rock-capital-management-weekly-commentary-for-january-15-2013/#more-3990 

 

We will be doing a weekly market commentary every Tuesday night live at 7:00pm cst if you want to watch go to: theaverageguy.tv/live

13 Habits for a Successful 2013

1. Increase your retirement contribution by at least 1%

2. Set up a Holiday Savings Account and contribute to it monthly for next year’s gift giving expenses.

3. Save 1.5% of the value of your home this year for up-keep expenses.

4. Set up a time (and put it on your calendar) each week to meet with your significant other to review your budget.

5. Emergency fund – don’t have one? Get one. ($1,000 minimum)

6. Pay off your credit card in 2013.

7. Switch to a 15 year mortgage.

8. Make sure you have disability insurance.

9. Track your progress with Mint.com

10. Avoid bank fees by making a switch to a local credit union.

11. Open a Roth IRA.

12. Save $20 a week (that will add up to over $1000) for a vacation and then take one.

13. Write a Will.