Blog

Spending Habits of Thirty-Somethings: How Do You Measure Up?

Published by Pamela Pena, CFP® Associate Wealth Advisor

Welcome! You’ve hit your mid 30’s and life is amazing, or maybe you realize the “Friends” theme song was a pretty accurate depiction of young adult life. No matter how delayed your maturity was or if you were one of the few responsible twenty-year-olds, you can’t deny it; you are now an adult. Measuring up used to be called “Keeping up with the Joneses” and now it is called “social media scrolling.” As much as we’d all like to pretend we don’t need to compare ourselves to anyone else, we do. So instead of worrying whether we have the right car or right OOTD, let’s compare ourselves on things that may help our future selves, like how we spend our money!

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What Is Your Number?

Published by Mark Petersen, CPA, CFP®

“What is your number?” is a question one frequently hears in the financial services industry. It may refer to many different things, depending upon the company with whom one is working. At Carson Wealth Management Group, your number refers to your Family Index Number (FIN), which is unique to every family. For example, there is a XX Jones Family Index Number as well as a XX Smith Family Index Number.

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4 Simple Steps to Creating an Estate Plan

Published by Beth Schanou, JD

Most of the time, it feels like life is moving at the speed of light. I often feel my entire day, both at home and at the office, is spent in fast forward mode. As if it’s a race to get done as much as possible, I’m running from one thing to the next, all day long, and making sure every household member is fed, cared for, and attends school and their activities. Of course this includes the four-legged members of the family too. Read more

Without A Plan

Published By Michele Schreck, Wealth Advisor

Do you have a plan for your financial future? Life happens and we may not always work on our financial priorities until we are nearing retirement. Suddenly, you’re left asking yourself, “I want to retire in a few years, will I be okay? Can I do this?” Sometimes the stars align and you find that you are able to reach a successful retirement continuing the lifestyle you have become accustomed to. However, building a plan with your investment advisor can help to provide confidence that you’ll be ready.

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Dreamweaver Auction Is Live!

Dreamweaver Foundation is five years of making dreams come true for terminally ill seniors in the Greater Omaha Area by hosting their first fundraising event, presented by Pinnacle Bank. In the past, Dreamweaver has hosted an online auction that has raised over $1 million in its history and has contributed to the funding of over 100 bucket list dreams for seniors. Read more

Where There Is A Will – There Is A Way

Published by Cliff York

Statistics show that humans have a 100% mortality rate. Yet, nearly 6 out of 10 of Americans are unprepared for the inevitable*. End of life planning isn’t fun. It can seem morbid, depressing and even a little scary. But, it’s also a critical aspect of managing your assets and protecting your family.  Read more

Nelly Volunteers: More Proof She’s a Very Good Girl

Written by Nelly Carson, with lots of help from Jeanie Carson

Throughout history, my kind has done our very best to prove we’re worthy of being called a Good Boy or a Good Girl. Sure, we don’t have much competition among other house pets – cats have major attitude, turtles lack potty training skills and fish never remember your birthday (or anything for that matter) – but, regardless, dogs like me set out to earn that one, be-all-end-all title.

And, let me tell you, we have some pretty pawsome role models to serve as a benchmark. Read more

4 Easy Ways to Diversify Your Investments

Published By Jake Bleicher, Equity Analyst

The benefit diversified investments has for a portfolio is simple, in theory. It reduces the impact any individual investment has on the portfolio, and proper diversification can help mitigate losses during a market downturn. In practice however, portfolios can become a large hodgepodge of various assets rather than a methodical allocation. The key is to reduce the correlation between assets so that they generally perform independent of one another. Read more

I Took My First Solo Female Travel And Didn’t Die!

Published By Pamela Peña Serrano, CFP® | LinkedIn

Here’s a mini blog post on how to keep a smart wallet during your adventures.

When I became a resident, I created a goal to travel to one country per year, but with a Colombian passport I ran out of options faster than anticipated, at least without having to apply for a Visa. Last year, I received my United States Blue Passport and with that, the freedom to be welcomed to travel to a majority of the world. As a diehard financial planner, I’m going to share my experience and give you the most crucial tips I learned along the way. Read more

Comfort: A Word We Need To Think About For Our Families

Published By B. Patrick Carter, CPA

If we lived life in reverse, think of all of the confusion and problems we could potentially avoid. We could provide for our families in a much more efficient manner, covering all of those things that seem unimportant to us now or decisions we avoid because of our daily indecisiveness. Read more