MoneyGeek - April 7, 2024
“I think there is a lot of confusion surrounding this topic…Permanent life insurance policies…commission structures are rarely, if ever, discussed.”
-Eric Johns, MBA, CFP®
“The incentive structure for insurance salespersons is misaligned with the client’s best interest in that commissions are based on the size of the contract, so even if the individual did fit the very narrow use case for permanent life insurance, agents are financially motivated to sell them excessively large policies.”
-Eric Johns, MBA, CFP®
MoneyGeek - March 26, 2024
“Frequently, when individuals no longer need to provide for college education for offspring, mortgage principal or financial support for surviving family members, the need for life insurance dissipates outside of specific estate planning scenarios.”
-Eric Johns, MBA, CFP®
“The bottom line here is that you should be very clear about what you want to accomplish with each of your dollars, and the reality is that most 60-year-olds should not be choosing any life insurance policy because the need has likely passed.”
-Eric Johns, MBA, CFP®
Yahoo Finance - November 9, 2023
“A common mistake clients make is allowing dollars in excess of their emergency fund, typically 3-6 months worth of expenses, to sit in accounts that pay little to no interest.”
-Eric Johns, MBA, CFP®
“But generally speaking, funds needed in less than five years can be allocated to short-term investments in a taxable brokerage account. College education or retirement funding should be placed in tax advantaged accounts like 529s for education and a combination of tax-deferred and tax-free accounts for retirement.”
-Eric Johns, MBA, CFP®
Go Banking Rates - January 24, 20204
“We advocate clients keep at least one month of expenses in a checking account. Alternatively, some prefer to keep the amount that they would need to write a check for with less than 24 hours of notice. This typically includes house repair expenses like plumbing, HVAC repair, contractor labor, and appliance repair.” - Eric Johns, MBA, CFP®
“The benefit to maintaining a low balance is that you are not allowing the bank essentially interest-free use of your cash,”
-Eric Johns, MBA, CFP®
Yahoo! Finance - January 29, 2024
“Tax planning can have an outsized impact. Some common considerations include HSA planning, FSA (Flexible Spending Account) and dependent care FSA participation, Roth IRA utilization if and when it makes sense, 529 account education saving, and asset location optimization” -Eric Johns, CFP®
“Absolutely do not rely on high-interest loans to fund any purchases. This is something wealthy clients never do. Save before you need the new car, until you have the capital in your liquid accounts. Essentially, your checking account balance should always exceed your outstanding credit card balances. Never charge more than you have available to pay immediately;.” -Eric Johns, CFP®