{"id":138,"date":"2013-02-28T07:04:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-28T07:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/5-questions-with-joe-messinger-of-capstone-wealth-partners\/"},"modified":"2013-02-28T07:04:00","modified_gmt":"2013-02-28T07:04:00","slug":"5-questions-with-joe-messinger-of-capstone-wealth-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/5-questions-with-joe-messinger-of-capstone-wealth-partners\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Questions with Joe Messinger of Capstone Wealth Partners"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is an interview I did with Joe Messinger of Capstone Wealth Partners<\/a>. I wanted Joe's take on some financial stuff that was on my mind and probably yours too.<\/p>\n

Why should someone consider engaging with a
\nfinancial advisor?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There
\nare 3 main reasons why people typically decide it is time to work with a
\nfinancial advisor 1. They take very little interest in financial matters and
\nthey are intimidated by money 2. Their personal financial situation has become
\nmore complex than they are comfortable with and they know
\nthey are missing opportunities and 3. TIME!!! This is the biggest reason to
\nconsider working with a financial advisor. 
\nYou simply don\u2019t have time to stay up to date on all of the aspects of
\nyour personal financial plan<\/a>, and it is much more valuable to delegate those
\nmatters to someone else that you trust to consolidate, coordinate and simplify
\nyour financial life.  Pay someone else to
\nworry about your financial matters so you can spend your TIME doing what you
\nare best at, and doing the things you love to do with the people you love to do
\nthem with.<\/p>\n

What are a few of the most common financial
\nmistakes people make with their money?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They wing it<\/strong>.  People don\u2019t
\nplan to fail, they fail to plan. A good financial plan should act as a guiding
\ndocument to help you make smart choices with your money so you can achieve YOUR
\ngoals for the reasons that are important to you.  An Easy exercise for planning retirement is
\nto ask yourself 3 questions; By when would I like to retire?  What amount of net spendable money do I need
\neach month to fund a comfortable retirement? 
\nNow that I am there, what are 3 words that describe what I am thinking
\nand how I am feeling now that I am there? \n<\/p>\n

They procrastinate<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 everyone today knows they should be saving to fund
\nretirement and\/or college.  Don\u2019t
\nwait!  Get empowered and take action
\nnow.  <\/em><\/p>\n

They don\u2019t seek advice when they know they
\nneed it<\/em><\/strong>.  It is hard to know who to trust, so make sure
\nto ask people that you trust who they work with and if they are loyal to them.  If things sound to good to be true, they
\nprobably are.  Use your spider man sense!
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

They don\u2019t pay attention to interest rates<\/em><\/strong>.  An interest rate
\nis simply a lender telling you how much you need to pay them to use their money
\nfor a period of time.  Obtaining a lower
\ninterest rate on your mortgage for example could mean tens of thousands of
\ndollars over the life of the loan, and increase your current cash flow at the
\nsame time.  <\/em><\/p>\n

They don\u2019t think it through<\/strong>.  People often
\ntimes get in over their heads with a payment, or run a massive amount of credit
\ncard debt.  If they just thought it
\nthrough and asked themselves \u201cCan I really afford this? Do I really NEED
\nthis?\u201d  they would be much better
\noff.  Buy with your brain, not your
\nheart.<\/p>\n

It seems like we\u2019ve got some major fiscal
\nhurdles (higher taxes, inflationary pressures, market ups and downs, etc.) in
\nfront of us here in the U.S., what are some ways to protect and preserve the
\nmoney we make?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So many
\nfamilies today are living paycheck to paycheck. 
\nOne of the most important things you can do is set aside 6 months of
\nyour house hold expenses in an emergency cash reserves account.  FYI \u2013 the family vacation to Florida is not
\nan emergency!  When times are good is the
\nbest time to plan for the uncertainty that will indefinitely come.  Another important thing is to make sure that
\nyou are properly insured in case the unthinkable happens.  Work with a professional to determine the
\nproper amount and type of insurance for you and your family.  The market will always have ups and downs and
\nthe most important thing with investing is to make sure that you are in a
\ndiversified portfolio that is appropriate for your age and time horizon.  Understand the risks associated with
\ninvesting and don\u2019t let emotions drive your decisions for long term
\ninvesting.<\/p>\n

Saving and paying for college is getting a
\nlot of attention right now. What are some practical things a person can do to
\nbrighten up this part of their financial picture?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The
\ncost of a 4 year education at a state school has doubled in the last 10 years,
\nand the costs continue to rise.  There
\nare 2 parts of the equation; 1. Saving
\nfor College and 2. Paying for college<\/strong> \n<\/p>\n

Every little bit helps in saving for college.  I would recommend that you start saving at
\nleast something into a 529 college savings plan<\/a>, even if it is $25 a
\nmonth.  Also, ask grandparents to
\ncontribute to the plan.  Perhaps instead
\nof giving the kids money to blow, ask them to split it 50\/50.  Half they can see them enjoy now, and half
\ncan go to help fund college.  As far as paying for college<\/strong> understand that
\nthere are a lot of ways to pay for college. 
\nWork to create a proactive plan, not 
\na reactive plan to pay for college. 
\nBefore you even apply to colleges, predetermine your Expected Family Contribution<\/a> (EFC)<\/strong> as
\ndetermined by the Free Application for
\nFederal Student Aid<\/a> (FAFSA)<\/strong>.  Also, determine
\nyour family\u2019s college funding philosophy; How much of college will you pay for,
\nfor each child.  For example \u201cwe are
\ncommitted to paying for up to 50% of what an in state school would cost
\nregardless where you go to college\u201d  or
\n\u201cwe will pay for $10,000 per year for each of our kids\u201d.  Federal Financial aid, Education Tax
\nincentives, Private Scholarships, scholarships and grants from the colleges and
\nuniversities, and student loans will likely all contribute to paying for
\ncollege.  It is an elaborate process with
\na lot of moving parts, so start early and be an informed buyer of a college
\neducation.<\/p>\n

Do you have a strategy you recommend for
\npeople that may have never put a dime into a mutual fund or a 401K?<\/strong><\/p>\n

START!   Get educated on your options and go.  If you work at a company with a 401(k) or
\nother retirement plan, that is a great place to start.  Request a meeting with a representative from
\nthe plan so that you are aware of your options. 
\nMany retirement plans now have what is called a target date fund<\/a> option.  These funds are a great way to get
\nstarted.  They essentially ask when you
\nplan to retire, and professional money managers do all of the heavy lifting to
\nselect a portfolio of investments that is appropriate for you based on your
\ntime horizon and your risk profile. These types of funds are also available in
\nself-directed Individual Retirement Accounts<\/a> (IRA).  If you are looking for one on one help, ask
\npeople that you trust if they work with an advisor that they are loyal to.  Don\u2019t be afraid to meet with 2 or 3 advisors
\nto find one that is a good fit for you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\"Joe<\/a><\/p>\n

Joe Messinger began his financial planning
\ncareer in 2001, and worked with industry-leading financial services firms.  His successes as a financial advisor lead him
\nto senior leadership roles where he had an opportunity to coach and mentor some
\nof the top financial advisors in the country. 
\nAfter nearly a decade of working for some of the largest firms in the
\nindustry, Joe concluded; \u201cThe only way to deliver truly comprehensive,
\nunbiased advice with no conflicts of interest is to operate as an independent
\nfee only Registered Investment Advisor.\u201d <\/strong> In 2009 Joe co-founded Capstone Wealth
\nPartners to do just that<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is an interview I did with Joe Messinger of Capstone Wealth Partners. I wanted Joe’s take on some financial stuff that was on my mind and probably yours too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,6],"tags":[200,388,392,370,10,391,390,389],"class_list":["post-138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coaching","category-entrepreneur-advice","category-learning","tag-5-questions","tag-capstone-wealth-partners","tag-college-funding","tag-college-planning","tag-finances","tag-financial-advisors","tag-financial-planning","tag-joe-messinger"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}