80/20 Financial Services-Blog

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Time is our most precious resource and I thank you for allowing me to get a few minutes of your time each week. I hope you find the blog helpful and informative. Send me an email if there is ever a topic you would be interested in learning more about. I will research it and write a future blog about it.

The Three Main Stock Market Indexes Explained

April 22, 2025 Investment Retirement Funding

Everyday the financial “news” tells us the status of the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite because these are the three most followed indexes by media and investors. I’ve found through the years that many people have no idea what an index is or specifically what these three indexes represent. Today I’m going to give you a Cliffs Notes version of what an index is as it relates to the stock market, a brief explanation of the three major indexes

Should We Get Out Of The Market Until Things Settle Down?

April 14, 2025 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

The impulse to get out of the market before something bad happens is an impulse in all of us but it's at best only half of a strategy. What impulse would you listen to for re-entry to the market? Impulses don't make a strategy, but they can totally destroy a strategy.

Should You Sell? Should You Buy? Should You Invest More?

April 6, 2025 Investment Retirement Funding Insights Misc.

It depends on your goals, your long term financial plan, your age even factors into things here. Let's just run through these options real quick.

Why Should You Pay A Financial Advisor? You, Your Advisor and The Big Mistake.

March 31, 2025 Investment Retirement Funding Misc.

As your advisor we are a walking talking insurance plan hired to protect one of the largest assets you own, your retirement nest egg. The difference being that unlike most insurance plans we protect you before a disaster strikes, not after the damage has been done.

Why All Of Us Should Embrace Temporary Market Declines

March 24, 2025 Investment Insights

Today I want to discuss why you should actually embrace temporary market declines rather than fear them. I said temporary because they all are temporary and always have been temporary and will always be temporary.

Why Is The Stock Market So Volatile At Times?

March 10, 2025 Investment Insights

If you follow financial "journalism" at all you will inevitably hear how volatile the market is and how you should take action to protect yourself from the volatility. However, when we turn off the "news" and look at things rationally, we can see a completely different story. One that is actually true. It's not the market that is volatile. It's the investors that are volatile.

The Importance of Rebalancing Your Portfolio

February 18, 2025 Investment Retirement Funding

One of the most underused, overlooked and unappreciated practices in investing is rebalancing your portfolio on a yearly basis. There's an old saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Disciplined rebalancing, however, is as close as you can get to a free lunch. Let's explore why.

Retirement Has Two Doors. Which One Will You Choose?

February 10, 2025 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

Retirement has two doors. One leads to a chance of success. One leads to certain failure. Which door will you choose?

Your NRECA 401k Options Explained In Plain English

January 14, 2025 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

Today I want to discuss, what I feel, is the single most important benefit the co-op offers you. And that is your NRECA 401k plan. It’s important because it’s the fastest and simplest way for you to grow your wealth over time.

Our Retirement Planning Strategy Explained

January 6, 2025 Investment Retirement Funding

Our strategy is long term and not affected by day-to-day fluctuations of the stock market. Our retirement plans are designed with one thing in mind and that is to keep you as worry free as possible so you can enjoy this time in your life that you have earned and deserve.

Should I Be Investing In A Roth Account?

November 25, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding Minimizing Taxes In Retirement

When reviewing the key differences between Roth accounts and Traditional accounts, it’s important to ask yourself: “When is the most advantageous time to pay tax on my income?”

Investing For And During Retirement

November 17, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

Successful investing for retirement and in retirement is not that complicated. The planning process can be complicated, such as when to liquidate certain investments, how much cash to keep on hand, and sticking to your plan, but the investing process isn’t hard at all.

Three Types Of Financial Advisors And How They Get Paid

October 7, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

The three most common business structures that use the terms are Insurance Companies, Broker Dealers and Registered Investment Advisers. All three are very different in how they run their business and each will specialize in different areas.

The Rollover Mistake That Costs Cooperative Retirees Significant Money

July 23, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

Everyday cooperative employees retire. Some of these retirees take the lump sum option and "rollover" that money to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or they "rollover" that money into their NRECA 401k. They may be working with a financial advisor or they may have decided that they don't want to pay an advisor and they want to do it themselves. This blog is speaking to the do it yourselfers.

Easy Financial Math!

July 22, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding

Thinking about retirement? Thinking about investing in general? Trying to decide when or if you'll have enough money? Here's a quick financial tip that you can use right this minute. It's called the Rule of 72.

Can You Manage Your Cooperative 401k Plan Correctly?

July 8, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding

Did you know that the S&P 500 Index Mutual Fund available to you through your NRECA 401k options has historically averaged a return of approximately 10 percent? Did you know over that same period of time the average cooperative employee in the 401k plan has averaged a return of only 3.9 percent?