Rick Kahler's Financial Awakenings

Keeping up with the Joneses all year is hard enough. It gets even worse during the holidays, when we feel pressured to keep up, not just with the Joneses, but also with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and all the elves. Continue Reading »

Each of us has a set of unconscious beliefs about money, or “money scripts.” These beliefs, commonly formed in childhood, shape our financial choices in adulthood. Money scripts are partial truths, but one of the reasons they cause problems in our lives is that we unwittingly act on them as if they are completely true. Continue Reading »

Many of you have already met our new paraplanner, Alison Scherr. Alison was born and raised in the Black Hills area.  She received her B.S. in finance from the University of Wyoming and attended graduate school in Southern California, where she received her Masters in Accounting and Financial Management.  Continue Reading »

Kathy Kristoff’s column today on MoneyWatch.com is one of the more comprehensive treatments of an otherwise ubiquitous topic.  It’s certainly worth reading, click here.

Curtis Smith, CFP, is a financial planner who agrees with me that planners need to “walk the walk and not talk the talk.”

In his recent posting on Morningstar Advisor he suggests that, until  financial advisors have taken themselves through the process they are asking thier clients to go through, he is not sure how financial planning can become a profession.   Continue Reading »

Are you worried about having enough for retirement? You aren’t alone; the rich are worried, too. A recent survey shows that half of wealthy Americans consider their retirement planning an area of “high concern.”  An article by Tierney Plumb, published October 27 in the online edition of The Business Journal of Milwaukee, reported on the survey, which was conducted by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management. Continue Reading »

Taxes are forever changing and this year is no different.  During the last decade we’ve had a major change to the tax code almost every year.  Not keeping up on the latest changes can cost you a lot of money.  Dennis DeSmet, CPA, a long-time South Dakota accountant, will fill us in on everything we need to know about doing our last minute tax planning.  Plan to attend Thursday November 19, 2009 at 2 pm MT.  Click here to register.

KFG Clients all received information from TD Ameritrade today announcing that their current money market fund will be discontinued.  Now, you will have two choices for your cash account.  One is a new money market fund paying 0.05% and insured for up to $1 million.  The second is a bank savings account paying from 0.10 to 0.30% and insured by both FDIC and TD Ameritrade for total coverage of $500,000.

We have selected the default to be the second choice, the bank savings account.  This is because it pays a wee bit, and we mean a wee bit, more in interest.  If you carry cash reserves in excess of $500,000, we recommend you use the new money market fund.

If you have questions, please give us a call or drop us an email. Continue Reading »

What exactly do you get when you engage a fee-only financial planner?

This question seems so obvious that it is rarely asked, yet its answer is important. Continue Reading »

For every story about NFL greats such as Roger Staubach and John Elway earning millions off the field after their football careers, there is a dark chronicle from the flip side.  Current and former players say money is one of the more taboo subjects in locker rooms.

This informative article in the Nashville Tennessean includes some advice from fee-only financial planner, Rick Kahler, on why it’s crucial for NFL players to save a large portion of their income.   You can read more here.