Colin Day, CFP®, EA, MBA's Linkedin Analytics

Do you want to know how much I know? Or how much I care? At the beginning of my career, I thought rote memorization was the way to impress people. I could rattle off: ☑️ IRA Contribution limits ☑️ Phase out ranges ☑️ Tax form numbers ☑️ Uniform Lifetime Table figures Later I learned that you don’t need to memorize anything (it’s all on the internet, anyway). And no one really gawked at my wide range of knowledge on historical 415 limits… Instead, the human connection is what people cared about: 👧 Remembeering kids’ names 🎂 Birthday phone calls 🎉 Celebrating retirements ⚱️ Attending client funerals I’ve never got a referral because I did a good job memorizing the Social Security wage base. But I have gotten referrals because of the deep connection I build with our clients. ******** When was the last time your advisor reached out to check in… not to talk stocks and bonds, but see how you were doing? ((Pic from a little canoeing at Cub Scout camp))

Is your advisor earning their fee? Here’s what you should ask yourself: Are they keeping you accountable while reaching your goals? Doesn’t matter what those goals are: ➡️ Retirement ➡️ College planning ➡️ Business management ➡️ Tax planning ➡️ Estate maintenance ➡️ Investment diversification… If they aren’t helping you reach YOUR goals (i.e. not theirs) then you should have a hard look at that fee and determine if they’re still right for you.

“Do what you love, and it can always feel like Friday.” Do you experience the Sunday Scaries? The case of the Mondays? Do you shout “hump day!” to everyone on Wednesday? Your working life doesn’t need to dictate how you feel about your REAL life. Instead, focus on: 🏃 Intentional living 🏃 Intentional living means designing your days around what actually matters to you. It’s not just reacting to deadlines or expectations; it’s about making space for clarity, not just productivity. When you move with intention, even small choices feel aligned. 🔋 Autonomy in your schedule and energy 🔋 Autonomy isn’t just about having control over your calendar… it’s about knowing where your energy flows best and building your life around that. When you can work ‘when’ and ‘how’ you thrive, everything gets lighter and more sustainable. ⛓️ Making work feel like a choice, not a cage ⛓️ Work doesn’t have to feel like a trap. When it’s aligned with your values, and you’ve built a buffer of freedom, it starts to feel like something you ✨choose✨ to do. It’s not something you ✨have✨ to survive. That shift changes everything. 🎉 Enjoying the present instead of deferring life 🎉 You don’t have to delay joy until retirement. Life is happening now! When you stop putting off the good stuff - rest, creativity, travel - you start to realize how rich life can be in the middle, not just the end. 🧘‍♀️ Reclaiming work-life balance as work-life harmony 🧘‍♀️ Work-life balance sounds like a scale you’re always tipping. Work-life harmony feels more fluid. Like your career and your personal life are supporting each other, not fighting for space. It’s not about balance. It’s about alignment.

I need constant reminders to keep me on track. It’s why I wear a watch. Every morning, I get a code to login to a website for work. I request the code, and I patiently wait for the code to appear on my watch. But before that code appears, my eyes wander down to the number of miles I’ve run so far that week. And it’s always a point of pride when the number is anything more than zero. Because it means I’ve done something hard: 🥱 Woken up extra early 🛌 Dragged myself out of bed 👟 Put on some running clothes (sometimes very WARM clothes) 🏃‍♂️ And put in some miles In an age when there are constant notifications to remind me of things, a simple number on my wrist lets me know if I’m doing one thing right that week. ******** What’s the one thing you need to do every week to make you feel like you’ve been productive?

History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes. -Mark Twain Is the current market and economic downturn unprecedented? I’m still not sure. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that this current predicament sure ✨feels✨ like something we’ve dealt with before. ******** What say you? Do you feel like this is history repeating itself? Or just a case of a history rhyme?

Why risk your future on one bad quarter? I mean, how bad could it get? “Joe” is nervous about the market. And he seems to get this way every time the market takes a dip. 🥺 ”This time is different,” he pleads. 😬 ”We haven’t had tariffs like these in 100 years,” he explains. 📢 ”I want to move all my money to cash,” he exclaims. I can see that he has anxiety as we near bear market territory. And I really do feel for him. But then I bring up this chart. If Joe is 50 years, old, and he’s been investing since he was 25, he’s already had 100 quarters of market performance. If he lives to 90, he will have 264 quarters in which he invests (provided he stays in the market). That one red cell is but one quarter’s performance. It signifies the current market quarter as a down market. Before it were 100 quarters or performance, and ahead of it are another 159. Joe has more time to invest in the future than how much he’s already invested! While we don’t know what the future stock market looks like, I’d venture to guess that the rest of this chart won’t be red. I’d also make an educated guess that most of the following cells will not be red. Time and time again, investors get cold feet whenever we get into times like these: 😰 They panic ➡️ Move to cash or some other seemingly secure instrument, and 😔 Regret the move as the market rebounds without them Instead, think of the chart - there’s a whole wealth of opportunity ahead of you, and lots of experience investing behind you. We know that as long as we don’t allow our emotions to cloud our thoughts, we can overcome bad times in the market. We must rely on ourselves to look at the bigger chart, and the opportunities that await. Disclosure: Chart is for illustrative purposes and not indicative of any particular market or index. Historical performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Without a hands-on experience, how do you hire a financial advisor? I’ve been a Nintendo fanboy since the NES. (And my game reviews feature in the magazine I used to write for was called Game Boy!) Which is why the new Nintendo Switch 2 is a day-one purchase for me. I *trust* Nintendo. I know what I’m getting. I don’t need a deep dive review. Because that’s how trust works: it removes friction from decision-making. Now imagine trying to hire a financial advisor. No launch trailer. No gameplay footage. No easy way to test the experience. So it takes time. You want to feel confident that you’re making a good choice. That the advisor “gets” you. That they’re worth the investment. That they won’t make things more confusing. Financial planning isn’t an impulse buy. And this certainly isn’t a game. Make sure you’ve built trust with the person before committing. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Who do you trust to help make your biggest financial decisions?

Rule of thumb No. 212: Don’t borrow more than you can afford. 👈 When it comes to borrowing for college, there’s an easy way to know if your kid is taking too much: 💰 Will they borrow more than what they could earn their first year out of school? 💰 According to Bankrate’s “Average college graduate salaries: 2025 projections” your college student could expect to earn: $78,731 with an Engineering degree 👷 $76,251 with a Computer Sciences degree 👩‍💻 $65,276 with a Business degree 👨‍💼 $63,122 with an Agriculture and Natural Resources degree 👩‍🌾 If your student is graduating with $100,000 in debt and getting a BA in Communications, that far exceeds the $60,353 they’re projected to earn. (And this is actually decline of 3% from what the 2024 communications major projection was of $62,205! 🫢) And if your child is pursuing Math but can only secure a gig paying $50,000, student loans exceeding $60,000 would be a tight squeeze for them. Now I’d like to be clear: This message isn’t to discourage anyone from pursuing a degree. Its intention is to motivate you - as a parent - to communicate with your student about how they will need to handle their student loans when they graduate. While it’s great that they want to pursue higher education, they may wish to pursue community college, or go to a state school that could keep their debt burden lower. They might even take a few years to better understand what they want to do professionally and enter the workforce immediately with the idea that later they can always go back to school. ******** A question for parents: Have you discussed your financial responsibilities for Junior’s college tuition recently? What are you willing to provide?

What’s the last hard thing you did? Not the annoying kind of hard. The kind that pushes you out of your comfort zone. The kind that might change your life. I got a tattoo. My first. (Yes, I told my mom before I posted this.) It’s a reminder to do hard things, and why they matter. Because sometimes, like the ibex scaling the side of a dam just to survive, we have to take on something difficult to grow, evolve, or thrive. 🏢 For some people, it’s starting a business. 👴 For others, it’s planning an early retirement. 📈 For me, it’s helping clients tackle their own hard things, like the financial ones that take real vision and effort. ⛰️ Growth doesn’t happen on flat ground. ⛰️ Do something challenging today. ******** And if you want help solving the hard financial stuff, I’m here for that too. Video credit: BBC, “Forces of Nature with Brian Cox”

Behold: my little bundle of joy. I’ve had chapstick in my pocket every day for 20 years. The only time I don’t have it in my pocket is when I’m out for a run or when I’m sleeping… …and even then I sometimes forget to take it out of my pocket before climbing into bed. 😅 But when I forget my chapstick for a day, I’m an absolute wreck. 😵‍💫 Heightened awareness that all-is-not-right 🫤 Uncomfortable sitting at my desk 😧 Thinking I’m missing something in my pocket 🤐 And worst of all, dry lips. But once I get back home, everything’s all right again. I put some on, drop it in my pocket, and I’m on my way. 🚶‍♂️ It’s like I never missed it. It’s a lot like the stock market right now: 😵‍💫 🫤 😧 🤐 We have heightened emotions, we’re uncomfortable about our investments, and we’re wondering if we’ll ever get back to where we were. But eventually, things settle again… we’re back to ‘normal’. The news of the stock market once again settles into the background, and we’re once more on our way. 🚶‍♂️ When we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations, know that it’s likely temporary. We have to wade through the waters for a short while, knowing that relief is coming. ******** What’s something in your daily carry that you can’t do without?

If your 401k is down -10% or more, you should absolutely look into these things: ♻️ Rebalance your portfolio ♻️ Your account is likely a little “out of whack,” to use a technical term. International stocks or bonds may be down less than your U.S. stocks, and that means you might have more exposure to international stocks or bonds than what you traditionally like. By rebalancing your portfolio back to the percentages you want, you make sure that when certain areas recover, you get to capture more of the upside. If you’ve never traded in your account before, call the 800 number for your custodian and have them walk you through it. This way, you know how to do it the next time. 🔄 Roth conversions 🔄 When the market is down, you can pay your taxes at a discount! A Roth conversion is the process of taking your pre-tax money and making it post-tax money. By moving shares from your pre-tax side to Roth, you will pay taxes on the amount of money that moves. However, because the market is down, you’re able to convert more shares while the price is lower. When the market recovers, your shares will be worth more, and you will have taken advantage of a great opportunity for tax-deferred and potentially tax-free growth. But… not all plans offer Roth conversions! If you’re uncertain if your 401k does, contact your provider. 🙌 Increase your deferral rate 🙌 401k deferral rates increased this year to $23,500 if you are under age 50, and $31,000 if you are over age 50. Oh, and if you turn 60-63 years old this year you can actually contribute up to $34,750! If you forgot to increase your contributions - or if you have been putting this off for the right time - now is a great time to put that extra savings to work and buy while prices are low! Login to your 401k website to make the adjustment. 🤔 Reevaluate your risk 🤔 Still wondering if you should be 100% in the stock market? Are you nervous that only 50% is in bonds? Every person is different, and just because your coworker invests one way doesn’t mean that it’s right for you. Consider your age, time to retirement, and personal risk tolerance when putting your savings to work. Contact your financial advisor so they can make sure your 401k is in alignment with your other investment accounts. ******** There are always opportunities to explore, even when the market is in shambles. What other opportunities are you taking advantage of while the stock market is tumbling?

That’s it. I’m establishing a curfew. For me. Last summer, I was getting the best sleep of my life. Lights out by 10:35pm, up at 5:30am. I felt amazing. But then… I slipped. 🥱 A few late nights here… 🥱 A few “just one more episode” moments… and suddenly, the old habits crept back in. My energy dipped. My focus blurred. I built that routine intentionally: 📺 No screens after 10pm 🦮 Take the dogs out 🪥 Brush teeth, 20 minutes of reading, and lights out And it worked. It really did! But like many good habits, it takes effort to sustain. So this week, I’m recommitting. Back to the basics. Back to the bedtime. Because feeling good isn’t just about rest. It’s about rhythm. ******** What’s one habit you’ve let slip that you want to bring back?

“I only want investments that make money every year.” And they were serious. Years ago, I met with a business owner about taking over their company’s 401(k) plan. It was clear that they cared deeply about their employees’ futures wanted. For gosh sakes, she only wanted her employees to make money in the market! How nice is that! But for me, the first red flag had been waved. 🚩 I explained how markets work. That risk and reward are partners. That no advisor - no matter how talented - outsmart volatility every quarter. She nodded, but her follow-up was telling: “So…you can’t guarantee positive returns?” I lost the business that day. But honestly? I’m okay with that. Because a relationship built on promises no one can keep isn’t sustainable. Our best clients understand that good investing isn’t about winning every time. It’s about: Staying the course ⛳ Riding the waves 🌊, and Making thoughtful, long-term decisions 🧐 Especially when markets get messy. ******** Building your relationship on a promise you know you can’t keep is dangerous. The relationship between client and advisor is strongest when expectations are understood and adhered. Chart source: Google, S&P 500, accessed 4/16/25 at 11:44am EDT

When the market turns grizzly… Teddy bears offer better hugs than headlines. Market downturns trigger fear. It’s human. Your brain sees 🟥RED🟥 and immediately wants to do something: 💲 Sell ↩️ Shift 🏃‍♂️💨 Escape But sometimes the best move is no move at all. That’s where the teddy bear comes in. A reminder that’s potential bear market is an opportunity to pause… to breathe… to let emotions settle before making decisions that could impact your long-term goals. We’ve all heard “stay the course.” But it’s hard to do when the news is shouting recession, crash, or plunge. So here’s your permission to find a little comfort—whether that’s in a walk, a friend, or a fuzzy stuffed bear. Because calm, not panic, is what gets you through the storm. And of course, a little squeeze of your favorite stuffy. ******** Many thanks to my daughter who has allowed me to sleep with her teddy the past few nights as the markets have made it a little too scary to sleep alone. 😴