Brad Brain Financial Planning Inc.

I spent August long weekend picking weeds from my horse pasture. Three long days . In the rain. In the sun. Long hours. Lots of time to think.

Of all the things I could have done this weekend, I spent my time picking weeds. Why?

Simple. These weeds ain’t going to pick themselves.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of similarities to my weekend picking weeds and personal financial planning.

1. It needs to be done. If you don’t pick the weeds you lose control of the health of the horse pasture, maybe even putting the horses at risk from noxious threats.
2. It’s not always fun. I had to grind it out when I would have rather been doing other things.
3. Its okay to ask for help. Not only did I talk to people who know more about weeds than I do, I also got people to help me with the work.
4. The longer you procrastinate the worse it gets. The sooner you get started the easier it is.

Those weeds were not going to pick themselves. I needed to get to work. Even if the conditions were less than ideal. Even if I would rather be doing something else. Because the longer I procrastinated the more work there was to do.

Just like financial planning.

Been working on this for a while, the future is bright!

Designed Wealth Management is excited to welcome Brad Brain, from Fort St John, British Columbia, to our team.

Brad is the President of Brad Brain Financial Planning Inc. and brings nationally recognized expertise to his practice. He is committed to helping clients build and preserve multi-generational wealth through a prudent, disciplined approach to financial planning, and is looking forward to leveraging the enhanced capabilities at Designed while continuing to provide exceptional service to his clients.

Welcome to Designed, Brad! We’re looking forward to our work together.

"I'm gonna sue!!!"

It is not uncommon for the death of a loved one to lead to family strife when the survivors cannot agree on the best path forward. Sometimes this can cause a permanent rift in the family dynamics.

How to avoid estate drama:

1. Talk to your family about money. If they don't know what is important to you then they may assume that it must be what is important to them.

2. Don't assume that just because someone is related to you that is your best choice to act as executor. They need to be both financially literate and willing to navigate a long, tiring and thankless process.

Consider the services of a professional executor services firm. They know what they are doing, and it may preserve the family harmony.

I'm gonna sue! It is not uncommon for the death of a loved one to lead to family strife when the survivors cannot agree on the best path forward. Sometimes this can cause a...

A potpourri of financial planning tips...

My latest column for the broken typewriter

SMART MONEY: Practical Financial Planning Tips There was some good reader engagement with last week’s column on Advanced Life Deferred Annuities.

The forgotten retirement income option.

Advanced Deferred Life Annuities will not fit every situation, but they should not be forgotten. In the right circumstances, they will offer some unique planning capabilities.

My latest column for the broken typewriter

SMART MONEY: The Retirement Income Option That You Have Never Heard Of Regular readers of this column will know that I am a big fan of RRSPs.

Artificial Intelligence is a revolutionary technological development that will change the world. That does not make it qualified to be your financial advisor.

AI comes as a blessing, but with as curse. The blessing is that you can use it to find out anything you want. The curse is that the answer might be rubbish.

My latest column for the the broken typewriter

SMART MONEY: When ChatGPT is Your Financial Advisor Artificial Intelligence is a revolutionary technological development that will change the world.

"This didn't turn out the way I wanted! I need to speak to the manager!"

Actually, you need to take some accountability.

My latest column for the broken typewriter

SMART MONEY: I Want to Speak With the Manager! Human beings are imperfect.

With the recent sure in oil prices, were you tempted to try to capitalize by buying more energy stocks? Were you tempted to sell something on fears that higher energy costs would be an obstacle?

Here is a different way to look at your portfolio.

https://www.brokentypewriter.ca/p/smart-money-the-case-for-diversification

My latest column for the broken typewriter

SMART MONEY: The Case for Diversification People react to market volatility in different ways.