Good Financial Reads: Disability Insurance, Credit Cards, Financial Freedom, and More

Following along with the blogs of financial advisors is a great way to access valuable, educational information about finance — and it doesn’t cost you a thing! Our financial planners love to share their knowledge and help everyone regardless of age or assets.

Catch up on some of the latest posts with this week's roundup:

The Importance of Disability Insurance for Working Professionals

by Katie Brewer, Your Richest Life

Do you have disability insurance? If so, have you reviewed what’s covered in your policy? If you don’t have disability insurance, do you know how important it is to your financial future?

Disability insurance is one of the most overlooked pieces of coverage. Most Americans don’t have it, and they need it.

In this post, you will learn why disability insurance is so important for working professionals, which type of policy is most important, and three main ways you can find coverage.

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6 Things You Should Know About Your Credit Cards

by Mary Beth Storjohann, Workable Wealth

Did you know that the average adult in the US has a total of $5,596 in consumer debt? It’s easy to see from that statistic alone why credit cards get a bad rap. If you’re not careful with how you use credit, it could wreak havoc on your finances in a variety of ways.

You might rack up so much debt it will take you years to pay off. You might end up paying thousands in interest, to the detriment of your other financial goals. Your credit score might get damaged in the process. There’s a lot that could go wrong if you don’t use credit responsibly.

But here’s the thing: credit cards don’t have to be bad. Using a credit card doesn’t mean an automatic road to bad consumer debt. But you can end up with that outcome if you don’t educate yourself about your credit cards before you use them.

So start smart! Learn about credit and how your plastic works before racking up any charges on your account.

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No More Mr. Nice Guy

by Rob Oliver, Oliver Financial Planning

People often tell me that their financial adviser is a “nice guy”, and I think to myself (or say out loud if I’m feeling bold), “He can’t be too nice if he sold you that.”

Please don’t call me a nice guy. Not if nice guys sell people financial products they don’t need. Not if nice guys spend more time learning sales techniques than gaining financial planning knowledge. And not if nice guys charge too much and deliver too little.

You wouldn’t hire an attorney with a great personality if you knew she wouldn’t represent only your interests. And you wouldn’t trust your charming doctor if you knew she was compensated for prescribing you certain drugs. So why would you hire a financial adviser who isn’t required to represent your best interest and may be incentivized to do otherwise?

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The Secret to True Financial Freedom

by Tyler Gray, Sage Oak Financial

In spite of what you might think, the “secret” is actually quite simple.

It doesn’t matter if you’re…

• Rich or poor
• Young or old
• Male or female
• Educated or Uneducated

None of these things matters when seeking true financial freedom. You just have to know “the secret.” And the secret to achieving true financial freedom is something I like to call “the stewardship principle.”

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