Grand Haven, MI - Cross State Financial Group

04/14/2025

“Ask not what you can do for money, but rather what money can do for you.”

It’s easy to get caught up in accumulating more and more dollars and to forget that money isn’t what makes us happy. Money is simply a resource that should be used to accomplish the things we want out of life. Don’t let dollars dictate your life. Dictate your dollars to obtain the life that you want. Share if you agree!

03/31/2025

“Time, money, and happiness.”

I have heard many people say they don’t care about money because more money doesn’t mean more happiness. However, ask those same people if they care about the way they spend their time, and they will say, “Of course!” Ironically, time and money cannot be separated because it takes time to earn money. Money doesn’t contribute to our happiness because it can buy us more “stuff”, but rather because the way we spend our money can affect the way we spend our time, which in turn does affect our happiness. That’s why it’s so important for us to understand the way we want to spend our time before we decide how we want to spend our money. Money should be a means to an end based on our life’s goals. Tag a friend that needs to see this.

03/27/2025

“The video that changed my life.”

Jar of life story: I saw a video when I was younger. There was a professor demonstrating something in front of a class, and he had two sets of jars. Each set had a jar of sand, a jar of balls and an empty jar. With the first set, he poured the balls in first followed by the sand. Everything fit perfectly inside the jar — all the sand and all the balls. With the second set, he did the opposite by pouring the sand in first, then the balls. However, this time not all of the balls fit inside and they dropped noisily to the table.

This is a metaphor about the ways we can spend our time. The balls are the important, meaningful things to us like spending quality time with friends and family, while the sand is all the other unimportant stuff in between, like to-do lists and errands. If we don’t prioritize what’s important to us, it’s very easy to let our to-do lists consume all our time until there is nothing left for the important stuff. Some people let this go on for so long that they lose sight of what was even important to them in the first place, much like in the classic movie Click with Adam Sandler. Big fan. The same thing happens with money. There will always be an endless list of things we could buy each month until our paycheck is gone. And for those that live below their means, dollars will sit wasting away in a bank account until we tell it what to do. We must prioritize what we want out of life and use money as a tool to help us accomplish those things. Share if you agree!

03/17/2025

“Your financial goals are simply your lifelong goals converted into numbers.”

I was talking to somebody one day about their financial goals. They said they wanted $10,000,000 before they retire. This was indeed a financial goal, but one that was completely disconnected from what they needed to retire. Their lifestyle could be supported with far less, and saving too much money would be an inefficient use of time since he would be forced to work longer at a job he hated for money that wouldn’t be needed.

This is what happens when you create financial goals before thinking about what you want out of life. Of course it’s important to save enough for retirement, but what’s the bigger picture? What’s the opportunity cost? Start with life goals first, short-term and long-term, then create financial goals to accomplish those things. Make sure you have a destination before you set course. Follow us for more posts like this!

03/10/2025

“Get some financial ‘me time’.”

When we live with other people, like a spouse or a family, there is a whole lot of sharing and compromising. That’s why everyone needs personal space and “me time”. This is a time where we have full control over what activity we do, whether it’s a hobby, walking, watching TV, or whatever. During your “me time”, there is no sharing; you get everything your way. “Me time” isn’t selfish, it’s a necessity, and without it, you’re likely to go insane.

The financial equivalent of “me time” is a monthly dollar amount that you can spend on whatever you want and you can even let it accumulate and “rollover” from month-to-month so you can save for larger things that are just for you. It’s helpful to set up a separate side account so you can keep track of dollars that accumulate. If you’re able to afford discretionary spending like this in your budget, this is a sure way to help couples and families get along because it will give you both some “financial me time” where each person can have it their way. Please comment with thoughts.

03/03/2025

“Your lifelong goals are financially at odds with each other.”

You want to send your kids to college, and go on vacations, and retire now, and buy a cabin. We can’t have everything we want all at the same time. When we put money towards one goal, it is less that can go towards other goals. This is the concept of opportunity cost, and it forces us to make choices. We must write our goals down and allocate our dollars intentionally in order of importance, urgency and priority. I’m a big believer in using pen and paper for important lists like this.

Common examples of top priorities from a financial standpoint are eliminating high interest debt, having an emergency fund, taking advantage of 401(k) company matches and making sure you have all the insurance coverage that you need. After those things are addressed, it’s typically most practical to fund multiple goals at the same time instead of focusing on just one at a time. For example, planning family vacations while also saving for retirement is more realistic than making sure retirement is fully funded before doing any vacations.

Everybody’s financial resources, situation and goals are different, and I recommend speaking with a financial advisor about the order of funding your goals. This is one of the many ways that I helppeople. Please reach out if you would like to have a conversation free of charge and obligation.

02/24/2025

“What’s your annual budget?”

Most people think of budgets in terms of a “monthly” plan. It’s much more effective to start with an annual budget, then base your monthly budget on that. Then, at the end of the year, look to see how well it was executed so you can improve the following year. This is surest way to avoid wondering where all of your money went. Please follow us for more insightful posts!

02/18/2025

“The solution is within your control.”

Nobody can predict what the stock market will do next, nor what interest rates will do, but there are powerful tools that we can use to gain control over the financial aspect of our lives. We control our goals and how we use our dollars.

Start with something simple: what do you wish to accomplish in your life over the next twelve months?

In my experience, it’s not a lack of money or any external force that stops people from accomplishing their goals, it’s that their day-to-day spending isn’t consistent with their goals over longer periods than one month at a time. About the only thing most people think long-term about is saving for retirement, but this covers only a fraction of things that take long term planning.

What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment.

02/14/2025

“The way we spend our money should be based on the way we want to spend our time, not the other way around.”

If we start with a budget first, we allow dollars to dictate the way we spend our time. This is backwards since time is much more valuable than money. Before creating a budget, think about how you want to spend your time. Then create a budget that allows you to spend time engaging in activities that bring you joy, both now and in the future. An effective budget will maximize happiness across all years, not just now and not just later. You will find ways to be efficient with your money when you prioritize what’s most important to you. If this resonates with you, please share!

09/11/2024

If you’re uncertain about your retirement readiness, the first step is to determine the amount you’ll need in your portfolio to retire. Understanding how much you’ll need prevents all kinds of mistakes such as over-saving (working longer than needed) or under-saving (risking a higher probabili...

08/28/2024

Too much at the bank? A costly mistake. You need money on hand for expenses and emergencies, but keeping too much at the bank can cost more than you realize. How much is too much?

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Everyone should keep cash on hand at the bank for emergencies and expenses, but keeping more than you need is counterproductive. Those are excess dollars that could be used to move you closer to your goals.For example, if you kept $50,000 more than you needed at the bank, and you could have invested...