When I was growing up and my family would plan a road trip to a place we had never been to before, I remember my dad writing down directions on a piece of paper for my mom to read to him as he drove. At times, the trip went as planned and this system would work fine. However, there were times when something unexpected would occur and the handwritten directions… Read More

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” -Winston Churchill I recently read a research study commissioned by the National Christian Foundation (NCF) to further explore the subject of Christian Generosity. One of the questions the study sought to answer was, “Why do Christians give?” The primary motivating factor among the 1287 individuals that responded to this survey was the desire… Read More

If you visit the Master’s Advisors website, and look at Lyle’s Bio page, you will read a quote that is one of his favorites; “Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” – Patrick Lencioni. At Master’s, we have the unique privilege of experiencing fantastic teamwork. We have never had a more cohesive team… Read More

Our son, Cam, is turning 4 next month and has mastered the skill of riding his balance bike. A balance bike is essentially a bike with no pedals that he pushes (and brakes!) with his feet and legs. He loves flying around the neighborhood on his balance bike and has plenty of confidence in his ability to ride it. We recently decided it was time to transition him to a… Read More

When it comes to planning for a financial goal, such as retirement, there are several variables that play a role in your ability to meet the goal. Because of this, it can be tempting to feel overwhelmed. Which is why we find it helpful to categorize some of these major variables into what you can and what you cannot control. I really like the above picture as I feel it… Read More

If you are like me, a fun surprise can transform an ordinary day into a delightful adventure! However, a sudden interruption to a highly anticipated event can leave you extremely disappointed. Several months ago, our family started planning a long weekend trip to visit my brother-in-law’s family at a lake house near their home in Indiana. As you can imagine, the details of our planned visit took shape as we… Read More

In his June 28th blog post, Garry highlighted what our process looks like when new people first contact our office after having been referred to us. Today, I want to outline our onboarding process for those people that decide to work with us in a formal planning relationship. Our onboarding process is a very intentional eight-week process that we have built as a structured, comprehensive dive into each client’s personal… Read More

Yesterday we celebrated Independence Day! I hope you all had an opportunity to do something you enjoy. As a reminder, the reason we celebrate is that 246 years ago on July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence after deliberating for two days over the exact wording of the document. That was the official date placed on the Declaration of Independence. The founding… Read More

There is no higher compliment than a recommendation from someone we trust. Some of these recommendations are relatively low stakes, such as a restaurant or book recommendation, but others carry much more weight. Certainly, a recommendation from a friend to talk to a particular financial advisor about their financial life is towards the top of the list! Over the years, we have been privileged to receive referrals from many of… Read More