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Aspire Planning Associates

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Our Blog

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Featured
A Great Way to Make Charitable Contributions: Use a Donor-Advised Fund
Apr 24, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
A Great Way to Make Charitable Contributions: Use a Donor-Advised Fund
Apr 24, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®

A donor-advised fund can provide you flexibility in giving to charity while helping you control your taxes.

Apr 24, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Raising Healthy Children
Apr 10, 2018
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
Raising Healthy Children
Apr 10, 2018
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®

One of the greatest gifts you can give your children is a healthy lifestyle. Here are ideas to get started.

Apr 10, 2018
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
The Philosophy of Fees
Apr 3, 2018
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®
The Philosophy of Fees
Apr 3, 2018
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®

When working with a financial advisor, don’t just ask how much you will pay in fees. Make sure you know how the fees are determined.

Apr 3, 2018
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®
Being a Successful Landlord: 10 Rules for Rental Property Managers and Owners
Mar 26, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Being a Successful Landlord: 10 Rules for Rental Property Managers and Owners
Mar 26, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®

What do you need to know to be a successful landlord? Here are 10 rules to help make your rental property profitable.

Mar 26, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Retiring and Living Internationally
Feb 27, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Retiring and Living Internationally
Feb 27, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®

Dreaming of an expat retirement? Here are some benefits of life abroad that you may want to consider.

Feb 27, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Give Your Budget a Checkup During Tax Season
Feb 20, 2018
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
Give Your Budget a Checkup During Tax Season
Feb 20, 2018
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®

Tax time can provide an excellent opportunity to give your budget a checkup. Here are six steps to gain control over your money.

Feb 20, 2018
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
Planning in the Face of Uncertainty—Part 2
Feb 13, 2018
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA
Planning in the Face of Uncertainty—Part 2
Feb 13, 2018
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA

When markets plummet, your financial planner’s most important job may very well be to help you name and deal with your fear.

Feb 13, 2018
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA
Some Thoughts on This Week’s Stock Market Roller Coaster
Feb 6, 2018
Aspire Planning Associates
Some Thoughts on This Week’s Stock Market Roller Coaster
Feb 6, 2018
Aspire Planning Associates

It can be unnerving when stock markets fall. We offer some perspective from a colleague.

Feb 6, 2018
Aspire Planning Associates
Budgeting and a Review of a Great Book
Jan 30, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Budgeting and a Review of a Great Book
Jan 30, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®

You cannot have one thing without sacrificing another—a concept that can transform our spending decisions.

Jan 30, 2018
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
My Favorite Things
Jan 16, 2018
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®
My Favorite Things
Jan 16, 2018
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®

Remembering the things most important to us can lead to discovering aspirations that we can incorporate into our financial plans.

Jan 16, 2018
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®
Planning in the Face of Uncertainty
Jan 9, 2018
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA
Planning in the Face of Uncertainty
Jan 9, 2018
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA

In time of uncertainty, how are we supposed to make decisions? See how you can adapt the process we use at Aspire.

Jan 9, 2018
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA
Sharing Our Thoughts on Real Estate
Jan 3, 2018
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
Sharing Our Thoughts on Real Estate
Jan 3, 2018
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®

We were honored to give our perspective on the podcast show “Anything & Everything Real Estate” hosted by Joe Cucchiara.

Jan 3, 2018
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
The Changing Tax Rules and What You Can Do Now
Dec 12, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
The Changing Tax Rules and What You Can Do Now
Dec 12, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®

With the Tax Cuts and Job Acts almost certain, you can take steps now to help ease the tax bite next year.

Dec 12, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
The First Step: The Journey of Financial Planning
Dec 4, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®
The First Step: The Journey of Financial Planning
Dec 4, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®

What is financial planning? It’s less of a plan and more of a journey, and taking that first step can be difficult but ultimately rewarding.

Dec 4, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®
Do You Need Condo Insurance?
Nov 28, 2017
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
Do You Need Condo Insurance?
Nov 28, 2017
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®

Buying a condo brings different responsibilities than buying a home. Here is what you need to know when buying condo insurance.

 

Nov 28, 2017
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
What I Learned at The Gathering
Nov 14, 2017
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA
What I Learned at The Gathering
Nov 14, 2017
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA

At The Gathering, a discussion of financial “groan zones” and possibilities to help people explore what they have not yet thought about.

Nov 14, 2017
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA
The Client 1 Method: Why Market Predictions Can Derail Your Portfolio
Nov 7, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
The Client 1 Method: Why Market Predictions Can Derail Your Portfolio
Nov 7, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®

Almost all of us try to predict the market, but predictions will go wrong more often than right. That’s why we should follow the “Client 1 method.”

Nov 7, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
The Dream of Retirement
Nov 1, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
The Dream of Retirement
Nov 1, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®

Retirement can be a tough transition, especially for couples who haven’t taken the time to plan for it together.

Nov 1, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Half of a Whole: When You Lose a Spouse
Oct 24, 2017
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
Half of a Whole: When You Lose a Spouse
Oct 24, 2017
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®

Nothing can prepare us for losing our spouse. Here are some handholds to help you take care of you, your family, and your finances during this time.

Oct 24, 2017
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
What Really Drives Our Financial Decisions?
Oct 17, 2017
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA
What Really Drives Our Financial Decisions?
Oct 17, 2017
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA

We may think our decisions are rational, but they’re not. Fortunately, they can be predictably irrational.

Oct 17, 2017
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA
Are These 4 Behavioral Biases Hurting Your Investment Decisions?
Oct 10, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Are These 4 Behavioral Biases Hurting Your Investment Decisions?
Oct 10, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®

We are all influenced by behavioral biases. Those biases can keep us safe; but when it comes to investing, they can lead to poor decisions.

Oct 10, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Oct 10, 2017
Aspire Planning Associates
Quarterly Market Review - Third Quarter 2017
Oct 10, 2017
Aspire Planning Associates

Below is our Quarterly Market Review that's heavily focused on returns of assets and markers around the globe. Our QMR is full of very interesting information and equally compelling ideas about investing your money.

Oct 10, 2017
Aspire Planning Associates
A Beacon of Light to White Ashes
Oct 5, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®
A Beacon of Light to White Ashes
Oct 5, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®

Today I learned that a daughter of a friend was killed in Las Vegas.  I had not met nor had known her daughter but when she told me about the tragedy I was stunned.  I did not know what to say or how to feel at that moment, I was numb.

Oct 5, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®
We're Expanding! New Locations in Walnut Creek and Pleasanton
Oct 4, 2017
Aspire Planning Associates
We're Expanding! New Locations in Walnut Creek and Pleasanton
Oct 4, 2017
Aspire Planning Associates

We are excited to announce our latest expansion. Come October 20, we'll have a new site for our Walnut Creek office. In addition, we’re excited to announce that we also have meeting locations in Pleasanton and Danville should these locations be more convenient for you!

Oct 4, 2017
Aspire Planning Associates
Fear and the Fork in the Road: Don’t Let Potentially Negative Outcomes Paralyze Your Decision-Making
Oct 3, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®
Fear and the Fork in the Road: Don’t Let Potentially Negative Outcomes Paralyze Your Decision-Making
Oct 3, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®

Success in any endeavor, and particularly in financial planning, depends on making good decisions. But don’t let the fear of a negative outcome stop you from making any decisions.

Oct 3, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®
Money Management 101 for Kids
Sep 26, 2017
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
Money Management 101 for Kids
Sep 26, 2017
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®

You have taught your kids how to read and how to ride a bike, but have you taught them how to manage their money? If you still have children at home, save them (and yourself) some heartache by teaching them the basics of money management.

Sep 26, 2017
Mira Ma, CFP®, RFC®
Dealing with Our Parents as Elders: The Need for Control—Different Culture, Same Issue
Sep 19, 2017
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA
Dealing with Our Parents as Elders: The Need for Control—Different Culture, Same Issue
Sep 19, 2017
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA

As adult children, we need to give our aging parents what they need most: the control to manage their life and shape their legacy.

Sep 19, 2017
Johnny Roland, CFP®, EA
ABC's of Behavioral Biases
Sep 13, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
ABC's of Behavioral Biases
Sep 13, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®

Welcome back to our “ABCs of Behavioral Biases.” We issued our introductory piece back in mid-August, and will continue with the multi-part series about how our brains work while “on money”. 

Sep 13, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Equifax Debacle and 7 Things to Do NOW
Sep 13, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Equifax Debacle and 7 Things to Do NOW
Sep 13, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®

Equifax, one of the three credit monitoring services, admitted recently that hackers gained access to the sensitive identify and financial information in their database for 143 million people (44% of the U.S. population). The hackers exploited a website weakness from mid-May to July. Equifax learned of the intrusion on July 29th but did not disclose the information to the public until 40 days later on September 7th. The credit breach is about as bad as you could expect a breach to be. Much of the data acquired is timeless information that could be used for years.

Sep 13, 2017
Evor C. Vattuone, CFP®
Max Out the Contributions to Your 401(k)? Not Necessarily
Sep 5, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®
Max Out the Contributions to Your 401(k)? Not Necessarily
Sep 5, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®

Have you heard the mantra to max out your 401(k) contributions? I cannot tell you how often I have heard people on television, colleagues, and friends say this to me. Read on to see why, in some cases, this approach may not be in your best interests.

Sep 5, 2017
Lloyd Yamada, CFP®

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Disclosures: Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design) and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

© 2017 Aspire Planning Associates. All rights reserved.