Keen On Retirement

One of the best books I read last year was Marie Kondo’s “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” Kondo is an organizational consultant who says her mission is to “organize the world and spark joy in people’s lives.” Her world-famous “KonMari Method™” teaches folks how to apply traditional Japanese simplicity values to decluttering, freeing us from stuff we’ve accumulated over the course of our lives that doesn’t really make us happy.

No, we can’t look back at 2017 and tell you definitively how the market is going to behave in 2018. But we can look for potential “rhymes,” the lessons of the past year and the trends that may echo into the next. In particular, I think there are four important takeaways from 2017 that you should keep in mind when discussing your 2018 financial plans with your fiduciary advisor:

Cryptocurrencies have been big news this year. But they’ve been the subject of discussion long enough to earn a dictionary definition: digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank.

As you’re working your way through the holiday bustle and thinking ahead to 2018, use these five tips to set solid resolutions that won’t melt away before the end of January.

We’re big on planning ahead at Keen Wealth. So over your holiday break, take a moment to go through my end of 2017 checklist. Tie up any loose ends, get some meetings on your calendar, and you’ll be ready to hit the ground running in 2018.

Last week the Keen Wealth leadership team took a trip to Chicago for the Charles Schwab IMPACT® Conference. One of the biggest gatherings in the financial services industry, it is designed to educate attendees on new technologies, trends, and navigating hot-button issues. There were dozens of sessions, hundreds of vendors, and vast opportunities to learn.