Blog

Why I’m going for my AFC® certification

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on March 23, 2020 | Featured

I started the process of becoming an Accredited Financial Counselor®, to gain more skills and for people who prefer want to work with certified professionals. Years ago, I wrote a post called, “Do you need to be certified in order … Read More … Read More

Tags: AFC, certification, CFP

The uncommon color of the swan

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on March 16, 2020 | Featured

I don’t how to talk about the current health crisis better than anyone else, but I still want to acknowledge the reality we’re living in. I don’t know if you know this, but black swans do in fact exist. Unfortunately, … Read More … Read More

Tags: black swan, crisis, health

The Roth IRA danger zone (part 4): How to withdraw an excess contribution at Vanguard

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on March 9, 2020 | Featured

After having decided to remove my Roth IRA excess contribution, I went through the process at Vanguard for making it happen. More posts in this series: The Roth IRA danger zone (part 1): What to do when you almost make … Read More … Read More

Tags: Roth IRA, Vanguard

The Roth IRA danger zone (part 3): How I resolved an excess contribution

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on March 2, 2020 | Featured

With a number of different ways to resolve this problematic situation, here is how I dealt with an excess contribution to a Roth IRA. More posts in this series: The Roth IRA danger zone (part 1): What to do when … Read More … Read More

Tags: contributions, excess contribution, retirement, Roth IRA, Vanguard

The known unknown: On preparation and getting laid-off

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on February 24, 2020 | Featured

How financial preparation can lessen your anxiety when getting laid-off, and give you more choices and freedom to find your next path. Last year, I wrote about job loss, specifically the loss of a paycheck. I was tempted to call … Read More … Read More

Tags: job loss, laid off, new beginnings, preparation, transitions

What does the data say? Reading The National Study of Millionaires

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on February 17, 2020 | Featured

I review the National Study of Millionaires, the largest study of millionaires ever undertaken, by Chris Hogan and the Dave Ramsey team. Not too long ago, I reviewed the book “Everyday Millionaires: How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth—and How You … Read More … Read More

Tags: Chris Hogan, Dave Ramsey, millionaire, millionaires, wealth

How to create buckets in an Ally savings account

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on February 10, 2020 | Featured

Ally has just added the ability to create Buckets, flexible sub-accounts that allow you to save for particular goals. Here’s how to use them. I guess you could say that I’m a pretty big fan of Ally. Maybe it’s that … Read More … Read More

Tags: Ally, buckets, savings, savings accounts, Slowdive

Don’t let money be your excuse

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on February 3, 2020 | Featured

Not having money can make things more difficult, but you can modify your goals to be more achievable, once you know what your excuses are. I’ve long wondered whether you don’t really like to travel as much as you say … Read More … Read More

Tags: excuses, travel

Course review: How to Win the Game of Advanced Personal Finance

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on January 27, 2020 | Featured

I review “How to Win the Game of Advanced Personal Finance”, an online course by Ramit Sethi (from I Will Teach You Be Rich). A while back, I talked about purchasing a personal finance course. In response to the obvious … Read More … Read More

Tags: courses, Ramit Sethi, wealth

How to determine if a purchase is worth deliberating over

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on January 20, 2020 | Featured

If you cut down on time spent making decisions on things that don’t matter, you will have more energy for the decisions that do. As you make more money, the way a certain amount of money will feel will change. … Read More … Read More

Tags: BBS, Better Off Dead, feelings, limits, spending

Blog

Why I’m going for my AFC® certification

The uncommon color of the swan

The Roth IRA danger zone (part 4): How to withdraw an excess contribution at Vanguard

The Roth IRA danger zone (part 3): How I resolved an excess contribution

The known unknown: On preparation and getting laid-off

What does the data say? Reading The National Study of Millionaires

How to create buckets in an Ally savings account

Don’t let money be your excuse

Course review: How to Win the Game of Advanced Personal Finance

How to determine if a purchase is worth deliberating over

Empathic Finance - Mike Pumphrey, AFC®

Helping therapists and other helping professionals thrive with money and eliminate financial anxiety forever.

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