Steve Grasso
This is the second and culminating installment of our introduction to Wealth Club.
In the previous post, I gave a little background about the conception of Wealth Club. If you haven't read it yet, check it out over here. An important aspect of Wealth Club is how it relates to the Artifex Financial Group at it's core. In 2007, Doug Kinsey and Darren Harp, the partners in ownership of Artifex set out to provide affordable, transparent and unbiased advice to families to just like their own. After several years in the business with various big-box investment firms, they felt that the financial advisory industry as a whole had moved away from being in the business of helping others grow wealth and plan for their futures and was heading down a much darker path. They chose to become a Fee-Only Financial Planning firm who would act as a fiducuary for it's clients. Of course shortly thereafter, this happened and within a few months the entire ecomony of the United States was turned on it's head.
Artifex showed it's mettle through this time, as the company not only survived but thrived through this time of adversity and doubt in the world of investment management, gaining clients by following through on their fidiciary responsibilty. What once was on office of two, has now grown to six. Artifex, a true start up company, currently serves hundreds of clients and their families, at all ages, tax brackets and income levels. Artifex is now a leader in the Fee-Only Planning field. For more info on the full planning experience, check us out over here.
With it's background in customer experience, transparency, and an entreprenurial spirit, joining the Artifex team was a no-brainer for me. As mentioned in part I of this blog, my background is in education. I also have experience with social media and network marketing. In order to provide value to the team and help the company grow, I had an idea to bring all of these components into one experience. I wanted to create a program that would appeal to people who, like me, are in their early stages of their adult lives; people who have careers and families, and not a whole lot of extra time to spend worrying about what's going to happen in 30+ years, but who want to have a plan in place and a little understanding how to take control of personal finances in today's economy. Taking these aspects into account, I wanted to create a program that would provide the Artifex experience, but would be mobile and on-demand. Well, that program is finally here, and available NOW (click on the LAUNCH WEEK BONUS button to get a sweet discount)!
My goal with this blog is simple: I want to provide a forum for discussion of topics that are relevant to Gen-Y'ers like myself (apparently Gen Y includes Millienials - I'm not as old as I thought I was!), that will hopefully encourage people to start thinking about how they are managing their finances.
Some topics on the boiler include:
- Student loan debt and how it relates to our future - higher education is through the roof and it's been dumped on us
- Managing debt in general
- Budgeting tips
- 401k, SEPs and other retirement plans - how much should you put in
- Cutting the cord and other day to day expenses
- What about just having fun? Planning for some good times (hint: it's OK!)
- Buying vs renting
- Owning rental properties vs investing in the market
- Tax planning
- Planning for independent contractors and self-employed people
- Family planning
- What to think about as our parents advance in age
If these topics look and feel familiar to you or pique your interest, click the button below to sign up for the blog list! If you like what you see, tell a friend. One of my favorite parts about being an educator is that I was always in a learning environment. I am sure the more this blog grows, the more I will learn from all of the great discussion. I hope to provide some value and a thought-provoking experience for all!
