Because financial health is measured in more than just numbers Financial Advice Isn’t Just About Money. It’s About How You Live. For decades, financial advice has largely followed a familiar model. Performance. Returns. Asset allocation. Spreadsheets and projections. These things matter. But on their own, they don’t tell the full story of a person’s financial life. At The Updated Investor , we don’t believe you can separate a person’s life from their money. The two are comple

See where you’re secure, where you’re exposed, and what will give you more certainty in retirement. Retirement is supposed to be about freedom from worry. Yet many retirees tell me the same thing regardless of how much they have: “I think I’m okay… but I’m not totally sure.” That grey area is uncomfortable. And it’s exactly why we're developing the Retiree Scorecard - a simple way to check how confident and secure you actually feel about your money. Not just on spreadsheets

Get a clearer picture of where you’re on track and where a few small tweaks could boost your retirement certainty. If you’re 55 or older and still working, you’re entering one of the most important stages of your financial life. Not because you’re “running out of time”… but because the decisions you make in the next few years will shape the lifestyle, flexibility and peace of mind you enjoy for decades. I’m developing a Pre-Retirement Scorecard  specifically for people in you

Every investor has been taught - either by an adviser, a fund manager, or the financial media - that volatility equals risk and is therefore a bad thing. If your balance goes up and down a lot, you’re “high risk.” If it barely moves, you’re “low risk.” Sounds tidy. Sounds scientific. Sounds like something an MBA would put on a whiteboard. But in the real world? Volatility is one of the least important  risks faced by everyday investors. The real dangers are far more practical

This is one of my biggest soap box issues For decades, financial advisers have relied on a tool called risk profiling - a questionnaire that supposedly reveals how much volatility, uncertainty, and potential loss a client can “tolerate.” On paper, it sounds perfectly reasonable. In practice? It’s one of the biggest misconceptions the financial advice industry has ever created. And that’s saying something! The Problem With Risk Profiling Let’s start with the obvious: I’ve neve

How confident are you about your financial future? Take the Accumulator Scorecard and get instant clarity on where you stand. The Accumulator Scorecard is still evolving – and that’s intentional. I’m building 3 Scorecards (depending on which life stage you fall into) through real-world use and real-world feedback from people just like you. Even though they’re not the ‘final version’, they already do something incredibly valuable: they give you clarity. Clarity about what you

It's never too early or too late to have a plan. Estate planning isn’t just for the ultra-wealthy or the elderly, it’s for anyone who has people and assets they care about. Simply put, an estate plan is a strategy for managing and distributing everything you're responsible for when you’re no longer able to do so yourself.   Let’s dive into the essentials of what an estate plan includes, why it's crucial to have one, and how to make sure all your important information is in on

Don't ever be in the position of saying, "where did all the money go?" Imagine it: one day, you’re minding your own business, and then BAM you win the lottery, inherit a sizeable chunk of coin from a long lost Aunt, or receive an unexpected payout. Suddenly, you're holding a lot more money than you've ever have had to deal with before. But here's the thing: just as quickly as wealth can arrive, it can disappear if you’re not careful.   It’s a well-known fact that many lotter

Stop dreaming - Make the good life happen! Had enough of the daily grind? Do you dream of tossing your alarm clock and never sitting through another Zoom meeting? If the idea of working until you’re too old to enjoy life makes you shudder, here’s some good news.....and a plan. Before you quit your job to live in a caravan by the coast, let’s talk about how to actually retire in style without needing to win Powerball. You don’t have to be a financial genius. You just need a fe

Real value often lies beneath the surface When it comes to financial advice, many people understandably want to know: “What am I getting...