Investing should support your plan, not drive it.

In this episode, I break down Pillar Four of the Plan First Financial Path, Invest with purpose. This pillar focuses on slowing down and being intentional about how and where you invest, instead of chasing speculative ideas or the next hot stock tip.

We talk about why time horizon matters, how different types of accounts serve different roles, and why short term money should be invested conservatively. I also explain why Roth accounts are often positioned more aggressively due to their long term, tax free growth potential, while money needed in the next five years may be better suited for cash, high yield savings, or CDs.

This episode also covers the importance of automation, setting up consistent contributions, and paying yourself first, so investing becomes a habit instead of an emotional decision.

When the plan dictates how you invest, emotion fades and purpose takes over. This episode explains why investing comes after clarity, foundation, and protection in a holistic financial plan.

investing with purpose, retirement investing, Roth IRA strategy, investment time horizon, personal finance podcast, plan first financial path, long term investing

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A strong financial plan is not just about growth. It is about resilience.

In this episode, I break down Pillar Three of the Plan First Financial Path, Protect the plan. This pillar focuses on building safeguards that keep progress intact when life throws the unexpected your way.

We talk about the role of emergency funds, why credit cards are not a substitute for true cash reserves, and how insurance fits into a well-designed financial plan. I walk through how life insurance can be tied to specific goals like income replacement, mortgage protection, and college funding, and why coverage should evolve as responsibilities change.

This episode also explores the importance of disability insurance and long-term care planning, and how these tools are not about fear, but about protecting the plan you have already worked hard to build.

When protection is intentional, the rest of the plan can move forward with confidence. This episode explains why protecting the plan is a critical pillar before investing with purpose.

protect the plan, emergency fund planning, life insurance strategy, disability insurance planning, long term care planning, retirement risk management, financial planning podcast, plan first financial path

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Last week, we talked about the first pillar of the Plan First Financial Path, Clarify your goals and priorities. Because once you know where you want to go, the next question becomes practical. Do your day to day money habits actually support those goals?

In this episode, I break down Pillar Two of the Plan First Financial Path, Build a foundation. This pillar is all about understanding where your money goes, knowing your true living expenses, and creating awareness around cash flow and debt.

We talk about simple ways to track spending using tools many people already have, how to identify where dollars are quietly leaking, and why awareness is not about restriction but control. I also walk through common approaches to debt reduction, including the snowball and avalanche methods, and how to choose the approach that actually keeps you consistent.

Without a clear foundation, it becomes very difficult to intentionally allocate your dollars, no matter how strong your goals or investment strategy may be. This episode explains why building a foundation is critical before moving on to investing with purpose.

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Most people think financial planning starts with numbers. In reality, it starts with clarity.

In this episode, I break down the first pillar of the Plan First Financial Path, Clarify your goals and priorities. Before any investment, tax, or retirement strategy makes sense, you have to know what your money is actually for.

I explain why vague goals lead to reactive financial decisions, how priorities create meaningful tradeoffs, and why this first pillar sets the direction for every other part of your plan. We talk about the difference between dreaming and deciding, and how clarity helps align spending, saving, investing, and risk with what matters most to you.

This episode kicks off a seven-week series exploring each pillar of the Plan First Financial Path and explains why the plan always comes first, before trying to manipulate investments to reach a goal.

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Most people think financial planning starts with picking investments. In reality, it starts with a plan.

In this episode, I introduce the Plan First Financial Path, a holistic framework built to help people make smarter financial decisions with intention, not reaction. The Path is made up of seven interconnected pillars that work together to support your specific goals, not a one size fits all checklist.

Those seven pillars are Clarify your goals and priorities, Build a foundation, Invest with purpose, Pay less taxes over time, Protect what you are building, Turn savings into income, and Live, adjust, repeat.

These are not steps to complete once and move on from. They are a flexible, evolving approach to financial planning where the plan always comes first and the investments serve the plan, not the other way around.

This episode sets the foundation for a seven week series where we will break down each pillar in detail and show how they work together to guide real life financial decisions across every stage of life.

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In this year in review episode of That Financial Guy Show, Keith Wilson looks back at what actually happened in the markets in 2025 and why it mattered for investors. From the early year market correction known as the Tariff Tantrum to a strong recovery that pushed markets to new highs, Keith breaks down the lessons learned. He also covers the One Big Beautiful Bill, changes to tax planning, the government shutdown, interest rate cuts, the surge in artificial intelligence stocks, and why a solid financial plan should guide decisions instead of emotions.

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Most people don’t fail financially because they lack information. They fail because behavior breaks down when life gets emotional, unpredictable, or uncertain.

In this episode, I explain why a written financial plan changes behavior in a way advice alone never can. A real plan isn’t about predicting the future perfectly. It’s about being prepared when life changes, because life always does.

I walk through real client stories, including how one client’s commission-based income led to a larger emergency fund that later protected them after a job loss, how another client stopped emotionally reacting to market downturns once volatility was accounted for in their plan, and why even unexpected events like divorce are easier to navigate when a plan already exists.

You’ll also hear why it’s better to be approximately right than one hundred percent wrong, why gathering documents and completing questionnaires actually matters, how modern digital financial plans act as living, breathing tools, and why reviewing your plan annually is essential to staying aligned with real life.

It’s about clarity, confidence, and having a steady framework to return to when things change.

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In this episode I walk through one of the most confusing areas in retirement planning today, the rules for inherited IRA and inherited Roth IRA accounts. I start with the simplest scenario, when a spouse inherits an IRA, and then work step by step into increasingly complex situations including non spouse beneficiaries, the ten year rule, Required Beginning Date considerations, eligible designated beneficiaries, stretch IRA rules for pre 2020 deaths, and how to determine whether the deceased had reached their RMD age. I also break down one of the most misunderstood topics in this area, what happens when someone inherits an IRA that was already inherited once before. I explain how the rules differ depending on whether the original owner died before or after the Secure Act, and when the stretch rule continues versus when the ten year clock applies. The episode also covers trust beneficiaries, see through trust requirements, five year rules, complications with multiple trust beneficiaries, and why a poorly drafted trust can unintentionally accelerate distributions. This episode provides a clear, detailed roadmap to understanding the rules and avoiding costly mistakes.

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