Blogging Away Debt

Opie’s Backstory

Opie is one of two dogs that I adopted on my last day at my dream job. I was completely devastated and my confidence shattered when I was given from that job. I remember that day clearly. I’m feeling sorry for myself, scrolling Facebook, and our local shelter posts a we are over capacity and are going to have to make room kind of post. I grabbed Gymnast and said, let’s go.

We came home with two dogs, Opie, and puppy Syza. Terrible, terrible decision making on my part. I know this. (And not the first time I went overboard. When I went to get a dog after we moved into this rental home and got permission from the landlord, I came home with 3.) I truly do think I have learned now.

Back to Opie. He is a German Shepherd mix, about 50 lbs, was about 1 1/2 years old at the time, and heartworm positive. And he was/is scared of everything. But he is crazy smart and super trainable when you are consistent.

(Before I go on, my sister actually came through a year-ish or so ago and took Syza. She had to put down her first fur baby due to old age, and so she wanted a playmate for her other dog. Syza was the perfect temperament and size for her home. And we had house broken and and done basic training. They are living happily ever after together.)

The Now

As I have faced the very reality of not having a home for a while, I knew Opie would need a new home. He’s a very active dog. He prefers to be outdoors no matter the weather. And long periods in the car, anticipating car camping and living for several months at a time. It would just not be a good fit for him.

So the kids and I put it out there to our friends and family networks about Opie wanting a new home. When Beauty and her fiancee moved into their new rental home after Thanksgiving, they decided they wanted him. They literally showed up Christmas Day and said, we want Opie and they took him home. (They already have one outside dog.)

It wasn’t a good fit for whatever reason, and he was back in a week. (No fault of his own.) So we just kept asking.

Lo and behold, a family at our church with two middle school aged boys have been looking for this exact dog – outside, houesebroken, well trained, no aggression, etc. They have a fenced yard. And a strong desire for an active dog. And the mama wanted a beautiful dog. Opie fits the bill to a T.

We’ve been slowly transitioning him. I went over the first day and spent a whole afternoon with the family and him in the backyard. Then again, the next day I stayed about an hour, then left him with them, picking him up at dark. Again and again as he got more comfortable. And they learned about how to handle a dog. He is their first.

Making it official

And tonight (well, as I’m writing this), he will go for a sleep over. Their mama has even come around to letting him sleep in the boys’ room with them. She’s been amazed at how “clean” he is. And no, I haven’t bathed him between visits.

We have already planned a few more visits next week, even taking my two girl dogs over to hang out with them. We want to make sure he is secure and happy. But they literally live a mile from me. I could not have asked for a better family for him…even better than me.

But after tonight, I believe he will stay there full time. However, we are both committed (the family and me, that is) to making this transition as stress free and as easy on him as possible. But it is so clear how much they already love this dog. And as he settles, I know he will love them too. Especially with two boys to grow up with.

by Ashley

When I was talking about my 2025 financial goals, one of the goals I mentioned was hiring a financial advisor. My husband and I had initial consultations with a couple of advisors maybe 2-3 years ago but walked away without hiring anyone. At the time, it felt like we were doing a pretty good job managing our own investments and I didn’t see the benefit in paying someone else to do what we were doing just fine on our own.

A couple of things have changed since then.

First, our investments have grown and become more varied. We no longer hold 99% of our investments in retirement accounts. That’s still where the majority of our money resides, but we also have regular mutual funds, some CDs, investments in HSAs, 529s, and more.

Second, our income has gone up. As income has increased, we’ve had more disposable income that we’d like to set up in some sort of automatic investment vehicle. Also, we may be over the limit for certain investments and we need more solid advice on these situations.

Finally, as you know, my dad recently passed away. We are very fortunate that he had a healthy life insurance policy (taken out pre-dementia diagnosis!) and an estate that will be divided among his heirs. But again, all this lends itself to further confirmation that we need to find a financial advisor.

That’s taken me down a rabbit hole of research and I wanted to share some of the tips I’ve learned as I’ve been trying to figure things out.

What are your needs?

For us, I think we messed up the last time around in that we were meeting with advisors without really knowing what we wanted. People talked to us about how to manage our investments, but we’re already pretty good in that regard. We have several investments and make pretty decent ROI. I don’t need to pay someone a fee or commission to do what we’re already doing just fine on our own.

This time around, we know we want someone who can help us come up with a more robust financial plan. I shared in my most recent post that I don’t want to work until an old age. How financially feasible and reasonable would it be for me to retire early? What will it take to make that happen? Are we on target? What changes do I need to make for that to be a reality?

Similarly, we want tax-related advice. We’ve done our own taxes for years and, yes, I realize a CPA is different from a financial advisor. But I’d like to get a financial advisor’s advice on some tax-related matters as they relate to investment strategies. For instance, can they help me figure out the best tax advantaged investment strategies available to us?

Ultimately, you need to find a financial advisor who can meet your needs.

How are they paid?

I know this may be a bit ironic, but my Dad was a financial advisor for his whole career. Unfortunately, it’s really only in the last 5-10 years that I’ve had any money to invest… so he was never really able to help me in that regard. Even so, he did teach me a couple of things when I was younger. One of the big things he harped on was to pay attention to how the financial advisor is paid.

My dad explained that oftentimes financial advisors may try to “sell” you investments that will yield them the biggest paycheck. For instance, annuities often come with the highest fees. And sometimes investments may have “kick backs” for the investors, so they may be inclined to recommend things that benefit them even when other lower-priced options may be equally well performing.

Some of this you can avoid by finding a fiduciary. These are advisors who are required to put your interests ahead of their own. But even working with advisors with a fiduciary responsibility, it’s good to know if the advisor charges a flat fee, a percentage of your assets, a commission based on the investment product, etc. This is something I will be asking in my upcoming financial advisor meetings.

What are their credentials?

Are they a CFA, CFP, or RIA? Ask how much experience they have, and what kinds of training or special education they received, to ensure they have proper training.

Do they have a positive reputation?

Can you find positive referrals online, perhaps in Yelp or on Google reviews? If not, you can ask if they can provide clients who would be willing to give a positive review. Or ask your friends and family if they have someone they would recommend. Along the same lines, you may want to do a little internet research on your selected financial advisor before signing any agreements. Make sure they have not had any disciplinary problems, especially related to finances (e.g., fraud, etc.).

Is it a good fit?

You want to like and feel comfortable with the person who will be helping manage your money or devise long term financial planning. Prepare a list of questions for your initial consultation to get an idea of how they work and whether you are on the same page and a good fit. You really want to make sure you fit in all the areas above (your needs match their service offerings, you are comfortable with their fee structure, they have the proper credentials and a strong business reputation, and you feel like you will get along well and trust their investment strategy).

There you go! I have 3 meetings set up across the next month-ish with 3 different financial advisors. I’m hoping to have a lot more information and to come out of the meetings having found someone I feel like is a good match with our needs to help advise us moving forward.

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