Blog

Aptitudes and Attitudes
Our thoughts on money, life, simplicity, and the pursuit of happiness

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Estate planning. Honestly, it’s probably not something you want to think about very often. Death—and everything that comes with it—isn’t exactly a comfortable topic. But if you want to protect your loved ones and ensure your wishes...

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

At our last Monday morning meeting, planners discussed the role of values clarification in our planning to help clients determine the spending that can really derive their personal happiness. Our superpowers are the “mathing” in the...

Friday, April 17, 2026

One of the great things about working with an Aptus planner is that they don’t exist in a silo! All of our planners continuously work to stay up-to-date on a wide range of topics and collaborate on the best advice to give our clients....

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Here at Aptus Financial, we believe that financial planning should be transparent. You should have a clear understanding of your finances and what your financial planner does for you. That’s why we’ve decided to draw back the curtain...

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

When clients review their employer benefits, one detail that often gets overlooked is how long-term disability (LTD) insurance premiums are taxed. Yet that small decision, whether premiums are paid with pre-tax or after-tax dollars,...

Show All

Monday, February 23, 2026

Ah, taxes. Gotta love ’em. 🫠 Uncle Sam is getting his cut eventually—but with your retirement plans, you get to decide when. That’s where Roth contributions come in. Roth vs. Pre-Tax (In Plain English) When you contribute to your...

Friday, February 6, 2026

I loved getting to be on the Stacking Benjamins show that dropped February 6. In a game show format, we weighed in on the worst financial advice we hear. You can listen here: https://www.stackingbenjamins...

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Physicians typically pay a lot in taxes, but they can sometimes miss out on tax efficient investing simply because it can feel complicated. Let us help uncomplicate it. Let’s start with the tax code. The first dollars you earn get...

Thursday, January 1, 2026

The first, and by far the most important, step in building wealth is setting your savings rate. We recommend adopting and implementing a cash flow system to help sharpen your savings calculations. A good cash flow plan should help you...

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

My parents are great people. They have taught me so much in life about resilience, kindness, compassion, creativity, hard work... the list could go on. But the one thing I didn’t really get taught? Saving. Well, that’s not quite...

Monday, October 27, 2025

Ever notice how we go through life blissfully eating and using things without the faintest idea what’s actually in them? We trust labels like “beef,” “cheese,” and “fragrance” as if they’re self-explanatory, when in reality they’re...

Monday, October 27, 2025

Money hasn’t changed — we all need it, we all want it, and it takes up plenty of headspace. But the rules around money? Those have definitely changed over time. The old “rules of thumb” don’t always fit today’s reality, and it’s time...

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

October is here, and in honor of spooky season, let’s call out the money fears lurking in the dark. Instead of fearing the unknown, let’s focus on what you can control. A simple plan of consistent saving, diversification, and...

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Applying the tax-efficient waterfall requires elbow grease and knowing just enough jargon to get what you need. Let’s break down our waterfall and how to piece together what you need: Tax-efficient savings at work. For most physicians,...

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

When most people think about saving, their mind jumps straight to retirement. That’s the advice we’ve all heard—save early, save often, max out your retirement accounts. And yes, long-term saving is important. But it’s not the only...

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

At Aptus Financial, we believe your money should work for you, not against you. And while you might expect to pay more for better quality or better service, there’s a hidden cost that many women don’t even realize they’re paying: the...

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

In personal finance, the house always wins—and cashback apps, points programs, and credit card rewards are the casino floor. These offers aren’t about generosity; they’re sophisticated behavioral nudges designed to make you spend more...

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Aptus summer intern Marla Amarsaikhan co-authored this post. Why do we spend money we don’t have on things we don’t need? The Algorithm. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to beat the algorithm. Do you want to know what...

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

I started a Back-to-School No-Spend Month Challenge last Friday, and over 150 of our retirement plan and financial wellness participants are joining me in this challenge! A no-spend is an incredible way to break spending patterns,...

Friday, August 1, 2025

In a market environment dominated by equities, it’s easy to question the role of bonds. “We've had a 15-plus year bull market,” one advisor notes, reflecting on how current investor attitudes have been shaped by unusually strong equity...

Friday, August 1, 2025

If you’re in a season where expenses feel high or your budget feels off, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing something wrong. It might just mean it’s time to pause, get curious, and make a few intentional shifts.

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

At Aptus, our goal is to expand your locus of control. You know how to make money, and you know how to spend money.  We help you build a plan to save and invest your money, not by taking over your accounts, but by working with you...

Friday, July 11, 2025

Changes to student loans are coming in 2026 and 2028. Some have already been enacted with the “Big ‘Beautiful’ Bill,” and others are being negotiated. Takeaway #1: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for medical students and...

Friday, July 11, 2025

The first thing every physician should do before getting out of training is prepare a financial plan. A well-designed system doesn't just track progress—it also prevents missteps before they happen. Medical students and residents can...

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Let’s be honest—budgeting doesn’t exactly make most people jump for joy. The word alone can stir up anxiety, confusion, or even guilt. But what if budgeting could feel different? What if, instead of being a source of dread, it became...

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

A propensity to save or spend is seemingly hardwired into our personalities. Most people can identify themselves as either a natural saver or a natural spender. Notice that I say “natural savers” and “natural spenders” rather than...

Monday, June 30, 2025

Why do people with high incomes feel stretched or uneasy about their finances? Part of the answer is simple: fixed costs have gone up. Between housing, childcare, insurance, and other essentials, a growing portion of income is spoken for...

Thursday, June 26, 2025

As a baby step toward starting conversations with our clients about their relationship with money, we've developed a 3-question quiz that helps us sort people into one of eight Aptus archetypes. It's fun, silly, and maybe even helpful.

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

As a financial planner, I often have clients come to me excited about the Mega Backdoor Roth strategy. It gets a lot of buzz—and for good reason. When it fits, it's incredibly powerful. But the truth is, it's only the right fit for a...

Monday, June 2, 2025

When you think of financial advice, what are you thinking of? The financial industry believes that financial advice equals investing. We believe that it means financial planning. But why is this so hard to find in our industry?

Thursday, April 10, 2025

The financial advice industry is broken. It isn’t broken because of bad people. There are many incredibly kind and generous people in the industry. It’s broken because the system was built to sell financial products and generate fees...

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

In times of uncertainty, control what you can control. We can’t control the stock market and what happens in our retirement plans, but we can control our cash flows.

Monday, April 7, 2025

In both good times and bad times, we're confident you can invest on your own. Please remember, though, that you never have to do it alone. We're here for you when you need our investment guidance and financial planning support. The...

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

So the stock market has taken a small tumble. What now? Could it take a bigger tumble? Could it rocket to the moon? The real question you might be asking yourself is, "What should I do with my investments?" Absolutely nothing.

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

I’m a DIYer at heart and often reluctant to seek help from pros. If I’d worked with a trusted advisor throughout my life, though, there would have been far less financial drama. Talk to a planner. Your 50-year-old self will thank you.

Saturday, July 22, 2023

It takes two to tango and a financial plan is a “we statement.” It is a lifelong dance. At its core, a financial plan represents a series of trade-offs of time and money, long-term and near-term. Those things are hard when one person...

Saturday, July 8, 2023

It’s hard to consistently and systematically pick a portfolio of individual stocks that beats a simple index fund over time. There are many reasons why this is the case, but we’ll focus on three: market efficiency, competition from pros...

Friday, June 30, 2023

When we talk to our clients about saving for their children’s college education, there is usually a moment when we hear them pause to catch their breath. This usually happens right after we talk about the price tag. According to...

Friday, June 30, 2023

At the end of the day, your money is finite. Your money can work for you or it can work for the advisor. It can't work for both. Recognizing that trust is essential in any relationship with a financial advisor, we recommend you take...

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Many people who give financial advice have business models that make it hard for them to work solely for you and in your best interests. We believe you’re better off—and will have a greater sense of control...

Saturday, June 10, 2023

The most important decision of our lives, how much to save for retirement, has been an afterthought for many of us. For people barely skating by and living lives adapted to their salaries, the subject is painful and therefore delayed...

Saturday, June 3, 2023

The keys to financial success are pretty easy to articulate, really. Find a job you love [or at least don’t hate], spend less than you make, save for rainy days and retirement, and invest simply and wisely. It all starts with...

Saturday, May 27, 2023

If you have the DIY ethic, we believe you can manage your own money as a DIY investor. Self-educate, keep it simple and understandable, optimize tax-efficient accounts, automate your investment contributions, then set and forget it...

Saturday, May 20, 2023

A truism of investing is that there is no return without risk. In general, the higher the perceived risk, the higher the future returns. If the stock market seems especially risky, that probably bodes well for future returns. We...

Friday, May 12, 2023

Financial planning would be easy if our lives were predictable. Stuff happens though, right?. We think it makes sense to think about the many potential contingencies in our lives in relation to their consequences and probability. In...

Thursday, May 4, 2023

We’ve worked with hundreds of new attending physicians over the past several years and gained insights into some of the unique characteristics of their financial situations. For the most part, early-career doctors’...

Saturday, April 29, 2023

Most of our clients are parents. This of course means they’re dead-dog tired most of the time. Parenting is hard. And awesome. We sympathize and empathize with parents, so in an attempt to make things a wee bit easier we offer...

Friday, April 21, 2023

Simplicity almost always beats complexity. Simplicity requires planning, mindfulness and focus. It demands resolve, patience and sometimes benign neglect. Ultimately, simplicity inspires confidence, reduces anxiety and frees our time...

Saturday, April 15, 2023

At Aptus, we believe that happiness, peace of mind, and financial freedom hinges on spending less money than you make. A good cash flow plan should help you determine the best balance of spending on important things like a home,...

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

A lot of people who call themselves financial advisors will try to talk your ear off about investing. Boooooring. Hey, I love investing as much as any red-blooded finance nerd but that's not the key to building a strong financial...

Thursday, March 16, 2023

One of our core philosophies at Aptus is “simplicity beats complexity.” We believe simplicity beats complexity, not just in investments but in many facets of life. Your retirement outcome is more likely to be determined by...

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Since 2011 Aptus has been on a journey with hundreds of clients who’ve taken on the challenge of self-managing their investments. I remember when my initial clients did their first backdoor Roth conversion; made that first trade...