Can Volunteering Save Your Life?
Lifestyle Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance Lifestyle Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance

Can Volunteering Save Your Life?

I’ve been hesitant to share this story because I didn’t know how it was going to end.

As I was launching my business, my mom was doing her normal thing - including clothing ministry. Once a week, she'd help home insecure people get clothes.

She wanted to do some more advanced volunteering. Doing so required a physical exam…

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Are You Ignoring $900,000?
Financial Independence Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance Financial Independence Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance

Are You Ignoring $900,000?

Is it best practice to ignore Social Security when planning retirement

No!

Social Security benefits are huge!

Assume a household will receive $3,000 per month in after-tax Social Security benefits.

Replacing that income might require a $900,000 portfolio!

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Buying a Car
Financial Mindset Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance Financial Mindset Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance

Buying a Car

I took it as a sign when a few people recently asked me my taken on car buying.

Here are my quick thoughts:

  1. Always know your best alternative.

  2. Negotiate financing as well.

  3. Come prepared.

  4. Take care of yourself physically.

  5. Get a newspaper.

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Vacation + Disaster = Adventure
Lifestyle Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance Lifestyle Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance

Vacation + Disaster = Adventure

We recently vacationed in Sandpoint, ID!

However, something impacted our plans.

You can actually see the trouble across the bottom of the photo: wildfires.

Someone once said: “Vacation plus disaster equals adventure.” So true!

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Never Finance a Toy
Minimize Debt Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance Minimize Debt Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance

Never Finance a Toy

One of the best pieces of advice I received came on a boat in Northern Idaho.

Joe and Amber were trying to get Kyle to take out a loan and buy a boat together.

Kyle declined using four words I’ll never forget:

“Never finance a toy.”

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Types of Spending
Financial Mindset Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance Financial Mindset Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance

Types of Spending

There are essentially four types of spending:

  • Needs - high on physical and low and psychological benefit

  • Entertainment - high on psychological and low on physical benefit

  • Societal - high on both psychological and physical benefit

  • Addiction - low on both physical and psychological benefit

Of course, these are not mutually exclusive!

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My Goal? Help People Reach Financial Independence!
Financial Independence Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance Financial Independence Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance

My Goal? Help People Reach Financial Independence!

My goal? To help as many people as possible reach financial independence!

If anyone chooses to work, it should be because they want to, not because they have to.

Before launching Scaled Finance, I invested months to develop a complimentary financial independence course.

Since launching, I've settled into a routine of posting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Mondays usually focus on images I create, which I hope you find insightful, inspirational, or both. Wednesdays are generally financial education videos. Fridays are normally polls.

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How Are Restricted Stock Units Taxed?
Equity Compensation Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance Equity Compensation Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance

How Are Restricted Stock Units Taxed?

The taxation of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) is often misunderstood.

This article walks through an RSU example from grant to vest and finally to sale.

It explores the tax withholding at vest as well as the difference between short-term and long-term capital gains.

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What Worked in the Past May Not Work in the Future
Financial Mindset Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance Financial Mindset Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance

What Worked in the Past May Not Work in the Future

What worked in the past may not work in the future.

Change is like a current. Standing still takes effort. Making progress takes more.

Fortunately, most of life’s major changes happen every day!

Seek the counsel of those who have gone from where you are to where you want to go.

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Own Stock or Contribute to ESPP?
Equity Compensation Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance Equity Compensation Kevin Estes, CFP®, MBA | Founder | Scaled Finance

Own Stock or Contribute to ESPP?

Is it better to own stock or contribute to an Employee Stock Purchase Plan better?

Contributing to an Employee Stock Purchase Plan may be preferable.

Let’s compare a couple scenarios either:

  • owning $10,000 of stock or

  • contributing $10,000 to an Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a 15% discount and six month lookback

Scenario 1: a price increase of 10% could result in:

  • Ending value of $12,941 with the ESPP versus $11,000 if holding stock

  • Gain of $2,941 with the ESPP versus $1,000 if holding the stock

  • Return of +29% with the ESPP versus +10% if holding stock

Scenario 2: a price decrease of 10% could result in:

  • Ending value of $11,765 with the ESPP versus $9,000 if holding the stock

  • Gain of $1.765 with the ESPP versus loss of $1,000 if holding stock

  • Return of +18% with the ESPP versus -10% if holding stock

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