Modus Vivendi

We had Kindergarten Orientation for our youngest last week.

Class of 2036...

That feels sooooooo far off!

I'm lucky enough to have seen how that mentality can play out if you're not careful. "So far off" won't last forever, and next thing you know, your kids are graduating high school.

If you want to help them pay for education after high school, then start saving now.

If you aren't sure what to do, then I'd be happy to answer your questions.

Helpful hint: 529 plans are a great place to start.

There's one thing I see MISSING from almost

EVERY FINANCIAL PLAN

It's a huge problem and it can lead to disaster for even the best strategies/portfolios/products/etc

Your financial plan needs PURPOSE

PURPOSE

PURPOSE

PURPOSE

Dear Financial Advisors,
Instead of talking about how cool your portfolios are, or working your clients into crippling anxiety about not retiring at some arbitrary age, or convincing them they don't love their families if they don't buy this life insurance product from you

Find out what drives them forward and build your strategies to match it.

Find out what gives them PURPOSE AND MEANING

I don't care how much better your portfolio is (spoiler alert, it isn't) than your competition's. It's worthless without purpose.

What even is an RIA?

RIA stands for "Registered Investment Advisor," and contrary to how it sounds, it isn't (typically) a person.

RIAs are typically entities/companies

Modus Vivendi and (even before that) I affiliated with RIAs. These were the big investment companies we were tied to.

HOWEVER

I formed Modus Vivendi with the explicit purpose of carving new paths forward

To REBEL against "the way things have always been done"

And here I was trying to operate within the confines of a system poorly suited to my intentions

So what did I do???????

I turned Modus Vivendi into its very own RIA

I spent 5 months going through the registration process so I didn't need to play within a system that doesn't understand what I'm trying to do.

I nearly lost everything last year.

Maybe I'll fail. Maybe I'll succeed. Either way, I'm doing it MY WAY.

My Modus Vivendi

(photo of me looking off into the distance added for effect)

I've been almost entirely absent from social media since 2021

My journey to find new, innovative ways to provide wealth advice led me to merge Modus Vivendi with another firm early in 2022.

I was looking for support.

I was looking for like minded people.

I THOUGHT I had found a resource to elevate my clients' experience, position me to reach larger audiences, and collaborate with other "rebels" of the financial advising profession.

I was very, very wrong...

The last 12 months have been, quite possibly, some of the worst months of my life.

It will be difficult, but I look forward to sharing my experience with anyone who will listen. Not to complain or play the victim (although I've caught myself doing both, A LOT, lately), but to learn from it and maybe..

JUST MAYBE...

Help other people avoid falling into the same traps

But now, on to more positive subjects:

I'm ELATED to announce that Modus Vivendi is back, and in better position than ever to provide human-centric wealth advice and purpose-based financial planning.

Proud to be at a place in my career that allows me the opportunity to speak to the next generation of business students here at Penn State Behrend. Being on campus reminds me of my own winding path and the guidance I've been given, leading me to where I stand today as a wealth advisor and business owner. Connecting with students and learning about what drives their interests has been motivating. I'm excited to see how they'll improve our industry. I've appreciated the opportunity. Thank you, Kyle/Mr C. ?

What did you do with you with your time while social media was down a few days ago? Did you find yourself forgetting and checking your apps anyway? Did you feel relieved to be temporarily disconnected? The time away highlighted for many just how much our phones are centered in our daily lives. It reminded me that I don't need to fill in the gaps between the moments. Sit with the silence. Be present with your people. That's what we're living for, isn't it?

Don't have a Financial Advisor? No problem! Ryan explains how you can build your own Financial Plan

https://youtu.be/qJLoGEJdHhg Liked this? Subscribe to learn more!

DIY Financial Plan: Advisor Explains How to Build Your Own Financial Plan DIY Financial Plan: Financial Advisor explains how to build your own financial plan. Not everyone needs or has a financial advisor. Here's how to build a bas...

Happy Tax Day to everyone who filed extensions for their business for 2020!

Modus Vivendi is excited to introduce a new member of our team! Alana DeGregory joins us as our Operations Lead. She is looking forward to applying her outside of the box thinking and organizational skills to the company as we expand. Long term, she is excited to be part of a team committed to approachable, accessible financial planning focused on security and happiness.

Why are we celebrating Labor Day, anyway? Let’s take a look…

Sept 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in NYC, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history. It wasn’t until May 11, 1884, when employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts & firing of union representatives that things starting coming to a head. Nearly a month later, on June 26, the American Railroad Union called for a boycott of all Pullman railway cars, crippling railroad traffic nationwide. To break strike, the federal government dispatched troops to Chicago, unleashing a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen workers. In the wake of this massive unrest and in an attempt to repair ties with American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday. On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed it into law. (History.com Editors)

Link for your reference: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/labor-day-1

As Labor Day Weekend approaches, remember why we celebrate. YOU deserve a break. Take it slow. Take a deep breath. Embrace the Calm.