Annuity sales have doubled since 2020, according to the Life Insurance and Marketing Research Association, (LIMRA). But many people still don’t fully understand them. If you’re curious about whether an annuity makes sense for you, let’s walk through the basics together. Think of this as a guide to help you feel more confident before making a decision.

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” — Benjamin Franklin

What Is an Annuity?

Basically, an annuity is a contract between you and a life insurance company. You pay money either as a lump sum or in smaller payments. In return, the company promises to send you income later, often during retirement.

An annuity works like a way to save for the future. Some start paying right away. Others delay payments until a certain age or date. The type you choose depends on when you’ll need the money.

Key Terms: Owner, Annuitant, and Beneficiary

When you sit down with a financial advisor, you’ll hear a few terms over and over. He...

Balance sounds noble, but it’s a moving target. Life shifts, seasons change, and no spreadsheet ever stays perfect. The truth is simple: lasting peace shows up when faith and finances move in the same direction, even when life feels uneven.

The Endless Chase for Balance

We live in a culture obsessed with balance. Work-life balance. Financial balance. Emotional balance.

The idea is seductive—if you could just get everything even, peace would finally settle in. You’d spend enough time at work and home, save enough, give enough, rest enough, and somehow keep everyone (including yourself) happy. This constant chase doesn’t create peace at all—it quietly fuels financial stress, because life keeps changing faster than any plan can keep up.

In reality, balance, in that sense, doesn’t exist. It’s like standing on a tightrope and believing the goal is to stop moving. The truth is, staying upright requires constant motion—small, intentional shifts to stay centered as the line sways.

Wh...

At first, paying off debt feels exciting. You’re focused, determined, and ready to see progress. However, after a while, the excitement fades, and the weight of the journey begins to set in. That’s debt fatigue, and it’s completely normal. The constant pressure of paying off debt can create ongoing financial stress, even when you’re doing everything right. The key is learning how to stay hopeful and keep moving forward, even when the progress feels slow.

When the Fire Starts to Fade

Debt fatigue is that feeling of exhaustion that creeps in after you have been working hard for months or years to pay down debt. You are doing everything right, yet it feels like you are getting nowhere. The numbers change slowly, life keeps adding new expenses, and the energy that once fueled you starts to run low.

If you feel this way, you are not alone. Many people experience the same burnout while working hard to become debt-free. The truth is that fatigue is not failure. It is a sign that you hav...

Do you have a job that makes you want to crawl into a hole and hide?

We’ve all been there. You wake up in the morning with a knot in your stomach. You dread the alarm clock. You spend your commute dreaming about quitting on the spot and running away to join the circus (or at least anywhere but there).

If this sounds familiar, you might be stuck in what I call a "soul-sucking job."

It’s the kind of role that doesn't just tire you out—it drains your spirit. It destroys your motivation and leaves you feeling like you aren't living the life you were meant to live. But here is the truth: You are not alone.

Millions of people feel trapped in their 9-to-5s, mostly because they feel trapped by their finances. They stay because they are terrified of what happens if the paycheck stops.

For many, the real goal isn’t just to quit—it’s to change careers without putting their financial security and stability at risk.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go d...

You receive a text from your bank stating that there is suspicious activity on your account.
“Click here to verify.”

The message looks real. It has the right logo. The tone sounds professional. Even the phone number looks familiar. So you click.

Or maybe you don’t. Maybe something makes you pause.

Today, financial frauds or scams are not designed to trick careless people. They are designed to look completely legitimate. Scammers copy real companies, use official language, and blend into the many messages you get every day.

Smart, capable people fall for scams not because they are careless but because scammers have gotten very good at hiding in plain sight.

Why Financial Scams Are Harder to Spot Today

If scams feel more convincing than they used to, you’re not imagining it.

Modern scammers use advanced technology that once belonged only to large companies. Artificial intelligence can clone a person’s voice using only a few seconds of audio. That means a scammer could call you...

Most business owners live in two financial worlds—one at home and one at work. But what many miss is how connected those two worlds really are. When one side feels pressure, the other feels it too.

Let’s look at two couples as an example.

Jim and Wanda, and Nathan and Stephanie, both run successful plumbing businesses. Jim and Wanda want more structure to plan for the future. Nathan and Stephanie are doing well too, but most of the money details stay in Nathan’s head—he keeps track of jobs, bills, and balances mentally. The business stays afloat, but the stress of guessing what’s safe to spend never fully goes away.

They’re facing different problems, but there’s a common thread: Without structure, money decisions are stressful. With structure and habits, money decisions become calm, confident, and move you closer to financial freedom.

These four habits help owners move from pressure to peace.

1. Cash Flow Analysis and Clarity (Business + Home)

You can’t manage what you can’t...

If you have ever felt embarrassed or discouraged by your financial situation, you are not the only one. Money shame has a way of convincing people that their struggles say something about their worth. But your money story is shaped by life, stress, and the things you were never taught, not by who you are. There is a healthier way to see your situation, and it begins with understanding the real source of the shame.

When Money Shame Takes Hold

Many people carry quiet guilt or embarrassment about their finances. They avoid looking at their accounts, hesitate to talk about money, or feel a sense of failure every time a bill arrives. This shame shows up slowly and silently, and once it settles in, it can be hard to shake.

The truth is, money shame rarely comes from the numbers themselves. It comes from the fear that those numbers say something negative about who you are. But they do not. Numbers show what has happened, not who you are becoming.

When you begin to separate your ident...

If you’ve ever looked at your business numbers and thought, “This just doesn’t make sense,” you’re not alone. You work hard to serve your clients and grow your business, but finances can feel confusing fast. The good news? You don’t have to be an accountant to make smart financial decisions. With a little clarity and the right help, you can understand what your numbers are really saying and run your business with confidence and purpose.

Why Business Finances Feel Overwhelming

Many people start with a great small business idea and establish companies because they love what they do—not because they love spreadsheets. The passion is there, but the numbers can feel like a different language. Profit, cash flow, expenses, balance sheets—it’s easy to feel lost.

That confusion often leads to avoidance. You might glance at a financial report, not quite understand it, and move on to the next task. The problem is that habit leaves you steering your business without a clear dashboard. Eventu...

Many couples live busy, faithful lives — raising families, building businesses, and doing their best to be wise stewards. But even strong, capable families often admit they’ve never stopped long enough to build a clear financial plan together.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince

This story is about what can happen when a couple does financial planning — and how clarity, discipline, and faith can turn dreams into reality.

When my wife, Loree, and I had been married about a year, I told her we were going away for a weekend getaway. She was picturing rest, fun, and maybe a spa visit. I told her there’d be a bit of that — but also something more important.

That weekend, I wanted us to build a plan for the next thirty years of our lives together.

She thought I was a little crazy, but she agreed to give it a try.

We spent that weekend dreaming — not just talking about what we wanted but writing it down. We listed out go...

I’ve been in the small business world for a long time—first as a financial advisor, then as a Financial Accountability Coach™, and always as an entrepreneur myself. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: starting a business is exciting, but keeping it profitable and to keep enjoying it is a whole different challenge.

I’ve worked with so many solopreneurs with awesome business ideas. Most if not all of them are passionate, hardworking, and great at what they do… yet struggling behind the scenes when it comes to money. If that’s you, know this—you’re not alone, and you CAN fix it.

Here are the five biggest money struggles I see solopreneurs face (and how to turn things around):

1. Not Paying Yourself a Salary

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard: “I’ll pay myself once the business makes more money.”

But here’s the truth: If you don’t start paying yourself now, you probably never will.

I’ve seen solopreneurs work 60+ hours a week and take home $0 because “the b...