Blog
Review The Bill Before You Pay: Good Advice That’s Hard To Follow
In writing last week about hidden “junk fees,” I ended with a recommendation. Before choosing a phone plan, booking a hotel stay, buying an airline ticket, or making many other types of financial...
Guard Against Junk Fees With DIY Transparency
In his State of the Union address, President Biden announced his intent to “take on junk fees.” These are the hidden fees involved with many of the services we purchase. I have written previously...
How Much Money Secrecy Equals Financial Infidelity?
Do you keep secrets about your spending from your significant other? Research shows that 44% of partners do. Some money secrets within a coupleship are matters of privacy or convenience, while...
Your County May Offer Free Real Estate Title Monitoring
Even after 40 years of specializing in all things financial, I constantly learn new things, often from readers. My most recent teacher was Eugenia (Gene) Thornton, the Recorder of Deeds in Kent...
Investing, Done Correctly, Has Risks But Is Not Gambling
Is investing in the stock market akin to gambling? It certainly carries a reasonable amount of risk. Yet, done correctly, investing in the market is not remotely gambling. For comparison, consider...
Do Rent Controls Really Help Tenants?
Given that I’ve been a landlord since I bought my first rental house at age 19, I was surprised to realize recently that I’ve never written about rent controls. Here's the quick primer: rent...
Ask For Transparency, Not Just Honesty, From Financial Advisors
Transparency is a highly valued attribute that is routinely promised—and frequently undelivered. In fact, it often seems that the more loudly transparency is touted, the more opaqueness is...
Identity Theft Is No Laughing Matter
The style of a recent email I received from a client made me laugh—even though the subject matter wasn’t funny. “Hi Rick! We received a letter from Discover denying an application for their credit...
Creating a Plan for Long-Term Care
Last week’s column concluded that, while long-term care insurance is unaffordable for most Americans, everyone needs a long-term health care plan. Knowing how long you may live is one of the first...
Will Your Retirement Resources Cover Long-Term Care?
If you want to stop a conversation cold, just ask a group of friends, “Do you ever worry that you might outlive your retirement income?” The response is likely to be nervous laughter. It doesn’t...
Stricter IRS Reporting Rules For Payment Apps
The simple and easy online payment apps like Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay may be in for a complex transformation if the IRS has its way. Congress recently appropriated money in...
Financial New Year’s Resolutions: Bah, Humbug!
Financial New Year’s resolutions are a common phenomenon this time of year—especially for anyone who overdid the holiday spending and who knows the new year is going to bring a new batch of credit...
Free Initial Consultation
Kahler Financial Group offers a free initial consultation with one of our skilled financial planners in Rapid City for retirement, businesses, investment, or personal wealth management. We welcome the opportunity to spend time with you, discussing your individual needs, asking and answering questions, reviewing our unique services, and confirming that KFG is the best fit for helping you achieve your financial goals. Please note that there will be no specific investment or financial planning advice given at this meeting. Please note: At KFG we made a list of all of the things we do for our clients. We’re at 106 things so far . . .