Navigating Financial Planning and Homeownership for the Next Generation

Embark on a journey through the financial landscape with a fresh set of eyes as Rob Wolf, alongside budding stars Jonathan Foster and Sara Wolf, tackle the pressing money matters facing our younger generation. Witness Sara, a brilliant new Certified Financial Planner, unravel the intricacies of her journey to earning her CFP designation and the imperative of early, comprehensive financial guidance. Her insights promise to arm you with the knowledge to support clients from their first paycheck to their last.

The conversation takes a turn towards the ever-pertinent topic of housing as Jonathan shares his firsthand experiences with the trials of first-time homeownership in our current economy. From sky-high interest rates to daunting housing prices, we dissect the affordability crisis and its grip on the American dream. Jonathan and Sara's candid dialogue shines a light on how their peers are adapting and how new financial advisors are stepping up to the plate in this dynamic fiscal game. Tune in for an empowering session that connects the dots between financial expertise and real-world application.

Learn more about Wolf Financial Advisory:
https://www.wolffinancialadvisory.com/

Disclosure: Robert Wolf, James Koenig, Sara Wolf, and Michael Rock are investment advisor representatives of, and securities and advisory services are offered through, USA Financial Securities. Member FINRA/SIPC. Additionally, Amanda Opulskas and Adam Wallace are registered non-solicitors of USA Financial Securities, A registered investment advisor. 6020 E. Fulton St., Ada, MI 49301. Wolf Advisory Services and Wolf Financial Advisory are not affiliated with USA Financial Securities.

The strategies and concepts discussed are for educational purposes only and do not represent specific investment, tax, or estate planning advice. Investing carries an inherent element of risk and it is in everyone’s best interests to consult a tax, legal, or investment professional. The opinions expressed herein are not meant to provide specific investment advice or serve as a prediction for future stock market performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Securities and advisory services are offered through USA Financial Securities Corp., member FINRA/SIPC. A registered investment adviser. Wolf Financial Advisory and USA Financial Securities are not affiliated entities.

Transcript

Voiceover 0:00

The strategies and concepts discussed are for educational purposes only and do not represent specific investment, tax or estate planning advice. Investing carries an inherent element of risk and it is in everyone's best interests to consult a tax, legal or investment professional. The opinions expressed herein are not meant to provide specific investment advice or serve as a prediction for future stock market performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Securities and advisory services are offered through USA Financial Securities Corp member FINRA SIPC, a registered investment advisor. Wolf Advisory Services LLC and Wolf Financial Advisory are not affiliated with USA Financial Securities Corp.

0:41

Wolf Financial Advisory when it's important to you.

0:45

It's important to us.

Voiceover 0:48

This is the Wolf Financial Podcast. Here's your host, Rob Wolf.

0:55

Good day everyone. Rob Wolf here with Wolf Financial Podcast Today. I'm joined by Jonathan Foster and Sara Wolf, who are starting their careers as younger people, and we wanted to get some perspective of younger people, since I'm an old man at 51. And we have a little bit of generational differences as far as what younger people are thinking about, what younger people are thinking about, what younger people are concerned about. So, to just get your insight as to where you think things are going, where your generation needs some help and how they should go about putting that. So, sarah, let's start with you. You just got your CFP designation, which is very impressive. I believe there's only 5,000 people in the country that are your age that have this designation, so why don't you tell us a little bit about what it took to get that designation?

1:59

Yeah. So in order to become a CFP, you need to have 6,000 hours of work experience. You need to take core classes on all the different subjects they want you to learn about, including income tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning, general financial advising and insurance planning, investments and also psychology. So, in addition to those core classes, the experience hours, you have to take the six hour long exam, which I can tell you is quite draining and painful, but obviously I got through it.

2:37

So where someone that is near retirement may look at somebody like me that's got a lot of years of experience, but in reality, when they go to somebody like yourself who, although younger, you have the 6,000 hours you've done, the credentials, you understand what it takes to make a successful financial plan. You can help people just as much as me and perhaps even have better relatable skills to the younger generation, such as yourself.

3:17

Oh, absolutely, and I think another advantage that comes with being so young is I can help people from the beginning of their journey, often to the very end of their journey, just because I have a long time span in my career.

3:29

Are you saying I'm going to die here soon? Is that what you're saying?

3:32

I think you want to become retired, is what I'm saying.

3:36

But overall, what would you say is some of the biggest challenges of somebody in your generation right now?

3:45

Yeah, I think one of the biggest challenges of somebody in your generation right now yeah, I think one of the biggest challenges that I see in my generation right now is, of course, housing. I know it's the American dream to want to buy a house and many people my age cannot afford a house right now in this current interest rate environment, along with the current housing prices environment.

4:00

So that's a good point. We got Jonathan Foster here, who's also an associate of Wolf Financial Jonathan, also age 24. She just brought up housing and this is something that you've been looking at actively. You're renting right now in the community. What has your experience been? Looking for your first time home ownership?

4:25

I'd say the experience has been eye opening at that. It's mainly a matter of supply and demand and with the interest rate environment that we're in, more people are willing to hold on to the house that they have just because they have those mortgages that are at 2% 3%. They don't want to have to refinance into something that's 8, 9, 10% and maybe your income's not quite there. That means that even though you get approved for a house, you might have the interest rate that pushes that budget over the limit. And that's where we're at right now, where, even if the houses that maybe five, six years ago were only worth $60,000, $70,000, $80,000, those are now worth $160,000, $170,000, $180,000. So our biggest problem with trying to find the resources for that whether that be money or just what's on the market has mainly been that there's really no one wanting to sell.

5:24

And if there is a property that's available that hasn't been snatched up day of, there's probably something really wrong with it, which means there'll be additional expense associated not only with mortgaging it but also having to fix it up to get it livable again. So lots of challenges. I don't envy anyone in today's environment having to look for a house unless you've got a lot of money and you could pay for cash, or you're looking for really high-end houses $750,000 and above where those aren't moving as fast because the demand isn't as high. It's tough being a young person right now trying to start out to live their American dream. What are some of the other issues you guys feel, and please feel free to take turns as far as what other challenges younger people have in today's environment.

6:21

Just by my experience, growing up, going through high school, going through college, there's really no education on how you're supposed to be saving your money, how you're supposed to be using your money to better yourself in your life. It's more so. You're going to learn math, you're going to learn science, you're going to learn history. All that stuff that you may use may not use later in life. Yet as far as finances, unless you are dedicated to taking those finance courses, you're not going to learn about it.

6:50

And I think, in addition to that, I also want to say that, as people are not learning enough about finances, we, as younger people, are taking on more and more debt, especially with the rising costs of college expenses education system in general has let you down in regarding of just basic financial acumen.

7:19

So what are challenges? If any? Have you noticed, as you've dealt either for yourselves personally or talking with friends, what are some of their challenges they're looking at?

7:31

I think, Jonathan, you may be able to talk about this a little bit more than I can, but another big industry that has really raised their prices is cars. Right now, trying to buy a car?

7:39

My history has actually been in cars where I have the passion to build more so the classics than what's coming out in today's world. Yet back then, a car that was worth maybe $500 just because of the shape it was in, because of the interest rates alone, that car is now worth over $2,500. So if you have an instance where your car broke down, it's not able to get repaired and you don't have that emergency fund to buy another car, well, you're going to be out probably that entire fund, if not more than what you need.

8:15

So cars, homes, everything that's really essential, right? The ability to get to and from work, the ability to have a safe place to go home to, right. And then you couple that with, if you have kids, and the challenges of having to have a two working spouse home life. And what do you do with daycare, right? I mean, sometimes the one spouse has to work pretty much to cover 100 percent of the daycare, and then you wonder, does it even make sense to do the daycare? But then that spouse has the benefits. So there's all these challenges that you guys have that you know that we just didn't have a few years ago. So, sarah, what would you say is the advice that you would like to leave younger people with as they're dealing with these issues, and how can Wolf Financial be a potential solution for them?

9:15

Yes. So for most young people, my recommendation would absolutely be to start building that emergency fund In case things go wrong. You always want to have some cash set aside so that you have that there in case you ever need it. One of the best ways to do this is either investing in a money market, putting that emergency fund aside for it to grow for anytime you need it, perhaps a CD, and here at Wolf Advisory we could also help with many of those options and decide which is best for you, along with which interest rate would help that emergency fund grow the best.

9:50

Yeah. So I think the big thing is at Wolf Financial Advisory, regardless of your status, regardless of your age, we're here to help you and we have people that are willing to grow with you as you go through your life. And if you have a youngster that is just starting out on life and you feel they would be better fit to have somebody work with them at their own age bracket, we have that. You're looking for a younger advisor than yourself? We have that. We pretty much have all the bases covered here at Wool Financial so that you can have an advisor that you can form a relationship with that you'll be comfortable with for the long term. So, Sara and Jonathan, thank you for your time today and sharing some of the challenges that younger people have starting out, and we'll look forward to listening to everybody at our next podcast here at Wolf Financial.

Voiceover 10:58

Thank you for listening to the Wolf Financial Podcast. For additional information about our firm, please visit our website wolfadvisorieservicescom.

11:09

Wolf Financial.

Voiceover 11:10

Advisory. The strategies and concepts discussed are for educational purposes only and do not represent specific investment, tax or estate planning advice. Investing carries an inherent element of risk and it is in everyone's best interests to consult a tax, legal or investment professional. The opinions expressed herein are not meant to provide specific investment advice or serve as a prediction for future stock market performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Securities and advisory services are offered through USA Financial Securities Corp member FINRA SIPC, a registered investment advisor. Wolf Advisory Services LLC and Wolf Financial Advisory are not affiliated with USA Financial Securities Corp.