Brad Fortier’s Blog

VIDEO: ‘Its About Time’ Presentation

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are[…] Read More

Advice from the Cheshire Cat

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

With my daughter, I have had the opportunity to rediscover many classic children’s tales, but recently one scene in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland resonated with me in an unexpected way. As the story goes, one day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire-Cat sitting in a tree. “Would you tell[…] Read More

The Glamour of Planning

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

Why does a piece of dyed green linen have the ability to arouse some of our deepest and darkest emotions? While money can bring temporary pleasure, it also has the power to elicit feelings of anxiety, fear and greed. Of course, there is nothing inherently alluring or threatening about bills, shiny coins or the ink[…] Read More

To Splurge or to Save?

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

By Brad Fortier, CFP®, CEP®, president of Fortier Financial Everyone likes to indulge from time to time. Even the most financially responsible among us gives in to the temptation for a gratuitous new gadget, expensive dinner or designer accessory every once in a while. Because unrelenting frugality is too difficult for most people to maintain[…] Read More

The Craft of Advice

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

Dear Friend: Fortier Financial recently sponsored a creative writing competition through NolaVie, a new webpage on Nola.com devoted entirely to life and culture in New Orleans. At first, I saw little connection between writing and financial planning and agreed to participate only because the competition sounded interesting. Lately, though, I have been contemplating the importance of[…] Read More

Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Finances

Friday, April 1st, 2011

By Fortier Financial Each year as tax season comes to a close, I receive questions from clients resolved to make a fresh start by “cleaning up their finances.” In response, I have developed three spring cleaning tips for people eager to tidy up and for those that require a little more prodding to get their finances[…] Read More

Don’t Try Anything New on Race Day

Friday, April 1st, 2011

As the end of winter gives way to a balmy spring, we are reminded that the world around us is in a constant state of flux. The change of the seasons means different things, but most of us experience a parallel dynamism in our lives. The time has arrived to tend a wilted garden, to[…] Read More

We’ll See – A Philosophy for Your Finances

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

On his fourteenth birthday, a boy receives a horse as a present and all the villagers say, “How lucky,” and the Zen Master says, “We’ll see.” When he is a teenager, he falls off the horse and breaks his leg and all the villagers say, “How unlucky,” and the Zen Master says, “We’ll see.” Not[…] Read More

Top 4 Tax Tips for 2011

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

1. Ready, Set…Wait! Everyone knows it is a good idea to prepare your taxes well in advance of the April deadline. If you are like the majority of Americans, you filed your returns by the end of February last year. This year, however, early filers should be prepared to wait a little longer because of[…] Read More

A Fool’s Errand

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein Ever work really hard at something only to realize it has been a fruitless exercise in futility? If you are like most people, the answer is yes because almost everyone has been on a[…] Read More