Personal Finance with John Stoj

This week, I talk with John Stoj about personal finance around navigating life, career transitions, and being a stay at home dad! We discuss how to find a personal investor and the questions to ask in order to keep more of your money in your pocket. Favorite quotes of the episode: "The first question you should ask is, 'How are you paid?' Something like 85% of advisors don't even list how they are paid, so it's very opaque. The second question is, 'How much in total advisory fees and investment costs will I pay?'" "The most important thing is saving, investing, planning your financial life versus picking a stock, or a set of stocks." "Simply being invested in the market can contribute up to 84% of your returns over time."  Episode Overview In this episode, I talk with John Stoj. After years of climbing the Wall Street corporate ladder, John, a financial advisor became disillusioned with false promises of outperforming the market. He eventually started a sushi delivery company only to return to his first love – financial planning. But this time, things are different. With Verbatim Financial, John's gone rogue with his pricing model and is applying his decades of experience & personal touch to help clients simplify their financial lives. John believes sincerely that, done well and delivered fairly, good financial advice is more valuable than its cost and worth buying. Unfortunately, he knows first-hand that banks, broker-dealers, insurance companies, etc. do not have their customers' best interests in mind – they have their profits in mind. TOPICS What was it like to go from managing an investment portfolio of almost $4billion, being wined and dined by wall street, to starting your own business and becoming an entrepreneur then transitioning again to be a stay at home dad? Career Transitions and re-entering the workforce. How can small business owners defend themselves against wall street while still getting professional financial advice without breaking the bank? What are some things to watch out for when looking to hire a financial advisor for individuals and for small businesses? Fee-only, fiduciary, assets under management, passive vs. active management, and what do these terms mean? John Bogel's philosophy and how it applies now. 5 Questions Segment Q1. We know that the most successful and happy people have a morning routine, what do you do each morning or evening that sets your day up for success? It's our coffee! The alarm goes off at about 4:40 every morning, I make the coffee, and my wife and I watch 30 minutes of mindless TV in the morning before she heads into the hospital for work. Q2. What's your definition of Success? If I'm helping folks and I'm contributing in some fashion and I'm getting paid for it, that's my definition of success. Q3. What's your definition of Happiness? My definition of happiness is not needing to worry about my family. Q4. What do you know now that you wish you would have known 10 years ago? I wish I would have known the markets would have recovered as quickly as they did. I would not have left the markets or gone conservative. Q5. What do you think is the biggest issue facing busy professionals today? Work-Life Balance! RESOURCES Connect with John online at https://www.verbatimfinancial.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnstoj/   https://www.linkedin.com/company/verbatim-financial https://www.facebook.com/VerbatimFi/ https://twitter.com/VerbatimFi Join our email list and never miss another insight at https://www.pawsconsulting.com/shownotes Learn Strategies for Overcoming Overwhelm at https://www.pawsconsulting.com/overwhelm   "This program has been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit for veterinarians and veterinary nurses/technicians in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval." Sign up for a free Strategy Session to overcome overwhelm and get unstuck at https://www.pawsconsulting.com/podcast  Connect with Angela at www.pawsconsulting.com or on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram @DemareeDVM. How to leave a review on iTunes: Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-the-stethoscope/id1354281411 or open iTunes. Click 'View in iTunes' (or maybe you are already there)                   Click 'Subscribe' Then Click 'Ratings and Reviews' Then Click 'Write a Review'