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Every post from our team of CFP® professionals.

The Hour That Changes Everything

The Hour That Changes Everything

June 4, 2026

The Hour That Changes Everything I was asked a question recently that I cannot get out of my head. It came from a conversation in my C12 group with Matt Geppert. I have n…

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Yinz Seen These Gas Prices?

Yinz Seen These Gas Prices?

May 21, 2026

You can almost hear it before you finish your coffee. Yinz seen these gas prices? Friend at the coffee shop. Guy in the next aisle at Giant Eagle. Sister-in-law on Sunday…

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14 Lessons I Learned From My Dad

14 Lessons I Learned From My Dad

November 26, 2025

My father was called home to be with God 14 years ago on Thanksgiving Day, November 24th, 2011. Today would have been his 76th birthday. There is not a day that goes by t…

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Savannah Bananas

Savannah Bananas

October 17, 2025

I’ve been obsessed with the Savannah Bananas for years. I’ve studied them the same way I’ve studied the cultures at Zappos, Southwest Airlines, and Chick-fil-A. Why? Beca…

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Generational Planning for Yinz

Generational Planning for Yinz

February 26, 2025

After eight years, we are changing our tagline from “Guidance with a Plan” to “Generational Planning for Yinz.” When we first created the tagline “Guidance with a Plan,” …

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4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice

4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice

February 21, 2025

I first learned these 4 keys to hearing God’s voice on an L3 Mastermind Retreat from my friend Andrew Reichert, and it changed my life. Prior to this, God had spoken to m…

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Give ‘Em The Pickle

Give ‘Em The Pickle

February 13, 2025

We believe that a big part of culture is shared language. We have a shared language we call the Beratung Vernacular that helps us all row in the same direction. Some of t…

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13 Lessons I Learned From My Dad

13 Lessons I Learned From My Dad

November 25, 2024

My father was called home to be with God 13 years ago on Thanksgiving Day, November 24th, 2011. Today would have been his 76th birthday. There is not a day that goes by t…

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The Ugly Couch

The Ugly Couch

March 6, 2024

Our Ugly Couch A part of our culture here at Beratung is called the Ugly Couch. It’s a term we use to call each other out and a term we use to celebrate discovering our b…

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The Budget In Your Financial Plan

The Budget In Your Financial Plan

December 1, 2023

When I meet with clients for their financial planning there is one item that seems to get the harshest reaction when I discuss the topic with them: their budget. I mentio…

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Are you Thinking Ahead?

Are you Thinking Ahead?

November 21, 2023

During times like what we saw in the 2022 Bear Market it can be tough to think ahead to when things recover, and the losses might turn to gains. When the market is in a d…

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12 Lessons I Learned From My Dad

12 Lessons I Learned From My Dad

November 20, 2023

My father was called home to be with God 12 years ago on Thanksgiving Day, November 24th, 2011. Today would have been his 75th birthday. There is not a day that goes by t…

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A Culture of Making Mistakes

A Culture of Making Mistakes

October 31, 2023

At Beratung we embrace a culture of making mistakes. As its often quoted “To err is human; to forgive is divine” – Alexandar Pope. We find that too often most of us striv…

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What To Do When You're Moving

What To Do When You're Moving

October 16, 2023

Moving to a new home can be both exciting and stressful. With all the planning and packing involved, it's easy to forget some essential tasks, such as changing your addre…

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The What Ifs In Your Life

October 16, 2023

There are plenty of questions that will come up during the financial planning process, and many of these are often led with the same two words: What If. These ‘What Ifs’ …

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Embracing the 80% Rule and MVP

Embracing the 80% Rule and MVP

October 16, 2023

At Beratung we embrace the 80% rule and MVP as part of our culture. We want to lean towards action and then improvement instead of inaction and perfection. In leadership,…

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Create Your Mission Statement

Create Your Mission Statement

September 27, 2023

There are a few exercises I believe everyone should do in life to discover their calling and create a compass to guide their life. They are: Discover and declare Your Why…

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The Rule of 3

The Rule of 3

September 27, 2023

The Rule of 3: A test in fortitude. In life, patterns often emerge that can help you make better decisions and assess how to use your resources. A common example is the “…

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Beratung Swag

Beratung Swag

September 5, 2023

Fans of Our Brand If you have ever flown to Pittsburgh from another airport, you will notice something at your gate. At least one person (and typically a lot more than on…

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The Beratung Book Canon

The Beratung Book Canon

August 31, 2023

Our “Canon” is the list of books we believe everyone should read. Loosely following the model set by the Bible Canon, we have broken our recommended books into 7 major Bi…

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Maximizing Your Reading Investment

Maximizing Your Reading Investment

August 31, 2023

Since my childhood, I've been drawn to self-help and motivational books. There's a certain magic in the way they can reshape your thinking and open doors to new possibili…

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Repetition Leads To Retention

Repetition Leads To Retention

August 31, 2023

My wife, friends and former business partner will tell you I have a tendency to say the same things over and over and over again. They will tell you I have quite a few cl…

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Discerning God’s Wills

Discerning God’s Wills

August 22, 2023

I believe one of the hardest things as a believer can be discerning God’s will. I believe it’s not easy because it causes us to rely on God and make all decisions as an a…

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Room Names

Room Names

August 18, 2023

At Beratung, we are constantly looking for ways to deepen our culture. We firmly believe that a strong culture is more than just words on a wall; it's a tangible feeling …

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Goal Setting

Goal Setting

January 9, 2023

One of the key parts of my annual personal growth process  that has helped me be intentional and accomplish more is goal setting. My goal setting process is somethin…

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Journaling

Journaling

January 9, 2023

"As I share with you my journaling process and how it came to be, one of the key takeaways is  there is not a right or wrong or a “proven” method to get you to journ…

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Year End Review

Year End Review

January 5, 2023

This my year end review process that is part of my entire annual process for personal growth. I have spent 8 years tweaking this process to get it to where I am now (incl…

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Our Base eMoney Assumptions

Our Base eMoney Assumptions

May 17, 2022

A lot of advisors want to know what base assumptions our teams uses in eMoney Advisor Advanced Planning. I have taught this many time in trainings but here is it is in li…

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Taxes And Retirement Contributions

Taxes And Retirement Contributions

March 31, 2021

What Can My Taxes Tell Me About My Retirement Contributions? When the calendar turns over to a new year, there is a lot going on for most of us both personally and profes…

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Define Your Core Values

Define Your Core Values

March 29, 2021

There are a few exercises I believe everyone should do in life to discover their calling and create a compass to guide their life. They are: Discover and Declare Your Why…

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Discover And Declare Your Why

Discover And Declare Your Why

March 19, 2021

There are a few exercises I believe everyone should do in life to discover their calling and create a compass to guide their life. They are: Discover and declare  Yo…

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Defining Your Roles

Defining Your Roles

December 11, 2020

There are a few exercises I believe everyone should do in life to discover their calling and create a compass to guide their life. They are: Discover and declare  Yo…

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9 Lessons I learned from my Dad

9 Lessons I learned from my Dad

November 18, 2020

My father was called home to be with God 9 years ago on Thanksgiving Day, November 24 th , 2011. Today would have been his 72 nd birthday. There is not a day that goes by…

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What's In An Auto Policy?

What's In An Auto Policy?

November 13, 2020

It is almost impossible to turn on the TV or listen to the radio and not see or hear an ad for auto insurance. Just about all of us have an auto policy, but do we really …

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5 Tips For Working From Home

5 Tips For Working From Home

March 18, 2020

As a lot of businesses are moving their employees to a remote work environment because of the Coronavirus, I wanted to share some quick tips for working from home. Dress …

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We All Need A Coach

We All Need A Coach

March 18, 2020

My good friend and leadership consultant, Doug Smith always says “we were not meant to life alone!” I completely agree. I believe as humans we are designed by God to do l…

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Leading Through Difficult Times

Leading Through Difficult Times

March 16, 2020

Our country has been through many difficult times including the World War I, Great Depression, World War 2, Stagflation and oil shortages of the 70s, The Cold War, the 9/…

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The Secure Act And Adoption

The Secure Act And Adoption

March 6, 2020

Congress has passed the SECURE Act as part of the Federal government spending bill and the President has signed it into law as of December 20th 2019, with most provisions…

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Secure Act Bill

Secure Act Bill

December 18, 2019

According to multiple news outlets, Congress looks set to pass the first major piece of retirement legislation in a decade this week, the SECURE Act. Secure is an acronym…

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Garden Expansion

Garden Expansion

October 23, 2019

It’s Spring! I get excited every spring to start getting plants into my veggie garden. This year I’ve decided to take on a garden expansion. I wanted a few extra beds for…

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