Over the past few months, every time I turn on the TV it seems the stock market is in the red for the day. A lot has been written about how to tread water in “volatile” market conditions, including what trade orders to use, which charts to read and what stocks to buy, but none of it tells me how to continue to build wealth in such an environment. As a financial planner at All-Pro Advisors, it is important that I continue to provide value to my clients during times when their investment portfolio isn’t generating a positive return. Here are a few of those ideas:

During my past few off-seasons, I have made a point to add some educational value in my life by researching personal finance, taking masters courses, reading leadership books, and seeking ways to be more productive, valuable, and self fulfilling. Through all the books I have read, the most notable being “Linchpin”, “The 4 hour Work Week”, and “The Compound Effect”, I have come up with three themes that have helped reduce my stress levels, become more productive, and motivate me to wake up on most days with a positive outlook.

More and more "millennials" are beginning to buck the trend of the 9-5 (really 8-6) and starting to realize what it takes to "retire", a term also known as financial independence. Financial independence is when you no longer have to work to earn income to cover your living expenses. You might be asking, then how do you pay for your living expenses? The top three ways that come to my mind are: savings, passive income, and eliminating debt.