A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) is a type of charitable giving vehicle. Here are some basics on how they operate: You receive a tax deduction in the year you make a contribution equal to the full value of the assets you contributed. Contributions can be made at any time during the life of the DAF. You can distribute donations on a flexible time table ( there are no minimum or maximum annual distribution requirements).

Think a QCD might be right for you? Here are some important things to know: QCDs can be made from a traditional IRA, inherited IRA, inherited Roth IRA, SEP IRA, or SIMPLE IRA, however you cannot be actively receiving any employer contributions to the account (SEP or SIMPLE). You must be at least 70 ½ years old at the time you plan to make the QCD. Your QCD can satisfy your RMD.

What is tax-loss harvesting? Tax-loss harvesting is the practice of selling a security that has experienced a loss and replacing it with a very similar security. The idea is that you will be able to apply these losses against any realized gains or income on your tax return to help lower your tax bill while maintaining an optimal asset allocation. Losses can be indefinitely carried forward and applied to offset future realized gains until they are exhausted.

I know the question you’re probably asking yourself: Can’t I just take a smaller RMD? The answer is no. RMD is just like how it sounds–it is the minimum amount you need to take from your retirement account each year. Bluntly, it’s the IRS’s way of forcing you to take a certain amount of money from your tax-deferred retirement accounts so that they can get their taxes-owed.

The word “option” makes you feel good–it denotes flexibility, choice, and gives you a sense of control. However, those “options” may not be the cherry on top of your sundae, perfectly perched on a pillow of whipped cream. They may actually be the sticky hot fudge that melts your ice cream and turns your masterpiece into a soupy mess.

This classic piece of investment advice is everywhere for a good reason. Spreading your investments across numerous asset classes and sectors reduces your portfolio’s reliance on any particular one. It’s meant to mitigate your loss—if one sector were to decrease, your diversification across multiple sectors can reduce the impact of those losses. There are levels of diversification, too.

If an asset is on the rise, there can be some sense in jumping in on that trend. Those trends, after all, represent the flow of capital. Instead of trying to fight that flow, you might potentially be better off joining it—assuming you do the proper analysis and have specific rules set in your Model to guide you in entering and exiting the investment at an appropriate time.

After years of focusing on building a business, now’s the time to pause and audit your personal financial life. What assets do you have? Liabilities? What kind of income are you accustomed to and how do you spend it? Approach these questions with the same discipline and no B.S. attitude that’s already gotten you this far. Then, map these items out–(we use a “Monument Asset Map”)–so you can see the big picture clearly without overwhelming the senses.