Got an uninsured client? Need an overview of the 3 pillars of life insurance? Mike and Jerry are here to break down the basics on term, whole, and universal life insurance policies. Plus, they serve up a contrarian view on the old “buy term & invest the rest” rule of thumb.

I See… Uninsured People

Jerry and Adam give some last-minute help to the July test takers with this new iteration of a BIF Bites classic. The guys break down 6 questions, one from each of the main sections of the CFP curriculum and talk about how they would answer them on the CFP exam.

Exam Edition: Question Palooza 2.0 Disco Fever!

In this episode, Jerry and Adam discuss the 5 ways to structure a business for tax reporting. Sole Proprietorship, LLC, Partnership, S Corp and C Corps. They talk about the pros and cons of each, and how to choose the correct one for a client in the CFP exam.

Choosing the right tax entity for your business

Fantasy Draft + CFP Topic List. Does it make sense? No, not really. Was it fun? Yes, absolutely. Listen in as Mike, Adam and Jerry draft the CFP topics from the General Principles domain that they think are most important. 3 rounds, 9 picks, and the first overall pick in this year's draft is...

CFP Snake Draft - General Principles of Financial Planning

It's draft week! Who gets the best sleeper pick? Which BIF Crew member needs a Draft Pick Insurance Policy? Listen in to find out. Round 2 starts now. Enjoy!

CFP Snake Draft - Insurance Planning

Jerry, Mike and Adam continue their fantasy draft of the CFP exam topics. Tempers flare over some controversial choices and the commissioner is called in to settle the dispute.

CFP Snake Draft - Investment Planning

This week The BIF Crew continues their snake daft of the CFP topics, tackling Adam's main wheelhouse of Tax.

CFP Snake Draft - Tax Planning

Each CFP® Exam cycle Adam invites back former BIF Review students to share their own personal study experiences with the current group of BIF Review students that are actively preparing for the next upcoming Exam. We've decided to release a few of these recent conversations here as a BIF Bites podcast episode so that the broader CFP® community can listen in and benefit.

Amy Thorsen, CFP®, Jackie Cummings Koski, CFP®, MSPFP, AFC®, and Jeremy Pichette each serve up their own Top 3 Study Strategies list. The importance of a data-driven approach, how to use audio as a passive study supplement, and why overall wellness matters as much or more than your textbook materials all get touched upon during this insightful episode. Enjoy!

The Three Wise CFP® Warriors

Every single one of BIF's Monte Carlo simulation machines crashed when we fed them the data from our most recent CFP Snake Draft round. Here are the highlights...

• Adam’s bold first pick earns him the awful nickname “Vanilla ISO”
• Jerry shocks the crew with a sneaky move-up in the draft order
• Mike reminds us that ‘eligible designated beneficiary’ is not a status on your dating app

Listen in and enjoy!

CFP Snake Draft - Retirement Planning

Here it is... the one... the only... The BIF Bites QUESTION PALOOZA!

Exam Edition: Question Palooza 3.0!

It's the final round of our inaugural BIF Bites CFP Snake Draft. A champion will be crowned soon. To cast your vote please head over to BIFBites.com and let us know who drafted the best overall squad!

CFP Snake Draft - Estate Planning

Mike, Jerry, and Adam recorded this important roundtable discussion to support all who fell short of the ‘Preliminary Pass’ on their recent CFP® exam. 

The BIF Crew shares common retaker pitfalls, best practices, strategies for interpreting results, and the importance of self-reflection before diving into another CFP® exam cycle.

“What is delayed is not denied.” – Dawn Staley

CFP® Exam Retaker’s Guide

Every year, the BIF Crew responds to thousands of questions from the students enrolled in the Bryant/BIF CFP® education program & the BIF Review. In our newest BIF Bites podcast mini-series “CFP® Questions & Misconceptions” we’ll share these FAQs, plus, the concepts that are most likely to cause confusion.

This week, Adam delivers some tax fact-checks! He covers AGI v. taxable income, capital gains & tax rates, MAGI, business deductions, and HSA tax benefits. 

Listen in for CFP® enlightenment.

CFP® Questions & Misconceptions: Tax Planning

Every year, the BIF Crew responds to thousands of questions from the students enrolled in the Bryant/BIF CFP® education program & the BIF Review. In our newest BIF Bites podcast mini-series “CFP® Questions & Misconceptions” we’ll share these FAQs, plus, the concepts that are most likely to cause confusion.

Jerry continues the solo series this week covering the biggest misunderstandings students run across in the Investment Planning coursework.

Listen in for CFP® enlightenment.

CFP® Questions & Misconceptions: Investment Planning

Homes are one of the most valuable assets in a client’s financial ecosystem and mortgages are an area where financial planners can provide valuable insight and support, adding a ton of value along the way. This week, Jerry and Adam talk about down payments, lending ratios, PITI, PMI, VA mortgages, USDA mortgages, and much more.

“We P.I.T.I the fool” that misses this episode!

“Isn’t it a P.I.T.I?”: A Mortgage Deep Dive

Every year, the BIF Crew responds to thousands of questions from the students enrolled in the Bryant/BIF CFP® education program & the BIF Review. In our newest BIF Bites podcast mini-series “CFP® Questions & Misconceptions” we’ll share these FAQs, plus, the concepts that are most likely to cause confusion.

This week, Mike shared some common misconceptions in Retirement Planning that he noted during the recently concluded November 2023 CFP Exam.

Listen in for CFP® enlightenment.

CFP® Questions & Misconceptions: Retirement Planning

In this episode, Adam and Jerry talk about COLLECTIBLES. There are special rules governing the tax treatment of collectibles held for investment purposes that you need to know. Also, there are special considerations for protecting your collectible investments by way of insurance coverage. All of this and more are covered!

Look out Comi-Con, here comes the BIF Crew!

The Collector's Guide: Tax Savvy Strategies

Every year, the BIF Crew responds to thousands of questions from students enrolled in the BIF / Bryant CFP® Education Program and The BIF Review. Our “CFP® Questions & Misconceptions” mini-series is a place to share and talk through those questions.

Today Adam wraps up 2023 with a few common misconceptions from Estate Planning.

CFP® Questions & Misconceptions: Estate Planning

Every year, the BIF Crew responds to thousands of questions from students enrolled in the BIF / Bryant CFP® Education Program and The BIF Review. Our “CFP® Questions & Misconceptions” mini-series is a place to share and talk through those questions.

Mike Long flies solo in this episode as he navigates some common misconceptions our students experience in the 3 major insurance topics.

CFP® Questions & Misconceptions: Insurance Planning

Every year, the BIF Crew responds to thousands of questions from students enrolled in the BIF / Bryant CFP® Education Program and The BIF Review. Our “CFP® Questions & Misconceptions” mini-series is a place to share and talk through those questions.

Jerry is tackling General Principles today. Enjoy!

CFP® Questions & Misconceptions: General Principles

Mike, Jerry and Adam sit down to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the two types of CFP students, those brand new to the industry, and those with several years of experience. See what new to the industry students can do to get a leg up, and learn how having too much experience can be a double-edged sword.

Young vs. Experienced: The 2 Types of CFP Students

Every year, the BIF Crew responds to thousands of questions from students enrolled in the BIF / Bryant CFP® Education Program and The BIF Review. Our “CFP® Questions & Misconceptions” mini-series is a place to share and talk through those questions.

Jerry takes the reins solo in this episode as he covers three of the most common mistakes students make with their financial calculators.

CFP® Questions & Misconceptions: Financial Calculator

Question palooza is back, this time with double the action and double the fun! Jerry and Adam round out a baker's dozen of CFP exam questions and discuss how they would approach answering each one.

CFP Exam Question Palooza

Jerry views cryptocurrency as the future currency in the global economy and a high-risk/high-reward store of value that, if handled properly, could lead to large portfolio gains.

In Adam’s mind, cryptocurrency is like the screaming parent at Little League field: volatile and unpredictable, with behavior that cannot be explained logically.

Listen in as these BIF guys square off in ‘The Great Crypto Debate’.

The Great Crypto Debate

Listen in as Jerry covers all of the financial planning considerations that go along with winning the lottery or other large unexpected windfall.

What to Do If You Win the Lottery?

In this week’s episode, the BIF Crew discusses the workings of international currency exchange using Adam's recent trip to Iceland as an example. Jerry shares tutoring-tested strategies to simplify exchange rate calculations. Adam recounts how an Icelandic ATM machine helped his kids understand currency exchanges!

Currency Exchanges: A Financial Travelogue

We can't be friends with everyone... Jerry Seinfeld hates Newman... Mike Long hates IRMAA. Listen in to hear why.

Mike hates IRMAA!

In this episode, Jerry walks through a theoretical retirement plan using everyone’s favorite video game plumber, Super Mario, as a case study.

When Can Super Mario Retire?

Visit BIFBites.com to view the question of the month.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Boston Institute of Finance’s new “BIF Bites” podcast with co-hosts Jerry Mee and Mike Long! Listen in as we discuss Roth IRA withdrawals, how to get the most out of your study time and scoring expectations for the CFP Exam.

Jerry Mee is Director of Student Support at the Boston Institute of Finance and has nearly a decade’s worth of experience in the financial services industry.

Mike Long, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU® is the Director of Curriculum for the Boston Institute of Finance. He has made his career in financial services and financial services education over the past 38 years.

The BIF Bites podcast covers topics that are important to those seeking CFP certification and really anyone that wants to better understand the financial services industry in general.

Public Domain Soundtrack Music: Album One

Study Plans, Quiz Scores, and Roths

Visit BIFBites.com to view the question of the month.

In this episode Mike and Jerry tackle the kiddie tax and how to calculate it, explain why the fiduciary rule changes are not so scary and make sense of today's retirement plan type "alphabet soup" (ingredients include 401ks, IRAs, SEPs, 457s, 403bs and more).

Jerry Mee is Director of Student Support at the Boston Institute of Finance and has nearly a decade’s worth of experience in the financial services industry.

Mike Long, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU® is the Director of Curriculum for the Boston Institute of Finance. He has made his career in financial services and financial services education over the past 38 years.

The BIF Bites podcast covers topics that are important to those seeking CFP certification and really anyone that wants to better understand the financial services industry in general.

Kiddie Tax, Fiduciary Rules and Retirement Alphabet Soup

The BIF Bites podcast covers topics that are important to anyone that wants to better understand the financial services industry.

BIF Bites

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