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Brock's newsletter | January 9, 2026

We Spent All Our Money.

I don't mean last year's money, although that's all gone too. As I've said before, all the money gets spent.

I mean the money we have yet to earn this year.

Each year after Christmas, Lori and I set our goals, plans and intentions for the upcoming year in painstaking detail.

keep in a Google Doc (editable);
be as specific as possible;
write in the present tense;
check in with your goals weekly.

We have set our 2026 plans for our family (Friday night family night, Italy summer vacation, Thursday date & culture night, Saturday digital detox, etc.), for ourselves (Dry January, 3x week weightlifting, reading one book per week, etc.), and, most relevant here, we've made our financial plan.

Here is a brief breakdown, in no particular order:

paying our whopper tax bill
maxing the 401(k)
maxing the kids' Roth IRAs
beefing up the kids' 529 accounts
paying off the HELOC on the house (don't ask)
Lori's birthday presents (I can't look at this one)
substantially upping our charitable giving (we're both reading the Go Giver right now)
starting a taxable brokerage account
buying a new Los Feliz office building using SBA

There's more, but you get the idea.

In our Google Doc, it's listed sequentially and specifically, with dollar amounts, each benchmark listed quarterly based on our projected income. And each dollar has been specifically chosen to align with our family and retirement goals.

Our investing is front-loaded in the first half of the year, so in the second half we can spend the rest on the fun stuff. Think Trader Joe's before July, Erewhon in the fall. And even after weeks of goal-setting, we're still fine-tuning our plan (and will be throughout the year).

For example, we don't want to overfund the kids' college accounts, although it's less of a risk now that you can convert unused 529s into Roth IRAs.

And I'm not yet sure of our strategy regarding the taxable brokerage account, a fancy name for plain old invested savings, above and beyond the tax-free retirement accounts (401(k), Roth, IRAs, etc.).

The other big financial event in our lives is that the 7/1 ARM loan on our house is in its final year.

I thought it was my biggest financial mistake, taking a 2.875% loan for 7 years instead of a 4.25% loan for 30 years back in 2019, but as it turns out, it wasn't bad at all.

Not only did I enjoy a low payment for 7 years (with almost half my monthly mortgage payment going to principal paydown), but when the payment goes "adjustable" (i.e., goes way up) at the end of this year, I'll likely be able to refinance into a 15-year at 4.75%—not much higher than the rate I could have locked in 2019.

Yes, it's a 15-year we're looking at, which might surprise readers who know I'm not a fan of mortgage paydown. You're better off investing the money, as most financial columns will tell you.

However, in this case, I can secure the best rate, match my relatively affordable monthly payment, and still have half of my payment go toward the principal.

And as I'm now 50, a 15-year seems in line with our retirement plan of having a paid-off house, a solid financial move for anyone.

But regardless, 2026 appears to be fully spoken for, and it actually feels good. There's just something about operating on a plan.

It's not about manifesting; it's about taking action. You don't get a six-pack because you wrote it in your goals. You get a six-pack because with that goal, you start eating bland chicken and broccoli and getting your a$$ to the gym.

Having clear, written goals makes you take steps to achieve them. And don't forget to review your plan weekly!

At the end of the day, building wealth isn't just about maximizing returns—it's about making consistent progress while actually enjoying your life. Having a plan decimates the latte theory of financial planning. If you think of investing as spending, you can buy your lattes while growing your wealth.

Because the money's going to get spent either way. Might as well spend it on purpose.

-Brock

P.S. We sold 96 homes last year. THANK YOU to everyone who helped make us the #3 Real Estate Team in Los Angeles.

P.P.S. Reply to this email if buying/selling/investing in real estate is part of your 2026 plan (or you think it might be!). It's never too early to start making your next real estate move.

🏢 Why Aren't There More Condos For Sale In California? Answer: lawsuits.

🎉 For the first time in years, more homeowners have a 6% mortgage rate than a 3% one. That’s great news for frustrated buyers.

@brockandlori

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Brock and Lori Harris Real Estate Team

Keller Williams Los Feliz DRE#01430290 | Brock Harris DRE#01328996 | Lori Harris DRE#02132297