Helping pave the way towards financial freedom
I am probably in the minority on this one, but I always chuckle at the idea of the “New Year’s resolution”. To each their own, but resolutions never appealed to me. I can honestly say that never once, in my lifetime – have I made one resolution. But we all know what everyone thinks, New…
The US economy went ROARING into the 20s as we closed the chapter on Q4 as well as the decade. Global markets were solidly higher for the quarter, as well as for 2019. The US consumer remained resilient due to a favorable labor environment, and spending and earnings have held up well. And the longest-running…
Money is always in motion. I see this most often when a person leaves an employer, and it happens more than you’d think! Rarely do we see people staying at the same company for 30+ years then retiring. In fact, the average employment tenure is closer to 4 years. Whether you retired or are simply…
Taxes are a hot topic these days. Various politicians are using their tax agenda to position themselves for the next Presidential election. We are learning about who pays them (almost half of Americans don’t pay a dime!), how should people be taxed going forward, and debating on what is a “fair system”. Paying tax is…
When it comes to assisting people with their finances, I work with a wide variety of people in a wide range of ages. Each one means alot to me, but I have to share a story about one of my favorites who recently passed away. She was both my oldest client (living well into her…
With 2020 on the horizon, this is the time of year when many companies open their “enrollment period” for their employees to change their benefit elections. Many of my clients are in this period right now, so lately I have been having a lot of these discussions. Of course, each employer varies on what types…
Football season is in full swing, and studies tell us that roughly 4 out of 10 people watch football on a regular basis. But how many of you see the parallels that the game of football has with your investing lives? If you think about it, football tells us a lot about life. Many aspects of…
The big industry news in the past week is that some of the biggest brokerage firms slashed their commission rates to zero. The trend was inevitable, as declining commissions have been happening across the industry for decades. Some smaller outfits experimented with $0 trades recently, but it wasn’t until Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and E*Trade…
Looking back at the past quarter, the summer months (July/August) were slow followed by a more bullish September. The Federal Reserve (Fed), citing a slowdown in growth, cut interest rates in July and September in attempts to prolong the economic expansion. The European Central Bank took similar measures. Overall, the global markets were generally mixed…
When we need to make big financial decisions in life, most people look for a source of expertise and guidance to help make the best-educated decisions. This is often times where professional advisors, like myself, are called in to play. The situations vary greatly of course, as does the type and quantity of the advice…