Habits of Champions
THE BEST WAY TO GET AHEAD IN THE WORLD IS THROUGH HARD WORK, DILIGENCE, SWEAT, AND TOIL. RIGHT? A recent article based on interviews with top-flight athletes shows that the workaholic mindset is generally not a feature of top performers. The article found that working long hours tends to put a strain on your mind […]
2019 Second Quarter Investment Market Report
How to make sense out of the recent market behavior? We experienced a painful decline in the last month of 2018 before the markets took a sharp (and unexpected) about-face and delivered the biggest one-quarter gain since the third quarter of 2009. The surprise upward trend has continued through the second quarter, albeit with more […]
Eroding Protections
You already know that the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico is in financial trouble. The country has issued roughly $120 billion more in municipal bonds and cannot now pay the interest much less the principal. The bonds were sold through brokerage firms to lay investors and mutual funds, and they were easy to sell because […]
Scams are on The Rise
WE ALL LIKE TO THINK THAT WE ARE SMART ENOUGH NOT TO FALL FOR ONE OF THOSE SCAMS WE HEAR ABOUT ON THE NEWS. No one wants to be taken advantage of by an online or phone scammer. Unfortunately, no matter how unflappable you think you are, anyone can be ripped off by a scammer […]
Look Less, Make More
You’re likely to read a lot of articles about how to be a better investor, and they will tout everything from watching complicated charts looking for patterns to more mainstream dollar-cost-averaging, to buying only the stocks of companies that you know. BUT SURPRISINGLY, THE EASIEST ROUTE TO IMPROVING YOUR INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE MAY ALSO BE THE […]
Carbon Concerns
If you’re worried about climate change and recent weather events like cyclonic snowstorms in the Midwest, hurricanes, droughts and such everywhere in the world, then you’re not alone. Recently, the National Weather Service, using data from core samples and fossilized plants, traced the levels of carbon dioxide (the most common greenhouse gas) in the Earth’s […]
Taxing Weed
Legalized marijuana is a polarizing topic in the U.S., but one aspect of it that is attractive to all sides is the potential tax revenue. But how much are we actually talking about? A recent article in Forbes magazine noted that there are now ten states that have legalized pot sales, plus D.C., and seven […]
The Flaw in Traditional Retirement Planning for Couples
TRADITIONAL RETIREMENT PLANNING FOR COUPLES OMITS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: GOOD COMMUNICATION DID YOU KNOW? 36% OF COUPLES SAY THEY HAVEN’T EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT A RETIREMENT PLAN[I] 47% OF COUPLES DISAGREE ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY THEY’LL NEED IN RETIREMENT[II] Let’s say you’ve done everything right. You’re on a relatively traditional retirement track. You worked your […]
The Investment Returns of Homes vs. Stocks
YOUR HOME IS YOUR BEST INVESTMENT, RIGHT? A few recent analyses suggest that this old chestnut may not apply anymore—if it ever did. Researchers from the San Francisco Fed have recently concluded that from 1870 through 2015, worldwide returns on homes—that is, the average yearly home appreciation across all houses in the world—was 6.9% after […]
The Keys to Happiness
YOU WANT TO FEEL HAPPY, RIGHT? DOESN’T EVERYBODY? Research has shown that once you get past providing for your basic needs, additional money doesn’t materially increase your happiness level, and we all know that meds can only go so far toward adding to our sense of well-being. Are there any other strategies that can move […]
