Though some may disagree, I believe in America, the greatest determiner of ones' success in life is the sum total of the decisions they personally make. Other factors, of course, also play a role, but if the decisions you make are generally wise and effective, you will succeed. One of [...]
Today I am writing more basic philosophical thoughts about investing. What are your goals for your money? One primary goal for most people is and will be to multiply your money for present and future financial needs and desires. But another goal may be to promote a particular area of [...]
Have you ever gone to an expensive restaurant that appeared on the outside to be quite sophisticated and refined only to find after dining there that the food itself was less than impressive? I think sometimes the financial services industry can have a similar strategy of dazzling people with their [...]
You have probably seen statistics that over decades of time, the general stock market rises by an amazing percentage, but average investors experience mediocre or even poor results. Vats of ink—in the old days at least—have been invested in writing about the reasons for this anomaly. Today there is [...]
As sponsors of the First Responders Recognition and Awards Breakfast here in Independence, this past Thursday I was blessed to get to be in attendance as the Chamber of Commerce honored some of its very bravest public servants, including officer Cody Allen who was tragically killed in the line of [...]
One of the first truths we are all taught as young children is 1+1=2. However, as an adult, I have learned this simple equation is actually not always true. In his book Entreleadership self-help guru Dave Ramsey tells the story of the Clydesdale horse. He explains that a single Clydesdale [...]
Earlier this month I attended the annual Kingdom Advisors conference again. Kingdom Advisors is an international organization of attorneys, accountants and financial advisors who study the Bible’s financial wisdom. This meeting is a highlight of my year because we hear great speakers and learn new insights about making financial decisions [...]
DIY Anyone? Recently I wrote about investors who have an advisor obtain much better results over time than those without one. I referenced the study by Vanguard about this, but I have noticed a newer one by the Russell Investments organization today. It attempts to quantify how much value can [...]
What just happened in 2023 financially in the US? For professionals, it was one word: Surprise! After suffering an 18 percent plus drop in 2022, the S&P 500 index gained 26.4 percent, almost back to its all-time high point of January 4, 2022. The gargantuan tech companies led the Nasdaq [...]
I think after years of writing this column for the Examiner it should be pretty apparent talking about money comes easily for me. In fact, it’s something I really enjoy doing. However, recent research from Empower shows I am in the minority of people who feel comfortable talking about the [...]
