My family will soon be taking our first (and probably last) pilgrimage to Orlando to do the whole “Disney thing”. When I first proposed this excursion to my wife last year I had no idea how complicated and time-consuming the whole process would be. In my ignorance I assumed you [...]
This past weekend I was given the opportunity to go to the Lake of the Ozarks with my family for a couple of days. As a child some of my most cherished memories were of the trips we would take each summer to my uncle’s cabin there. Being able to [...]
My favorite movie of all time is The Shawshank Redemption. In one of the most powerful scenes in the movie it’s lead protagonist Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins, tells his friend life comes down to a single choice, “get busy living or get busy dying.” Both the simplicity and [...]
Here we go again. In what feels like a repeat from the end of 2018 for the stock market, trade wars are front and center again in the minds of investors. The market is down about 5% from recent highs, and people are wondering if we’ll experience a similar 20% [...]
Anyone who reads my column regularly probably knows I’m a planner. There are rarely occasions where I make a decision before researching the matter in depth weighing both the pros and the cons. This desire to always have a plan, probably stems from the fact that I feel an overwhelming need to always be [...]
This past Monday, Chase Bank made national news for an unintentionally controversial tweet they sent their 365,000 followers. The tweet depicted an imaginary conversation between a person and their bank account. The full tweet was as follows You: “why is my balance so low?” Bank Account: “make coffee at home” [...]
The old saying "fortune favors the bold" has been on my mind. In the majority of cases, when examining success, it stems from a bold belief and action. It took some getting out of your comfort zone, having some faith, and then letting the hard work and planning to payoff. [...]
A few weeks ago we noted the 10-year anniversary of the stock market low of March 9, 2009. As one might expect, others have considered this too from various perspectives. The most insightful I have seen yet is How the Financial Crisis Has Affected Individual Investors 10 Years Later by [...]
Today, in many circles it has become culturally acceptable to vilify millionaires as somehow evil or not worthy of the wealth they have accrued. Young people in particular have bought into the lie that in the interest of fairness, wealth should be taken from those who have built it and [...]
Many of us wanting to gauge the health of the US economy use the Dow Jones Industrial Average as our barometer. If the Dow is up big we assume the economy must be doing very well, and if it’s down we start preparing for the next recession. However, events that [...]
