What’s Going On?
If you’re reading this column there is a good chance you’re hoping I have an answer to the question everyone is asking right now. What is going on! I will do my best do provide some context to recent market volatility. In the mid-2000’s, the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) was [...]
Want a solid return on your investment? Invest in another person.
British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli was once quoted as saying “The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.” With January being National Mentoring Month, it seemed like a perfect time to talk about the importance of [...]
Looking Back, Looking Forward
With all of the negative excitement of 2021, I doubt if there are many of us who are too sad to begin a new year with hopes of improvement. Given the effects of illness and rise of other uncertainties, I know that most of you would not have predicted such [...]
What might 2022 hold for markets?
The year 2021 was another challenging year with the pandemic raging on beyond what most optimistically believed with vaccines coming on the scene. Can 2022 be the year most thought 2021 was supposed to be? I can’t think of a more difficult time to predict what’s ahead with so many [...]
A hopeful message for 2022
As I sat down to write my final article of 2021, I began to put together a list of the blessings I personally have experienced in the past year and to invite you the reader to do the same. However, the more I wrote, the more disingenuous it began to [...]
Have We Already Surrendered?
A few years ago, I wrote in this space about whether it made sense to buy US manufactured tools and products even at higher prices than imports. Time has marched on. I now wonder about our future as a viable independent nation. By way of example, let’s examine computers, especially [...]
It’s never too late
This past weekend I got the pleasure of meeting a man with a very interesting story. While making small talk with him he mentioned he owned a concrete recycling company. Having never heard of such a service, I was intrigued and asked him to tell me more about what they [...]
Receiving peace at Christmas through insurance
Don’t laugh, but I prefer watching classic shows from over a half century ago over most of what I see on network TV today. The Andy Griffith show (or as my kids describe it, the “barney” show is a particular favorite in our home, and is watched nearly every evening [...]
The importance of true giving during this season
The past Thursday marked the beginning of a period of time when our focus is supposed to shift away from ourselves and toward others. These weeks, often collectively known as the season of giving, is my very favorite time of year. However, over time savvy marketers and retailers have commandeered [...]
We are blessed, we help others, we give thanks
Many of you know that each year I use this week to share a column with a Thanksgiving theme. It is my favorite American holiday since it originated in our land in the 1600s. In former years, it kicked off the official Christmas shopping season, but that has already begun. [...]