What Ever Happened to Diversification?
Perhaps there have always been preachers of one solitary investment asset class. I remember Howard Ruff with his Ruff Times touting gold, silver and survival tips. He was correct about inflation in the later 1970s. (According to Dr. Mark Skousen, millions of dollars went through his hands in the 1970s [...]
The Decade that Was, and the One to Come
What a difference a year and a decade make! Last year at this time the market had quickly dropped 20% lower over recession and trade war fears. Fast forward a year and we are at all-time highs with record holiday spending, signed a newer version of NAFTA, and about to [...]
The Choices You Make Matter Greatly
According to a recent study conducted by BankRate, low-income individuals spend nearly half of their annual income on vices. The findings of this study really shocked me. In my opinion, it serves as further evidence that irresponsible personal behavior is the leading cause of long-term poverty in the United States. [...]
Too Late To Benefit?
In the past year or more, we have met with a growing number of folks, ultraconservative in their current investment philosophy. They explain that they jerked their money from any stock or diversified investment portfolio years ago, some before and some after the sub-prime mortgage fiasco of 2008-09. They have [...]
Giving and Serving is What the Season is All About
Like many of you, over this past weekend I joined with the masses scrambling to get the best price on all the useless junk my kids hope to find underneath the tree this coming Christmas morning. Being the cheapskate and treasure hunter that I am, Black Friday is one of [...]
Reasons For Thanksgiving
(The following is obviously my personal opinion from my Christian worldview. If it offends you, then I apologize for the disturbance, but not for my content.) If you have ever been on a mission trip to a lesser developed country, you probably witnessed that native people, especially children, seem to [...]
Be alert, calm and vigilant to stop scammers
According to the Senate Special Committee on Aging, financial exploitation cost seniors nearly 3 billion annually. Although it is hard to obtain exact numbers because according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt only 1 in 24 cases gets reported. Since scammers are constantly changing their tactics, a comprehensive list of [...]
The Glass is More than Half Full
Over the weekend while having dinner with a couple from my church I was reminded of a truth that too often I forget. While conversing over dinner I learned that one of our guests had recently been working at a local casino as a dealer. As we ate I pelted [...]
Stay Out of the Payday-Loan Trap
You might have noticed in recent years that the prevalence of payday loan storefronts has started to wane. According to the most recent information from the Missouri Division of Finance, since 2015 approximately one-third of active payday loan businesses in the state have closed. Even better, over the past decade [...]
Developing a Good Strategy For Your RMD
In last week’s column, I discussed strategies to avoid potential capital gains taxes. I’m going to continue with the same theme, but in a slightly different way. This week l will talk about required minimum distributions (RMDs), particularly how taking them can create unwanted income tax liabilities, while not taking [...]