Steady self-improvement over time
If you’re on Facebook right now then you’ve probably seen people participating in the “profile pic challenge”. The way it works is you’re challenged to post your first ever profile picture side by side with your current one to show how much you have changed over that time. However, a [...]
Looking back, looking ahead
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards, observed Soren Kirkegaard, 19th Century Danish philosopher. Therefore, we must examine at least briefly what occurred during 2018 in the worldwide financial markets. As noted in prior columns, probabilities were high that it would produce a stock market [...]
Putting experience ahead of just more stuff
My entire life I heard “money can’t buy happiness”. I think the statement should be “money can’t buy contentment, satisfaction, peace of mind, love, or any of those other wonderful, non-tangibles that are important for a healthy life. But, I do believe money can buy amazing memories sprinkled with happiness [...]
When we least expect it
I may not have harped on the subject lately or you might have become a more recent reader of this column, but today—short and sweet—I am explaining why investors should be surprisingly hopeful and positive about the stock market in the next 12 -14 months. Long time readers can recite [...]
Fear can cause irrational behavior
A core belief I have when attempting to understand and explain human behavior is that we are all basically driven by the fear of not being enough, and the fear of not having enough. I’ve discussed many times how one’s fear of not being enough can often lead people [...]
Giving Thanks
Wow, what a year this has been! I traditionally fill this space at Thanksgiving time with the same sort of thoughts you will see today. I will not dwell on the fact that it seems the last celebration was about six months ago, but that is just my relative age [...]
Voters vote, and markets react
Were the mid-term election results good for the market? Warren Buffett once said, “if you mix politics and investing you’re making a big mistake.” But with last week’s midterm elections and the subsequent market reaction, I can’t help by comment a little. Anyone who knows me knows I am a [...]
Swarming Sharks
Recent volatility in the stock market and abnormally low interest rates at your bank have brought the financial sharks back to the surface. There are always plenty of sharks swarming in to offer their bait whenever people have a high desire, fear, or need for something. Let’s go over some [...]
Attempting To Eliminate Market Risk Can Be Very Risky
About a month ago I wrote a column about how some financial product marketers use fear to sell their products. While I chose to focus that article on the dangers of signing up for a reverse mortgage, there are other financial products I would also advise people to avoid in [...]
The lottery isn’t the answer
Last night the Mega Millions drawing worth an approximate 1.6 billion (yes billion with a B) was held. I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the subject and thought it would make an excellent article topic. Like in many other workplaces, what we would do if we won, has been [...]