Look at health savings account options by Aaron Pickert
Health savings accounts (HSA) have become very popular in the last few years. An HSA account is defined as a tax‐advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers in the United States who are enrolled in a high‐deductible health plan (HDHP). The money contributed to this account is not subject to [...]
Know the ups, downs of bonds by Ron Finke
Last week’s column was a primer on Bonds. Now let’s take a closer look at how one can lose money owning bonds when interest rates rise. Aren’t bonds supposed to be safer than stocks? First, what does the term “safe” mean? Most people equate financial risk or safety with stability [...]
Are bonds the best option? by Ron Finke
Investors talk about bonds as a financial holding and most own some. But I find few people really understand them. Why are they are considered safer than stocks? Why at times might they not be as safe as thought?Within the investment realm, one can only choose among four basic [...]
Financial parenting is a balancing act by Luke Davis
As a father of boys ages 5 and 1, I am the first to admit, I’m no parenting expert. In fact, there are days when I feel like a total parenting failure. But, I do my best, and seek wise counsel when possible. Since parenting is being discussed in my [...]
Ron Finke: Where best to invest in the year ahead?
Let’s take quick inventory of 2017 investing, then discuss what makes sense in this stage of the current strong bull market. Here are some calendar year results by major indexes and sectors: NASDAQ 100 9% Dow Jones Ind. 1% S&P [...]
Aaron Pickert: Many positive factors heading into the new year
Everyone loves a good forecast. Problem is they are hard to come by -- good forecasts. Like the broken clock, they are likely to be right twice a day. In reality, a positive market forecast has about a 70 percent chance of being right on the overall direction. In most [...]
Luke Davis: The legacy of Ebenezer Scrooge revisited
As most people do, during the Christmas season, I sat down with my family and watched a Christmas Carol this past weekend. Despite the fact that I have heard the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge dozens of times before, for some reason, this year my interpretation of how Charles Dickens characterized [...]
Ron Finke: Is this a bubble? A closer look.
Through last Friday’s markets close, the stock indexes have already had a great year. Dow, up 26; S&P 500, up 20; NASDAQ 100, up 31 percentages. Yes, we may still be only a Tweet away from disaster, but Mr. Market obviously has liked the change in business climate. Other [...]
Aaron Pickert: Is $1 million enough for retirement? Probably not.
If you have ever seen the Austin Powers movies, it is hard to get the image of Mike Myers as Dr. Evil holding the world ransom for 1 million dollars out of your mind. The comedic punchline is that he’s been out of the loop since the 1960’s, back when [...]
A Debt Free Christmas
It’s that time again. Even though it comes consistently at the same time every year, Christmas somehow always seems to sneak up on us. We say that next year we will save money throughout the year to reduce the burden of all the additional expenses related to the holiday, yet [...]