Cash may no longer be king
Last week my family and I went on a summer vacation. While traveling I was amazed to discover just how many merchants no longer accept cash as a form of payment. This transition to a cashless society has been coming for a while but the pandemic certainly sped the whole [...]
Plea for Reasoned Voting
Today I write an unusual column. I always try to provide you information and opinion to help you make your money work harder, protect you from loss, or be reassured that wise decisions will bear good fruit in the long term. Today I unashamedly ask you to vote for the [...]
The Broken Clock Recession?
It’s been about 15 years now since we had our last true recession. Last year nearly everyone, including yours truly, expected a recession to take hold by spring of this year. As it goes with most things with the stock market, when most people expect something, it usually does the [...]
Ignorance is bliss……until it’s not.
Sometimes I get accused of beating up on young people too much. Particularly when it comes to their views on financial matters. However, a recent study conducted by Northwestern Mutual gives at least a little justification for my attacks on them. According to the survey, among all generations polled, Gen [...]
Changing your focus from Gains to Losses
In behavioral psychology there is a principle called risk aversion theory. The concept states the human mind has a naturally tendency to feel the pain of losses more than the pleasure of gains. For many investors who saw their accounts drop by more than 20% in 2022 they are probably [...]
OceanGate submarine tragedy serves as a window into our culture
If you are anything like me, you found the recent story of the submarine that disappeared in the Atlantic while touring the wreckage of the Titanic both fascinating and disturbing. As the rescue efforts continued it was hard for me to even imagine what these passengers might be experiencing if [...]
Stages of Retirement
Life has various stages. Your plan needs to take them into account. If there is one thing, I have learned in my over 40 trips around the sun it is that life never happens in a straight line. Markets don’t just go up at a consistent 7% a year, last [...]
Is this Time Different?
With almost a half year of 2023 passed already, let’s take stock of the US financial situation to see whether Mr. Market knows more than the experts and whether the current positive returns can be sustainable through year end. It is usually quite dangerous when anyone opines, This time is [...]
Heads Corporations Win, Tails We Lose
For most of the year one of the hot topics of conversation around the water cooler has been do the Royals need a new baseball stadium? If so, where should it be built? While I certainly have opinions on this topic. It will not be the subject of this article. [...]
Remember and What?
Monday was our national holiday dedicated to remember and honor those who have given their very lives on our behalf. In recent years, we have perhaps also spent more personal attention to memories of our non-military ancestors with regard to the legacy which they gave to us. That seems appropriate [...]