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Random musings about money, markets, and more.

 

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

$0.00 - How Long Would You Last? Personal Finance Gut Check: How many $0.00 paychecks (or no check at all) could you receive before it would begin to hurt? This is a reality for many workers right now with the longest government...

 

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Goal Setting for 2019 - How’s It Going? Wow, the gym’s been packed the past two weeks. I know in a few weeks only a fraction of these people striving to get in shape in the New Year will be left. Why? Well, it’s often...

 

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Building Your Personal Wealth Management Team As much as I would love to be all things for all people, there are times when I seek the counsel of other professionals to assist with more complex situations that might arise in my...

 

Monday, January 7, 2019

I remember being a kid and reading the book “Stone Soup”. The book was about a traveler who came to a village and put a stone in a pot of water because he was hungry. He told people he was making stone soup, and they could...

 

Monday, January 7, 2019

With garbage cans in national parks overflowing and national museum, monument, and historic home doors shuttered, the government shutdown is beginning to impact American lives. There are approximately 800,000 federal workers furloughed...

 

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Wednesday, December 19, 2018

401(k) Retirement Savings Level to Increase in 2019 Retirement may last for decades and having enough money to last that long is a concern of many investors. Good news: in 2019 you can put away more than ever before in your 401(k) or...

 

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

At this time of year, there is a large amount of extra “stuff” thrown out. In an effort to help the environment, here are some tips as to what might be recycled this holiday season: Paper and flattened cardboard Metal cans...

 

Friday, December 14, 2018

Don’t Let Grinches Steal Your Holiday Joy - Be Alert to Scams and Thieves It may be the season of goodwill and giving, but this is also the season where fraudsters and thieves may up their games. Be vigilant. *When out shopping,...

 

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Giving the Gift of Experiences The holidays can be a really hectic time of rushing to buy gifts for ever-growing lists as families expand due to weddings and births. It can be next to impossible to get the right size, color, or item...

 

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Bus BFFs: We Can Learn a Lot from Kids As many of you know, my favorite day of the year was last Thursday, December 6. It was the day for our 10th annual “Smile Bus” trip to NYC and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Show...

 

Monday, December 10, 2018

TWEET AND RETREAT…LET’S HOPE THERE’S NO REPEAT When Trump tweets, the market retreats…or so it seemed last week. The S&P 500 entered negative territory for the year, tamped down by fears of a US/China trade...

 

Friday, November 30, 2018

Don’t “After the Holidays” Your Portfolio if It Needs Help Now This time of year is busy. I get it. With social activities, shopping, planning, eating and eating some more, holiday guests, presents to wrap, and...

 

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Holiday Debt or a Happy New Year? Opting for the “instant gratification” of purchasing items on credit can be a costly decision if the balance is not paid off when the statement comes each month. For example: You purchase...

 

Monday, November 26, 2018

Thanksgiving: A Lifestyle Choice? Every year it seems that Thanksgiving becomes a bit more “squished”. The Halloween candy gets put away in favor of large displays of red and green merchandise. Stores which once were closed...

 

Friday, November 16, 2018

How Can I Learn More About A Financial Advisor? Visiting a financial advisor’s website can assist you toward learning about a financial advisor’s bio including their experience, education, and business focus. Meeting with...

 

Thursday, November 15, 2018

62 or 70? Does it Matter? It can be tempting to claim Social Security benefits as early as possible at age 62. But working even a few years longer can help to enhance Social Security income when the worker decides not to file for...

 

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Help Protect Your Financial Accounts Technology is a great thing in many respects. You can conveniently check and send email, transfer money, deposit checks to your bank, make purchases, pay bills, and do so many other things online....

 

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Thank You, Veterans! I was out of the office and away from social media on Veteran’s Day. I didn’t want the occasion to pass by without a comment, because I am so very grateful to our military men and women for all they...

 

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Halloween and Midterm Elections are Over - What’s Next? Halloween and the midterm elections are now over. Now we’re focused on pumpkin pies and evergreen wreaths. But, what’s coming after that? Mud season? Why, yes,...

 

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Over the weekend, a colleague of mine’s son who is an infantry mortarman in the New York National Guard unfurled the flag with other military members at the Buffalo Bills game. It was very moving to see pictures and a video of...

 

Monday, November 5, 2018

TIME FLIES - ARE YOU USING IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE? I cannot believe it is already November! Where did 2018 go? The months have sped by! Alas, so do the years. On Saturday, I read a reading to a packed congregation at my oldest...

 

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Is It Time to Dust Off Your Risk Tolerance Questionnaire? During first meetings and conversations with financial advisors, investors generally discuss 3 key things: their goals, their time horizon to work toward those goals, and their...

 

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Building Bridges: Bringing Back A Sense of Community in the World I grew up in a small town where everyone pretty much knew everyone else. You didn’t dare do “stupid things” because your parents would know even before...

 

Friday, October 26, 2018

Write Me a Prescription, Doc Sometimes clients like to joke around when they call and recently, in the midst of a particularly choppy market session, a client called and said, “My portfolio might be coming down with a little...

 

Thursday, October 25, 2018

5 Ways for Market “Rough Riders” to Prevent Saddle Sores Before he became president, Teddy Roosevelt was part of a volunteer cavalry known as the “Rough Riders”. I often think of that name when the stock market...

 

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

What is the Sizzle in Your Steak, Todd? A colleague of mine recently attended a networking luncheon where people were introducing themselves and describing their businesses. No matter what the business, it seemed everyone said they...

 

Monday, October 22, 2018

Year End Is Approaching: Financial Management Activities to Consider Now This year flew by. Many of us were just getting around to starting our 2018 New Year’s resolutions and now it is almost time to make them again! There are a...

 

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Record-Setting Lotteries Encourage Big Dreams (A Financial Advisor Can Help Prevent Nightmares) A co-worker of mine joked today that the lottery drawing tonight was over $650 million and this might be her last day in the office. When I...

 

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Don’t Be “Chicken Little” - The Sky May Not be Falling When the financial markets become volatile, it might seem, as a knee-jerk reaction, that getting out of the market might be the right thing to do. It is not...

 

Thursday, October 11, 2018

Things Are Going Well, Why Should I Call a Financial Advisor? I previously wrote about the personal financial “red flags” of “I’m all set” and “He’s a nice guy” (referring to an advisor...

 

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

20 Random Acts of Kindness Over the weekend, there was a horrific accident in our region involving a limousine and 20 people lost their lives both in the limo and in a parking lot where they were hit. It has sent shockwaves through...

 

Friday, October 5, 2018

“Bother” Me! I love to hear from my clients. I don’t love when anyone starts the conversation with, “Sorry to bother you.” “Bother” me! It’s not a “bother” to answer questions...

 

Monday, October 1, 2018

Have You Been Lulled? With new highs on the S&P500 and the DJIA, it can be easy to become complacent. After all, we have had a bull market now for quite some time. Of course, we have to remember that it was not all an upswing - there...

 

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Introduce Your Advisor to Your Adult Children It may be sometimes difficult to recognize our children who are done with college, out working, and living on their own as adults. It might be a first instinct to seek to help young adults...

 

Monday, September 24, 2018

The 3 Word Personal Financial “Red Flag” I’ve been in the financial industry since I graduated from college in 1987. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the phrase “I’m all set”, I myself would...

 

Thursday, September 20, 2018

We All have a Santa Inside: Let Him Out! Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus - and it is each one of us. Not just in December, but all year through, we should look to keep the spirit of “Santa Claus” alive in our...

 

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Were You Aware: It’s Life Insurance Awareness Month September is more than half over and perhaps a “round to it” is needed. One of the reasons people don’t have insurance is because they don’t get “a...

 

Monday, September 17, 2018

Let’s Talk About Cents, Baby When entering a serious relationship, there are so many things to know besides favorite color and favorite food. There are important things like taste in music and whether you root for the same sports...

 

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Employee Retention Strategy Deadline Approaching Nov 1 Small Business Owners: Employee Retention Strategy Deadline Approaching Nov 1 Did you know that November 1, 2018 is the last day that business owners can convert SIMPLE IRAs to...

 

Monday, September 10, 2018

5 Ways to Screw Up Your Finances By Not Scheduling an Appointment - Someday never seems to become “today”. If you have been meaning to call a financial advisor, get around to it. Make it happen by marking it on your...

 

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Life is challenging enough - why complicate matters when you don’t have to? Here are 5 quick ways you can make financial management easier: Email - Give your financial advisor your email address. Having an email address can...

 

Thursday, August 30, 2018

When I Die, The Dog Gets Everything My dog, Jeter (as in Derek), is nearly 14 years old. He’s one of those small poodle mixes that don’t shed. My youngest daughter just turned 16, so you can imagine that it would be hard...

 

Monday, August 27, 2018

5 Ways to Be Less Stressed as the Kids Go Back to School My kids are still in school: college and high school. I dread the supplies list as it grows more extensively every year. From college textbooks to clickers to graphic calculators...

 

Thursday, August 23, 2018

The summer is county and state fair season. As we rush past the various barns and buildings with our cotton candy and fried dough, we glimpse the numerous contests going on in the show rings. To the uninitiated, it can be hard to tell...

 

Thursday, August 23, 2018

I begin “most” days by working out. I try and do planks – on my forearms for a minute, to the right for a minute, to the left for a minute. Anyone who says that time flies has never planked! It’s not easy. My...