Getting your Ducks Lined Up. - The average American consumer has 5.3 accounts across all types of financial institutions. Some have more than 20, and some might only have 2-accounts. But with each successive account, how does one go about tracking them all? Do you know the exact balance of your checking, savings, mortgage, credit cards, and car loan off the …
Exciting Times for Boring Stuff - Exciting Times for Boring Stuff Talk about an oxymoronic headline! Why is it that cash, bonds, treasury bills, and CD’s are getting more attention today than they’ve garnered over the past 15-years? It’s because those fixed income investments, or instruments, are now paying upwards of 5% interest! The last time banks were paying this much …
10 Year-end Planning Ideas - With all the uncertainty in the markets, a negative political environment, a sour international outlook, and the ever present attack of inflation eroding your purchasing power, I thought it would be a good time to focus on the things we can control. Being proactive almost always has its advantages and I wanted to offer a …
Inclement Weather and Finance - Dark clouds, brutal gusts of wind, white caps, flash floods, and pelting rain…it’s all in a day on the lake. This particular year however, it’s been occurring a lot more frequently on the Colorado River that runs right through the Mojave Desert. And our little escape to the lake, is right in the middle of …
Percentage vs. Dollars vs. Points…How do you measure up? - Is there something that frustrates you to no end every time you hear it? There is for me. I get frustrated when radio and media commentators report on stock market indexes. You know the three favorites: The Dow, The S&P 500, and the NASDAQ. What do they report? They tell you how many points up …Percentage vs. Dollars vs. Points…How do you measure up? Read More »
One Day Up, Next Day Down…Trying to Find a Direction - Today was a bad day in the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,164 points, which is 3.6%. The Nasdaq Composite index dropped 4.7%. These are some of the biggest daily drops since June of 2020. By contrast, the Dow surged 2.8%, while the Nasdaq rose 3.2% only 14-days ago, on May 4th. To …One Day Up, Next Day Down…Trying to Find a Direction Read More »
Inverted Yield Curve + Inflation = Stay the Course - Recently the yield curve inverted for the first time since August 2019 (which means that long-term interest rates have dropped below short-term rates). Why do we pay attention to this? Because this inversion suggests that investors believe the near-term economy and markets to be riskier than the long-term. This recent inversion in the yield curve …Inverted Yield Curve + Inflation = Stay the Course Read More »
Keeping up March Madness…into April - I probably don’t need to restate the impact that current global events and economic policy changes are causing. I’m also certain that not only have you been receiving non-stop coverage from your own news outlets, but you’ve been feeling the effects of these economic changes in your pocket book as well. It is at these …
Take Action or Don’t; It’s Your Choice - On a personal level, I am a planner. On a professional level, I am a Certified Financial Planner. I prepare (and plan) for what I believe is coming, monitor the situation as a participant, and have a contingency plan to fall back upon if my primary objective(s) cannot be accomplished. To some, I over think, …