All-Time Highs…A Cause For Concern?
The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high of 2,198.18 yesterday, November 21, 2016. As I write this post, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading over 19,000 for the first time in its history. In fact, the last time all the major domestic stock market indices (S&P 500; DJIA; Russell 2000; and Nasdaq) closed at […]
Rising Corporate Earnings (A Cause for Optimism)
One simple — yet powerful — measurement of stock market health is to assess whether companies are making more money today than they were one year ago. There are currently about 4,000 publicly-traded companies in the U.S. The Leuthold Group (a Minneapolis-based research and investment firm) compiles the earnings data for all 4,000 of those […]
The Power of Compounding
Everyone knows about the power of compounding, right? Many people have a surface-level knowledge of the concept of compounding, but they likely do not think often enough (or deeply enough) about putting the power of compounding to work in their own life. Therefore, the power of compounding is a concept that is well-served by ongoing, […]
Election Results
Election season has become a trying time for many people in our country. I can certainly appreciate the sentiment. The depth to which people’s character seems to dive is shocking and extremely disappointing. It certainly seems that we have moved away from common sense and articulate debates as it relates to issues the government should […]
Fun With Inflation
The Federal Government likes to tell us what “inflation” is on a regular basis. The inflation number is widely debated, and for good reason. Often times the math doesn’t quite line up with the stated inflation percentage. Over the past 50 years, the printed inflation number from the government has typically ranged from 2.75% – 3.75% (when […]
10 Great Ways to Spend Some Money
You’re probably thinking this post is some kind of joke. But really, I’m here to talk about great ways to spend some money. Not ways to spend less, and not ways to save more. Just some high-quality uses of those greenbacks in your wallet. 1. Vacations (i.e. Experiences) With the growing footprint of VRBO (Vacation Rentals By […]
Making Money ≠ Having Money
Oftentimes, I hear people talk about how so-and-so has a lot of money. What they really mean is that so-and-so spends a lot of money. Or, perhaps a better phrasing would be that so-and-so wants to look like they have a lot of money. However, research consistently shows that one of the strongest ongoing traits in America’s millionaires is simple frugality: […]
What are Stocks Going to do After the Election?
Ah, market timing. The holy grail of investing, right? If I can see the next big crash coming, I can avoid steep losses and thereby grow even wealthier. It sounds great, but it really is a fool’s errand. A handful of clients have recently asked for our prediction of what stocks will do following this election. […]
Beating the College Debt Trap
Our daughter Evelyn was born in June 2015, and we just had our second child, Ford, a couple of weeks ago. What better time to start planning for kids’ college than when you have two children under the age of 2? Naturally, as a financial planner, I have already been contributing to accounts for the […]
Habits of the Affluent
Growing up, I thought there was some magic formula to building wealth. There had to be a secret sauce. I wondered if I had the “It Factor” necessary to become affluent. Today, I know there really is no secret sauce. It’s about hard work and consistent behaviors. As you have probably heard us say in our […]
