Saturday, August 24, 2019
It’s a scary feeling when you retire and cut the cord from your full-time job. I stared at our brokerage statements and realized my new job was investment manager. I had to make our money last so we could enjoy the rest of our lives. Several friends had recently rolled their 401k into self-directed accounts, […]
With a concerned look on his face, my friend John said, “A special assessment would be close to $5,000 per home.” My wife Jo and I live in a Del Webb community in the Phoenix suburbs. Our community is responsible for maintaining our own roads. Here is the conversation that followed: John – “Most roads […]
How’s this for a business proposition? I owe you $17,000. If you forgive my debt, I won’t use Uber or Lyft for my transportation needs. Or, how about I agree to give up texting and mobile messaging for a year in exchange for debt forgiveness? Doubt I’d get any takers. I received an email about […]
President Trump released his proposed 2018 Federal Budget. The battle lines are drawn. Expect to be inundated with articles like “The rich get richer, and the poor get…” We will quickly be fed up with class warfare, emotional bleeding hearts and hysterical politicos distorting statistics while pandering votes. The final result will be a pathetic “compromise”. Remember, […]
The sign on the booth touted a new, sophisticated computer-generated money management program. I walked inside and asked about stop losses. The young man replied, “Hold on to your stocks, the market always comes back.” I countered, “Can you guarantee it?” He pulled up a chart with some blips, concluding the market has always come […]
Which dividend stocks should you sell, and which should you keep? The stock market is setting records. Since the bank bailouts began in 2008, it’s no wonder. Interest rates dropped to historic lows, causing the stock market to soar. We recently discussed the acronym, TINA (There Is No Alternative). Investors, particularly baby boomers and retirees have few […]
When the Federal Reserve bailed out the banks, interest rates hit historic lows. Safe, good yielding fixed income investments disappeared. Investors were forced to put more of their capital at risk to earn a decent return. A recent article by Matthew Kerkhoff in the Dow Theory Letters titled, “Where Did TINA Go?” grabbed my attention. The bailouts […]
Thank you to all the readers who responded to my recent article, “Diversification, what are you trying to accomplish?” Diversification is a hedge to protect your nest egg from catastrophic risks, including desperate governments and high inflation. Readers asked for more information about my remark, “How does an investor hedge against inflation?Hold money in different currencies – […]
I thought I was clever in my early 20’s when I said to my car pool buddies, “How come there is so much month left at the end of the money?” As the month wore on, more brown paper sacks with peanut butter & jelly sandwiches appeared. Sometimes we traded snacks just like when we […]
Adults are faced with many tough decisions. Your career, education and picking a partner (or none at all) are common examples. While you may consult with experts, family and friends, some decisions you must make for yourself. The consequences of those decisions may impact the rest of YOUR life. “I’ll worry about retirement later” is […]
