BREATHE IN; LET IT GO Release that anxiety that has built up over multiple days of market declines. The sun will come out tomorrow or soon. Ten days ago I starting writing a blog that asked the question, “How do you think we did in 2015?” Before I had a chance to put it up 2016 had …
I’m often caught up by words or phrases in popular songs and think they would be a good theme for a blog. Michael Jackson’s “MAN IN THE MIRROR” lyrics are an example. Although I don’t connect with all the lyrics, the following verse certainly resonates with me; “I’m starting with the man in the mirror, I’m …
Financial Planner or …? When I started working with clients a little more than 25 years ago I was a Financial Planner(FP) working through IDS Financial Services, helping clients understand the steps they could take to accomplish their life goals. Naturally life goals require some amount of money and for most of us money is …
And so How Are We Doing… As of June 29th, 2015? Richer than yesterday or poorer? The stock markets were generally down. The S&P 500 lost about 2%. So our financial wealth is probably a little lower. Perhaps we had gains in other aspects of our life: met a new friend, helped someone who was …
The Wonderment of Life Neil Diamond sings “Done Too Soon,” a song about life. He lists several people–good and bad, ethical and criminal, some from the past century and some who lived much longer ago. Some who mostly gave and some who mostly took. Some died young and some were very old. But they all …
Some Things are Simple but Not Easy So what are we talking about today? Number 1, that’s YOU. Taking care of yourself happens when you do the right things. Most of them are simple and easy. I’ll give you a list of these at some point. Some are only simple, and not so easy. I’ll give …
Monitor From Day 1 Occasionally I will meet someone who is distraught over their situation and admits they have done little to keep track of what their advisors have done over the last several years. Not good for them or their advisors. Trust but verify works well. Rarely if ever do I take action on …
What Do You Protect? Living in Balance means being able to enjoy today and still taking steps now to be able to enjoy your future. Enjoying today comes from some basics. Having something to do, being loved, and having someone to love are paramount. Also high on the list is feeling secure. How can you …
Three Simple Tips for Investing Wisely Your planning, goal setting and focus on a balanced life can result in you having money to invest. Mostly for long term goals like retirement, children’s education, a vacation home or others. Now comes the fun part. Making wise investment choices consistently and over a longer time period. It …
Know Thyself Living within your means makes so much sense and seems so simple. But how many of us struggle with this issue? To live within our income requires us to know how much we make that we actually have control over (our discretionary income). We don’t get to choose whether to pay federal and state …