Quick: What’s the biggest source of debt in the U.S.? If you answered “mortgages,” you’d be right. But that’s almost too obvious. What comes next? Cars? No, that’s third. Credit cards? Not even close. Medical bills? Someday, maybe. It’s student loans – the bankruptcy-proof ones you can never get out of until they are all […]
Despite all the hype about the benefits of tax reform at the federal level, wage earners across America have learned to take the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 with a grain of SALT. In this case, SALT is an acronym for “state and local taxes.” Until January 1, 2018, these were deductible, to […]
Utility company stocks, as you’re probably aware, are considered among Wall Street’s safest bets. In return for agreeing to be highly regulated to the point where they’re practically in the public sector, the issuers are granted monopolies from the states, which virtually guarantee them a profit. It’s a small profit, but a steady one. If […]
If you collect inspirational, empowering quotes, then you’ve already heard this one a million times: “I skate to where the puck is going to be,” hockey legend Wayne Gretzky once said, “not where it has been.” At the time of this writing, it’s a hundred degrees outside in most cities with a National Hockey League […]
WOW – August already! Where has the summer gone? I can’t believe that it is time for school and college to get cranked up again in a matter of weeks. I personally have two going back to college this year. They are both attending Baylor, as I did, and it is great to be able […]
I’m sure most of you are glad the tax filing deadline has come and gone, although I suspect there are plenty of you that have postponed the inevitable with an extension. Either way, just getting through the April deadline seems to remove much of the anxiety surrounding taxes in general and can allow us to […]
2016 Recap 2016 is set to go down as one of the most eventful years for investors since the global financial crisis. It was a crazy ride, and the surprises came from everywhere. The vote in the UK – the “Brexit” – shocked the world, as did the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, when […]
Some time ago, one of my colleagues wrote a three-part white paper on how emotions can affect our decision-making processes. How it is next to impossible to remove the emotional bias from everyday decisions when it comes to finances. There was much discussion about how our brains process information and the paper even described the […]
The old clunker sitting in the driveway is on its last leg, and you are trying to decide what’s next. You always see those commercials with the nice shiny brand new cars and the payments advertised seem reasonable until you realize most of them are for a lease. So, you are wondering if it makes […]
Since we are constantly being bombarded with what the Fed may do this month or next, I thought it might be a good idea to look at some history on how we got to this place with a specific eye on the Fed’s 2% target inflation rate. Arguing in favor of a hike is the […]