Over the weekend, a relative asked, “Are we in a bear market?” I answered his question with, “What do you think a bear market is?” He rattled off a few comments about the economy, and the market being down...
Job numbers were released earlier this month, and it was another month, 92 consecutive months to be exact, of positive job creation in the U.S. economy…hip, hip, hooray! The good news is that unemployment is down to a near-record...
You’ve seen the headlines, you’ve heard the talking heads, you likely have negative feelings when you see the term blasted across the front page of the business periodicals. Markets have been swinging wildly in 2018. Things started off great...
How much can retirees withdraw from their nest egg each year? This is a question that many thought was answered by the 4% rule, first articulated by Bill Bengan in 1994. Bengan is a retired financial planner from Southern...
U.S. stocks are cresting to all-time highs, almost daily. These are the times when investors look forward to opening their monthly statement. The anticipation is high, you open the envelope (or electronic statement) and wow, is that right? Shouldn’t...
It sure seems like we’ve had our fair share of investment volatility of this century. There have been two major market disruptions; The Dotcom bubble in 2000, where the Nasdaq composite lost 78% of its value, followed by the...
Inflation since 2008 has been very low. The average since 2008 is a paltry 1.48%. The numbers annually are as follows: Year Rate of inflation 2008 .1% 2009 2.7% 2010 1.5% 2011 3.0% 2012 1.7% 2013 1.5% 2014 .8%...
Not if, but when. Bear Markets are part of investing in the stock market. This is a fact, you must know to be ready for the worst. It helps you prepare mentally. These events should not be a surprise,...
Many people have heard about reverse mortgages. They are hyped on TV, radio, magazines and many brokers recommend them aggressively. As a financial planners we have considered them as a possible solution for those who are concerned about outliving...
Perhaps the single most important factor in reducing financial stress is managing cash flow. In their book The Millionaire Next Door, Dr. Thomas Stanley and William Danko explained this financial principal as “I make plenty of money but there...