If you have children, you probably answered a million what-if questions. What if the sky falls? What if dogs talked? What if I wear my clothes backward? What if I eat my soup with a fork? What if I become a horse?
What if?
Investors are asking quite a few what-if questions because of the...
It is a tough time to be an investor. The political, social, and racial environment is troubling. Despite the stellar long-term performance of the stock market, investors are nervous about committing capital to stocks. If you’re frightened to invest, consider a monthly dollar-cost averaging program...
It has been a brutal, exhausting year, and people are hurting. COVID-19 and the racial tension has cast a pall on 2020, and people are living with heavy hearts. As a result of the economic, political, and social turmoil, small charities are in a pinch. Local nonprofits are on the ground in your...
Less than three and a half percent of Certified Financial Planners™ are African American or Latinos. I was shocked, but not surprised, by the data as I read the 2017 Racial Diversity in Financial Planning report from the Center for Financial Planning.[1] At the time of the report, there were 80,000...
Growing up in Southern California, fruit trees were everywhere. It seemed like orange, lemon, and avocado trees were on every corner. My backyard had two huge trees – one orange and one lemon that repeatedly produced fruit. My grandfather owned a citrus ranch with thousands of trees.
Fruit trees...
The NASDAQ, Dow Jones, and S&P 500 are posting positive returns over the past year, and the NASDAQ is up more than 9% for the year. These leading indices were down more than 30% less than three months ago as investors reacted to the COVID-19 virus. Since the virus outbreak, our country has...
Jerry Sloan, the legendary coach of the Utah Jazz, recently passed away. Mr. Sloan had a stellar career as a player and a coach. As a player, he was twice an all-star, and his number was retired by the Chicago Bulls. In 2009, he was enshrined in the NBA hall of fame for his coaching ability. He...
Zero Dark Thirty is a thriller about the global pursuit of Osama Bin Laden. A CIA operative determines he is living in a compound in Pakistan, but few believe her analysis, until the meeting scene. During this scene, the power players assess the likelihood that Bin Laden is living at the compound...
My wife and daughter own Fitbits. I didn’t want to be left out, so I bought one too. The main reason for getting our Fitbits is our healthcare plan will give us points we can use to purchase gift cards. Of course, we want to get fit, but our real motivation is to rack up the points.
My Fitbit...
After the Great Recession, a friend asked me if diversification still made sense. He followed up with another question before I could answer. He asked, “If my assets are diversified, how come I’m losing money?” I said diversification still works, but it doesn’t protect you against a loss...
Cash is wonderful. Simple. Humble. It never boasts when times are good, nor complains when times are tough. Cash is an asset like stocks or bonds or real estate, but it doesn’t get any respect – like Rodney Dangerfield, but it should, particularly when the stock market and economy are struggling.
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