The market is volatile, interest rates are falling, inflation is rising, and the Delta Variant is surging. The Dow Jones fell 725 points on Monday, but it rebounded 549 points on Tuesday. The US 10-Year Treasury yield dipped to a recent low of 1.13%, despite the inflation rate touching 5.39%. And...
Home affordability is no longer affordable for most, especially for kids graduating from college. According to Zillow, the average home price is $293,349, up 15% from last year. In Austin, it's $600,000. My daughter will graduate with her Master of Social Work degree next May, and she wants to buy a...
Long-term interest rates are near historic lows. In 1981, rates peaked at 15.32%; today, they're 1.37% - a drop of 91%. The yield on the US 10-Year Treasury Note is currently 1.3%, and the inflation rate is 4.99%, so if you bought a bond today, your real rate of return is negative 3.69%. Negative...
Why do it today when you can do it tomorrow? Have you ever delayed starting a diet? An exercise program? Yardwork? House cleaning? The list goes on and on; we have all procrastinated about something. As Wimpy says, "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."
According to Merriam-Webster...
A friend once told me you could fix anything with the right tool. Tom was a chain-smoking retired Air Force pilot frustrated with people who tried to fix everything with a screwdriver or a hammer. He often ranted that your project will turn out looking horrible if you don't have the proper tools.
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I hate hearing stories about people dying young like Chadwick Boseman, John Candy, Gilda Radner, Pat Tilman, or Kobe Bryant. I could list hundreds of people who died early, including close friends and relatives. Of course, we will all die at some point, hopefully after a long, healthy life.
A...
As we approach Independence Day, I pondered what it means to be financially independent. Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger are still working; are they financially independent? What about Whitney Wolfe Herd or Robert Johnson or Jeff Bezos? If billionaires are still working, does it mean we need...
Do you know Theodore Johnson? He worked for UPS and never earned more than $14,000 per year, but he was worth more than $70 million when he passed! He invested consistently in UPS stock and rarely sold. In addition to his UPS stock, he retired in 1952 with $700,000 in savings.[1] He put all his...
The market dropped last week because the Federal Reserve hinted they may raise interest rates in 2023, two years from now. The Dow Jones fell about 3% as the topic of rising interest rates covered the airwaves. The Federal Reserve also published their dot plot chart, a chart of where their members...
My family donates money through tithes and offerings, so I incorporated the practice into my business model when I started my investment firm. Giving is not a budget item because contributions come from the top - 10% of our firm revenue. At the end of each quarter, my wife and I sit down to pray...
The Wall Street Journal recently published a good article about rebalancing your investment portfolio. (Portfolio Rebalancing Is A Good Retirement Habit, June 4, 2021). Rebalancing is a simple yet powerful strategy for managing your accounts, whether you're retired or not. Additionally, it's a risk...