Financial Planning

Lose weight. Exercise more. Save money. Take a trip. It’s that time of year again to make New Year’s Resolutions. In January, optimism is high, but by year-end, it fades.

The end of the year is quickly approaching, and what a year it’s been. The S&P 500 is up more than 25%, and unemployment is near historic lows. It’s been a great year to make some money and do some good.

The Baylor Bears are enjoying an excellent football season. They currently rank 9^th in the polls after trouncing The University of Texas. With a record of 10-1, they’re headed to the Big 12 Championship Game for the first time in school history for a rematch against Oklahoma. Hopefully, they’ll be able to avenge their gut-wrenching loss.

My Uber driver was from Afghanistan. He moved to the United States with his wife and two young children to escape the atrocities and horrors of his former country. He was an animated character.

It’s easy to fall in love with a stock, especially if you handpicked it yourself. Over the years, I’ve talked to scores of investors about their favorite stocks, and most prefer to hold on to them forever regardless of allocation or performance. If you’re emotionally attached to a company, try not to overlook several risk factors.

The Washington Nationals are going to the World Series for the first time in their history. The Nationals moved to Washington DC in 2005 from Montreal where they were the first major league baseball team in Canada. The Expos played in Montreal from 1969 to 2004. The combined franchise has had some phenomenal players like Vladimir Guerrero, Stephen Strasburg, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Pedro Martinez, Gary Carter, Jayson Werth, and Bryce Harper.

Full stop. The end. Period. No more. No Mas. I’ve noticed lately that politicians, commentators, and other public figures have been using the term “full stop.” I guess they want to punctuate their point, so the viewer or reader knows they’ve stated their position, and there will be no more discussing the issue. They’re moving on to the next item.

Interest rates are falling, and investors are starving for income. Coupon rates on U.S. Treasuries are paying less than 2% except for the 30-Year U.S. Treasury bond, which is paying 2.25%. Corporate bonds, CD’s, and tax-free bonds aren’t paying much more. The Federal Open Market Committee recently lowered interest rates by a quarter of a point, and they’ll probably do it again at their next meeting.

There’s no faster way to clear a room or make people feel uncomfortable than to talk about sex, politics, or religion. These subjects are taboo to most, and they offer no middle ground. They’re polarizing topics, and in a non-politically correct world, they’re guaranteed to upset at least half of the people in your network. However, an issue more forbidden than the big three is money.

We want certainty in an uncertain world. We want to know the weather report, and what’s for dinner, and where we’ll spend our vacation, and how our stocks will perform.