One advantage to having my own personal finance column is it gives me an excuse to research anything that interests me. This holiday season I found myself thinking about gift cards. My wife tells me they are impersonal and don’t show a lot of thought or planning. However, it turns out that gift cards are …View Article
Category: That’s Interesting
That’s Interesting
Shopping Malls: Will They Become Extinct?
The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, is famous for saying, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” The same analogy can be used with investors (minus the hockey puck). We want to invest in the industries and trends that are going to …View Article
Midlife Crisis: Myths, Misconceptions, and Insights
My wife has warned me that she will not take it well if I have a midlife crisis. I find this funny because having one had never even occurred to me. In fact, I am becoming more content with my life as I get older. This week I read a few articles on the topic …View Article
Paradox of Plenty – Too Much of a Good Thing?
This week we celebrate Independence Day and our good fortune to live in a society where we get to make our own decisions. Possibly our most fundamental belief is that the freedom to choose makes people happy. The more affluent we become, the more freedom/choices we have available to us and, in theory, the happier …View Article
Royal Wedding Costs vs Average Wedding Costs
I usually try to write articles that enable readers to make better financial decisions. Today’s article about wedding costs is going to be the exception. The value of this post is simply to give you something to gossip about with your friends. After all, what is life without a bit of gossip? Prince Harry and …View Article
What Will You Remember from 2018?
Do you remember the first concert you attended? I do. The Tubes in 1983. I also remember just about every other concert. It’s interesting the things we remember and which ones we forget. If you read my weekly column, you know I am a big proponent of spending money on experiences instead of “stuff.” Yet …View Article
Trump, Tariffs, and Trade Wars
A few weeks ago, I was talking to one of my lawyer friends. He told me there are two types of lawyers: Those who try to find a reasonable and practical solution to a given dispute, and Those who employ a “scorched earth” negotiation philosophy. I think the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports announced …View Article
Is the Economy Doing Too Well?
Is there such a thing as too much good economic news? That sounds counterintuitive. After all, don’t we want low unemployment, high corporate earnings, and strong real estate and stock markets? Of course we do. However, when it comes to the economy, too much success leads to inflation. Inflation is bad (an oversimplification, but let’s …View Article
2018 New Year’s Resolutions: 3 Tips
Each year, Fidelity Investments conducts a Financial New Year’s Resolutions survey. The most interesting finding this year is that the percentage of people making financial resolutions is at an all-time low. Only 27% of respondents planned to make a financial resolution, down significantly from 43% just four years ago. It appears that people are feeling …View Article
Economic Predictions 2018: Don’t Believe Them
It is just human nature. We want someone to tell us what’s going to happen in the coming year. And we want that person to say it with conviction. The surer someone is of his or her forecast, the more interesting and believable it becomes. There is no better way for a financial advisor (like …View Article