Life – TGIF 2 Minutes with Kerrie Debbs, CFP

Let the Good Times Roll

Excerpts from the February 2018 Archives of TGIF 2 Minutes…

“Let the good times roll.” I am partial to this expression because my Dad used to say it a lot either as a toast or statement when things were going well. Looking overall at the last few years’ markets, current economy and lives and businesses of clients, the expression definitely applies.

design desk display eyewear — **During good times, how extensively you plan and from whom you get your advice can greatly lessen overall worry.**

But of course, there will always be something to worry about. Always.

How long will these positive markets last?
Will my portfolio continue to gain in value? How can I best preserve all this wealth I have created?
How long will these economic and business conditions continue to contribute to my personal and business success?
Will the risks I have taken in the past few years (that have paid off) continue to yield positive results?

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A Free Lunch?

Is there such a thing as a “Free Lunch”? Developments this week tested the concept.

News broke this past Tuesday that Charles Schwab, followed by TD Ameritrade and E-Trade, would drop their stock, ETF and options trading commission charges. That means free, $0 trades.

woman using smartphone — Millennials have been demanding cheaper prices and “value” for their purchases since they could pick up a cell phone or iPad.

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Year-End Tax Planning Tips

Excerpts from the TGIF 2 Minutes Archives:

The beginning of October means we are in the 4th Quarter… and the countdown begins to year-end. The following are excerpts from the Year-End Tax Planning Checklist.* Several of these items, if addressed now, could make a big difference to your 2019 tax filing AND add to your savings.

variety of pumpkins — ***The beginning of October means we are in the 4th Quarter… and the countdown begins to year-end.***

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Quick Real Estate Thoughts

There have been lots of trends (mostly good) in real estate this year.

Existing home sales have been mostly UP and exceeding expectations
New home sales are near a 12-year high
Interestingly, a statistic that can be seen as mostly positive (for certain suburbs) but partly negative (for certain major cities) is that the Millennials who are between the ages of 25 and 39 have shown interest in moving OUT of several major cities.

river in between buildings — According to a recent piece of news, the list of cities losing Millennials and those specifically between ages 35 and 39 include first-tier locations like Chicago.

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The Cost of College

College is expensive. As with all expensive things, planning and talking through plans – even hopes and dreams – can make the situation more affordable in the long run.

Case in point: paying for college. Back in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s when a lot of the people reading this note went to college, college was mostly affordable depending on the choice of schools. The most expensive colleges and universities cost less than $15,000 or $20,000 per year (definitely, in the 1960’s and 1970’s). Although families still struggled to pay the cost for college in lots of cases.

person writing debt on paper — Talk with your kids about debt and its implications well before they start college.

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Waiting Out the Storm (Not Dorian)

As pockets of US East Coasters sit working and waiting out the nearly inevitable temporary loss of power due to Hurricane Dorian, I cannot help but partially relate this “wait” to a comment made recently by one of the Federal Reserve Bank Presidents. Back in August Robert Kaplan said the following about US trade policy and the markets,

FedReserve

“When you have this amount of uncertainty and this frequency of changes, my reaction as a businessperson is not to speed up – it’s actually a little bit to slow down the cadence of it and maybe take a little bit more time.”* Continue reading “Waiting Out the Storm (Not Dorian)”

Category: Life