Category: Life

The 4 Quadrants of Saving

What are you saving your money for??  Or maybe I should take a step back and ask, ARE you saving?
Saving
Life is a lot easier with savings in the bank (no ####, Sherlock).  However, the act of getting around to saving money may be one of the hardest tasks to achieve in life.  It can help first to figure out for what — and when and with whom — would we even save in the first place?  Accumulating savings can be much more attainable after asking yourself these questions.  From here, a “savings plan” can begin to form.

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What Jordan Spieth Can Teach Us About Investing

For the non-golfers you may ask, “Who is Jordan Spieth?”  But like Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter, Jordan Spieth is one of those characters who nearly everyone now knows, golfer or not…sports fan or not.

JordanSpieth

Jordan Spieth is, of course, the 23-year old professional golfer who is nearly topping the record books with his winning of three major professional golf tournaments before the age of 24.  His win at “The Masters” back in 2015 (at age 21) was almost as publicized as the Cubs winning the World Series.  At the end of that same season, he won the season-long (nearly 11 months) “FedEx Cup” which comes with a bonus of… $10 million. Continue reading “What Jordan Spieth Can Teach Us About Investing”

Hawaii 5-0: A Clarification

Clarification:

I received a number of inquiries regarding my comment highlighted below in green.  

  • The reason I said, “…I am working on ALL of them except #3 & #4…” is because I was able to achieve #3 — maxing out on retirement contributions to a 401k and IRA — long ago in my late 20’s.  Being able to achieve this goal was often at great sacrifice involving less leisure travel, not owning car for the first 10 years after college, and choosing small (VERY small – and cheaper) apartments in New York City.  I have remained committed to maxing out my retirement contributions over the years into the present and I pass along this advice to “max out” at every appropriate opportunity.

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Hawaii 5-0

Turning the “Big 5-0” is something that can be celebrated or dreaded.  For me, I chose celebration — in Hawaii just recently!  I truly believe that life keeps getting better with the turning of every year.  Perhaps someday the experience will change, but so far so good.

hawaii

Various milestones whether it be reaching a certain age, job position (change/ promotion/ retirement), family stature (marriage/ parent/ grandparent), or even sporting achievements…deserve to be recognized. Then, along with recognition comes reflection. Of course, for me, having chosen to manage peoples’ financial lives as a profession, reflecting a great deal on the future comes naturally.  My husband may even say that I drive him nuts “reflecting” on the things we need to be doing today and over the next 10-15 years to make retirement a reality. Continue reading “Hawaii 5-0”

Balance Between Online and B&M Shopping

Very short note today due to various Father’s Day festivities, oh, and golf’s US Open with an exciting weekend ahead!

The news yesterday of Amazon looking to buy Whole Foods Market (home of “Whole Paycheck”) has a multitude of far-reaching aspects, all worth expanding upon in future “TGIF 2 minutes” editions. Continue reading “Balance Between Online and B&M Shopping”

On Other Than Politics, II

Here we go again…. Just three short weeks ago I wrote an article under a similar heading which led to positive feedback including relief and appreciation for the simpler things in life.

The article started,

“Trump, Comey, Mueller, Twitter, Fox News, CNN….it is all getting more than a bit chaotic.  Even the stock and bond markets jumped into the fray…”

This week is more of the same, but amidst the weighty, media-driven current events several key economic news items were released with decent implications for ours and our family’s financial lives:  namely HOUSING DATA and JOB NUMBERS. Continue reading “On Other Than Politics, II”

On Other than Politics

Trump, Comey, Mueller, Twitter, Fox News, CNN….it is all getting more than a bit chaotic.  Even the stock and bond markets jumped into the fray and took notice:

  • The  Dow Jones Industrials had their biggest down day since September on Wednesday (down a mere 1.8% but still up 12.4% since the November 2016 Presidential election).
  • The 10-year US Treasury rose on “safe-haven buying” with its yield moving down (meaning its price rose) 10 basis points from 2.34% early Tuesday to 2.23% during the day Wednesday. That’s a darn big one-day move for the 10-year US Treasury note yield.

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Things are Looking Up for the Latest Class of College Graduates

Call me sentimental as I will be partaking in a college graduation celebration this weekend (UNC Chapel Hill) but it led me to think about what it might be like to be entering the “real world” today.  One statistic is surprisingly bright: starting salaries are said to have “soared” for the Class of 2017. * 

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Cars: Buy, Lease, Rent or Zip?

One topic that believe it or not comes up with nearly every client and prospective new client, no matter their age or level of wealth, is cars.
www.usnews
For younger, city-dwellers, Uber may be an excellent (and cheaper) alternative to owning.
The conversation touches upon the following:
  • Buy or lease?
  • If buying, buy for cash or take out a car loan?
  • New or used?  (I nearly always suggest used, a.k.a. “certified pre-owned”.  Remember the book, The Millionaire Next Door?)
  • If buying, how often to replace?
  • If leasing* or taking out a car loan, what is a sensible payment amount?  With a lease, buy at the end of the lease?
  • For younger people perhaps living in or near a city, is it possible to not even own a car?  And take advantage of excellent (cheaper) alternatives as needed such as renting a car, Uber, or Zipcar?
* Leasing is not often my recommendation for first cars, mostly because I prefer not to add another sizable monthly outflow of cash early on in life. Early on, own a car you can afford for cash or a small loan. The future will look brighter.

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Warren Buffett Letter 2017

What a week for people named Warren and Trump.  Did you catch the Oscars Best Picture mix-up with Warren Beatty??  The bottom line for me was: when you are unsure whether you understand something important, ask.

Exclusive Portraits Of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett

As for people named Warren Buffett this week yielded yet another annual letter of wisdom and perspective from the “Oracle of Omaha”.  Striking was that Mr. Buffett’s letter reflected several similar sentiments (some not) to those expressed by Mr. Trump in his Presidential address to Congress on Tuesday evening. Another week in America. Not always perfect but still good–even great.   Continue reading “Warren Buffett Letter 2017”