Author’s note: This column was released in syndication on May 18, 2022. I had an uncle whose lifetime financial goal was to amass $1 million to leave to his children. A farmer, he was frugal by nature; in his 70s, he finally reached his goal. Rather than celebrating his wealth, be turned into …
Author’s note: This column was released in syndication on May 11, 2022. There are a lot of financial concerns right now, but two items that I think were lost amid recent headlines stand out to me. In a world where the financial danger signs seem to be everywhere, it’s easy to overlook the warnings that …
This column was released in syndication on April 27. 2022. As I was parking last week, I noticed a dime and a penny on the ground near some teenagers. I asked the kids if they had dropped it and a girl explained as she climbed into the car that the change wasn’t hers. …
This column was released in syndication on April 20. 2022. My mother told me when I was a child that the way people face a challenge says a great deal about them. Every consumer is being challenged by inflation right now, and the way they respond, indeed, is speaking volumes. There’s no …
This column was released in syndication on April 13. 2022. Here’s some controversial financial advice for current times: Hold more cash. That is not the same as “go to cash,” which would be a call to exit the market. Far from it. And it’s not advice most people are comfortable giving …
While the stock market was off on a wild ride this past Monday, I took a break from the work day to check out one of my favorite sports websites. There, I found an “off-topic discussion” headlined “Is it time to go risk-off?” That simple headline – and the entire lengthy brouhaha that followed it …
Freo, my golden retriever, turned 13 recently. That’s old for his breed. As he has aged, our relationship has changed. These days, it’s me waking him up every morning excited for the new day; on walks, it’s him letting me go off leash and wander while he keeps a close eye on me and awaits …
Our wallets have a tendency to bleed cash. It’s how you put 20 bucks in there, and when it’s gone, you only can remember what roughly three-quarters of those dollars were spent on. Two years ago, I decided to bank that blood from my wallet, changing how I “keep the change.” It paid off bigger …
If New Year’s resolutions were called what they really are – self-improvement chores or promises to do something differently – no one would ever make them. The problem is that most of these promises for personal change never get accomplished. Typically, resolutions are forgotten by the time February rolls around. Self-improvement, however, is an ongoing, …
Janet, a grandmother from New Orleans, wants to give a little something extra this year for the holidays, but doesn’t want to go to the mall to get it. She’s not shopping online for it either. She wants to buy her six grandchildren stock. “I saw something that said that a gift of stock is …
