Earlier this week I came across this chart and the story it tells is staggering. What you see is the year-over-year change in what JP Morgan considers “High Frequency Activity,” things like driving, eating out, flying, staying in hotels. Look how quickly and severely activity...
The hardest question I ever get asked is this: Which is better, Eastern North Carolina barbecue or Western (really, Lexington) North Carolina barbecue? The question isn't hard to answer because I don't know what I think about it (Eastern is 100% the best, though both...
There’s been a lot going on in the world of retirement planning this year, especially when it comes to required minimum distributions (RMDs.) The passage of the CARES Act on March 27th meant that anyone normally required to take a distribution from their IRA, 401(k),...
[vc_video link='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nncNbL9Qfnk'] What is an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) and how does it work? How should you incorporate it into your financial life and what’s the most important decision to make prior to enrolling? It’s easiest to understand how an ESPP works by first understanding the...
In my annual late-December reading of Charles Dickens' delightful short story A Christmas Carol, one of my favorite lines is this: "It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so...
It’s hard to believe that the stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 at the end of the trading day on Thursday, was "only" down 6.23% year-to-date in 2020. This after it fell 30% in just 22 trading days - the fastest 30% decline...
On December 21st, 1968, Apollo 8 lifted off from what’s now known as Cape Canaveral with three men aboard. Their mission was to enter the moon’s orbit, slingshot around the dark side, and return home safely. A manned flight around the moon had never been...
Unless you are visiting our site for the first time (in which case, welcome!!), you will have noticed by now that it's new and--we believe and hope--improved. A website for any sort of professional services firm is an interesting thing. We don't sell a tangible product...
"Our life is frittered away by detail...
Way back in June of 2001 I introduced Beacon’s first Friday Brief. Its purpose was to communicate, educate, and occasionally console as in a one-on-one conversation. On that inaugural day, there was a lot of worry and deep concern about our country, our safety and...
