What's $1,000 worth? As with most things in personal finance, the answer is, "It depends." Are we talking about a thousand bucks received a year ago? If so, then about 7.5% more than if received today. If used to reduce debt, it's worth $1,000, unless...
The title for this blog comes from the legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, though I first heard it on an Optimist Club baseball field in Southern Pines, North Carolina when I was in fifth or sixth grade. I was playing third base--with a habit...
Two weeks ago, Wesley and I were reading in our peaceful living room, and our dog Ollie was nestled into his blankets on an armchair. It was almost 10pm, and we were about to call it a night when Ollie heard a disturbance outside and...
Like it or not, on Monday, January the 24th, the Internal Revenue Service announced the start of our nation's tax season. That's the date when the IRS began accepting and processing 2021 tax year returns. Of all the seasons we could pick from--the holiday season,...
Through Wednesday, January 26th, the S&P 500 index is down 8.7%, which, obviously, is not a great start to the year. (Average January returns going back to 1980 are +.82%.) While prices are down, volatility is up: we've already had 6 trading days where the...
I have since early childhood been fascinated by the idea that you can use something for a long, long time. The origin of that fascination, as best I can tell, is the fact that the house I was raised in was built in 1890. And...
Every January, we are inundated with articles on New Year’s Resolutions and starting fresh, which sounds especially appealing after the past two chaotic years. One root of the word resolution is resolve, or having a strong determination...
...but the worst could be right around the corner. 2021 was a pretty remarkable year for the stock market. Due in part to a stronger than expected economic recovery, the S&P 500 finished the year up 28.7% including dividends. That marked its third straight year of...
A few months ago, a 25-year-old Chinese company called Evergrande was all anyone could talk about, and not for any good reason. In fact, the question most commonly posed in regard to Evergrande was, "Is this China's 'Lehman moment'?" a reference to the now-defunct bank...
You'd be hard pressed to find two more loaded words in the English language than "The Holidays." The sheer weight of memory and emotion that those words evoke is staggering. On their own they're vague and innocuous enough, but of course to each of us,...
