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12 Feb 2016 Debt: Should you pay it off before saving or giving?

Posted at 14:49h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Debt is so pervasive and 'normal' in this country that most people view it as an extension or an amplification of their ability to consume. In fact, the use of credit or financing is more often the first impulse in an effort to preserve cash and monthly...

05 Feb 2016 Keep Pounding

Posted at 11:02h in The Friday Brief by Jared Korver, CPA, CFP®

For those of you who are not inclined to pay close attention to sports headlines, the Super Bowl is this Sunday. It is the 50th Super Bowl to be played, and will find the Carolina Panthers facing the Denver Broncos in Santa Clara, California. Even if you care nothing for the game of football, it promises to be an event worth watching.

29 Jan 2016 Reports Suggest A Slowdown

Posted at 12:22h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Evidence is mounting that the US economy is not immune to the contagion of the global economic slowdown. The Commerce Department announced today that the US economy expanded at an anemic (seasonally adjusted) 0.7% in the fourth quarter. This compares to advances of 2% in third quarter and 3.9% in second quarter of last year. Some argue that seasonal adjustments currently used by government statisticians do not reflect the evolving economy, but it's hard to see how the economy escapes the downdrafts of global slowing, an unprecedented drop in oil prices and a surging dollar.

22 Jan 2016 Urgent vs. Important: A Snow Day Challenge

Posted at 10:10h in The Friday Brief by Jared Korver, CPA, CFP®

It's no secret that the stock market has been pretty crummy in 2016. My younger sister Allegra is in college, without much of a vested interest in these things yet, and I just texted her to ask what the stock market has done this year. Her verbatim response was: "I think it's been kinda all over the place? And it tanked recently? Oil prices or something."