Three not-fun things to do at the Thanksgiving table Talk about how you voted in the mid-term elections. Stare at the football game. The Festivus Airing of Grievances one month early. Three more fun Thanksgiving activities Thanksgiving Mad Libs! Print out for free here. Have everyone take Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies Quiz on their phone.…
To find it? Recently I read an article about the U.S. Will Registry. It’s a free website where you can upload either the will/trust documents themselves or just say where you have your estate plan stashed. And who is allowed to see it. This seems like a great idea just in case: Your will…
Our dollars are buying less, but we still want to create great family memories for the holidays. Here are some ideas for creating special times without running up credit card bills (also with higher rates than last year). Groceries/entertaining When hosting large family gatherings, ask guests to contribute sides and desserts. Speaking of side…
Pumpkins, pumpkin spice, pumpkin decorations…it’s October and pumpkins are pervasive. There is even a business book about pumpkins by Mike Michalowicz called The Pumpkin Plan. Since many of my readers are business owners or operate as such within a larger company, here are three quick ideas from this very popular book. To grow…
What is the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022? Is it just a lesson on being more careful when naming laws? Is it an inflation law, a climate law, or an insurance law? As with all laws, it’s complicated so here are three things you may find helpful in the new regulations. Drug costs for…
Let’s start off with a direct quote for how the October 2021 version of this blog started: “I guess it’s a good year in the stock market when the worst performing sectors (so far, as of writing this blog on September 13th) aren’t negative, just not up as high as the best performers. My sage…
The stock market hasn’t given us much to smile about this year. How about a little Halloween humor to lighten the mood? What kind of music do mummies listen to? Wrap music. How did the vampire marathon end? Neck and neck. What is a ghost’s least favorite candy? Life Savers. What do you call…
Ugh, September is one of those months with FIVE Thursdays. That’s a lot of blogs to write so I’m taking a breather this week and re-running a Blog from July 2022 about risk tolerance and stock market drops. The financial services industry has for years been collectively handwringing about how to measure clients’ real…
You may have heard of Bill Bengen’s 4% rule for retirement withdrawal. Through back testing and calculating and thinking really hard, Mr. Bengen concluded that a retiree could start taking 4% out of investments and have his/her nest egg last through a 25-year retirement. This assumes the retiree will need to increase withdrawals over time…
Calling all grumpy Boomers and Gen X-ers: Say what you want about Millennials, Gen Z, The Youth of Today, but in my experience, young adults have a lot of financial savvy. One thing I help 20-and-30-somethings with often is whether to sell that first house/condo they bought or keep it as a rental. At…
