When is the best time to plan for a stock market dip? When the stock market is going up. No fancy language today! Just three easy reminders of what to do when you see your account balance take a big hit. Don’t Do Anything Buy More Stocks Call Your Advisor Repeat that 9-word…
Ultra-low interest rates present a dilemma: Great for borrowers (both companies and individuals), potentially great for the stock market, but terrible for people who need risk free savings for emergencies or retirement income. Unfortunately, if you need your money within 1-2 years to spend, there’s not much I can suggest. No growth is the…
When opening your own investment accounts, you have a choice between two major types of companies: Full Service or Discount Brokerage. Which is right for you? Full Service brokerage, like full service anything, will generally cost you more, but with the promise of more personalized attention. Things like trading, money management, and investment choices…
One of the first things I tell prospective clients who are looking for investment help is that I don’t advise on buying or selling individual stocks. Why is that? Laziness? Lack of confidence? Don’t have the time? Yes, all of the above. It is my opinion (and it’s my blog so you have to…
Have Suze Orman, Jim Kramer, or Dave Ramsay ever encouraged you to use the back door? No, not a sexy affair with a finance celebrity! I’m talking about a Backdoor Roth Contribution. First, some basics Roth IRAs allow you to contribute up to $6,000 per year ($7,000 if you are aged 50+) to an…
Annuities are a big business. In 2019 $57.8billion in annuities were sold according to the Insured Retirement Institute. What’s the appeal? First, let’s remember that there are many kinds of annuities: Fixed, variable, immediate, and deferred are the main categories. There are about 1,000 permutations under those categories. Second, I don’t sell any…
The financial services industry has for years been collectively handwringing about how to measure clients’ real feelings about stock market volatility. The problem starts with the language we use. It continues with the overconfidence of people when markets are good. When the stock market is climbing, everyone is an investing genius and has no…
Over the past 15 months, I have been in a LOT of family therapy. And the one thing I have learned is that when a person is feeling strong emotions (fear, anger, insecurity), the rational part of their brain (the pre-frontal cortex) literally is not working. It physically gets no energy and just shuts off.…
So, you’ve seen all the newsletters advising you not to panic and sell as the stock market loses 20% in a week. You may even hear investment folks encouraging you to buy stocks if you have any cash. But, as you watch your accounts drop each day, you can’t help feeling like buying more and…
This is the last in my blog series spotlighting stuff I learned at the Investment News Women’s Advisor Summit. That’s right, I bullet point the interesting stuff so you don’t have to attend all-day conferences. You are welcome. Our first speaker of the day was Dr. Julie Gorte, Senior VP for Impact Investing at…
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