Resources
Lost Inheritance and Sudden Wealth Syndrome
A 2,000-year-old Chinese proverb "Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations" still holds up today. It intimates that the first generation works hard to create a fortune; the second generation spends the fortune foolishly; and, the third generation squanders...
How to Use Discipline This Holiday Season When Credit Card Use Is On the Rise
Seven years after the Great Recession came to an end, consumer credit card use is on the rise. Americans didn't rush to become saddled with debt again, but they've slowly made their way back. As of the second quarter of 2016, Americans' household debt skyrocketed by...
Barron’s: The Robo-Advising Reality Check
Barron's in a recent article examined "The Robo Advising Reality Check," which brought to light several compelling trends in robo-advisory. Let's highlight the most important takeaways. Advisors generally adjust the composition of an exchange-traded fund, or ETF...
“The Big Boys Are Betting Against the Market;” Should You?
Look around and you'll see that "the big boys are betting against the market," according to reports. As an investor, this might send shivers down your spine, and understandably so. If the financial world's most elite who oversee billions of dollars are in fact betting...
The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans
If you had to guess what 47 percent of Americans are hiding, what would you think it is? A substance abuse problem? Extramarital affairs? Or something else? Something more shameful, and even harder to talk about? According to the Atlantic, it seems that nearly half...
Parents Putting Off Retirement to Pay Kids’ College Tab Is New Trend
The soaring cost of a college education has been making headlines for the past decade. So has the increasing number of older people delaying retirement past the age of 65 because their Social Security benefits do not stretch to meet their income. Now there’s a new...
Financial Planning: Seeing the Big Picture for Your Goals
If you’re considering financial planning, you may be wondering what it is. Is it planning for your retirement? Is it looking for prudent places to put your money to increase it? It is reducing your taxes? Is it looking down the road to your kids’ education? Is it...
The Long Arm of the IRS – Tax Implications No One Told Me
Throughout the history of the United States, tax policy and its resulting implications have resulted in significant negative impacts on citizens. In 1819, Daniel Webster summarized the negative impact of taxation in a famous quote, "An unlimited power to tax involves,...
Wallet Willpower
As the old adage goes, “money doesn’t grow on trees.” It’s far easier to spend your hard-earned money than it is to earn. Without a tangible, long-term savings and spending plan, you’ll be struggling to make the monthly bills. Even for the most cost-effective...
Wallet Willpower!
You've set a budget, and you are trying your hardest to stick to it. And then you see that beautiful sweater in the store window. The colors are calling to you, and you can imagine yourself wearing it on a cool fall afternoon while walking through crunchy leaves. This...