A word about recessions. Are we still going to see one this year? Let’s discuss. Why did so many people think a recession was coming? Inflation and interest rates, primarily. Historically high inflation has cast a pall over the economy since early 2021.1 In response, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates rapidly to bring […]

Big question: how’s the economy doing? With the year more than half over and markets on a spree, it’s an important question to consider. Let’s dig into the latest data and find out. Inflation continues its downward spiral. The latest data for June shows that inflation fell for the 12th month in a row to […]

Markets have been hitting some very positive milestones lately, but are the bulls back or are we seeing another “bear market rally” that will eventually lose steam? Let’s discuss. When stocks are caught between surges and pullbacks, and we’re not entirely sure what’s going on, it’s useful to go back to the fundamentals. What bullish […]

We hope you had a fantastic start to your 2023 year. We wanted to pass along some new retirement rules for you. We will try to keep it simple. After months of debate, Congress finally passed some major changes to retirement laws at the end of 2022.1 The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement […]

Have you noticed Mom or Dad showing signs of decline? Are you worried about your elderly uncle living at home by himself? You’re not alone. Many of us will find ourselves making care decisions for our parents or other beloved elders. It’s not an easy place to be because it’s hard to see them struggle […]

A new deal finally put the debt ceiling issue to rest (for now, anyway), and stocks are rallying. Are we on the brink of a new bull market? We might be. The S&P 500 has soared in 2023 and is up nearly 20% from its October 2022 low.1 That’s pretty surprising given the concerns about […]

Imagine there are 100 miles between you and a goal. A place you want to get to. But the land in between is chock full of canyons, crevasses, and crumbling cliffs. You have two choices of how you could get there. You could find a way on foot, sliding into ravines and trudging up switchbacks. […]

Markets are doing their thing again, so let’s discuss. Markets tumbled, heading into negative territory, and then bounced back. And then promptly fell again.1 We’re caught in a whipsaw pattern of uncertainty. Is this weird? Not really. These things happen pretty regularly when investors get jittery. Let’s talk about what’s going on. What led to […]

Politicians are creating more drama than Hollywood over the federal debt ceiling. Let’s recap what we know with some educated speculation about what could happen next. [Scroll down to the bottom for the nitty-gritty if you want to skip the details.] What is the debt ceiling and why is it in the headlines (again)? The […]

In a perfect world, logic would always guide our financial decisions. Emotions wouldn’t come into play. But we don’t live in a perfect world. Far from it. That means our emotions impact our financial choices more than we realize.1 Shockingly as much as 95% of our purchase choices are made subconsciously, driven by our emotions—as […]