But so is spring, winter and fall – know what to look for when searching You know you need to make a plan with your money – but when? The signs may well sit right in front of you, from your paycheck to your debt to your willingness to ask for professional help. If you haven’t started a financial plan, you’re not alone. A recent survey shows big disconnects between what Americans know they should do financially and what they
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Housing is rarely the best use of your money from an investment viewpoint Despite continued low mortgage rates and tales of bidding wars, multiple offers and all-cash closings above asking-price, would-be-home-purchasers should be cautious about putting too much money into real estate. While some might disagree, for a myriad of reasons, it’s not always a great investment and seldom has been. Owning your own home – or owning several homes – has long been the American dream. Your home may
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Markets Perform Well in Second Quarter Global equity markets had a choppy second quarter, but when the final Wall Street-bell chimed on June 30th, global markets had turned in solid performance numbers on their way to new record highs. For the second quarter of 2021: The DJIA started the quarter at 33,153 and ended at 34,502 for a gain of 4.1%; The S&P 500 started the quarter at 4,020 and ended at 4,298 for a gain of 6.9%; NASDAQ started
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The headline Consumer Price Index is important only as a general gauge What will inflation be in the coming years? The real answer is that it varies according to your age and spending patterns. Inflation wallops someone with kids in college, and might be hardly noticeable to stay-at-home types. Recent inflation will stun someone looking for a used car, but might be a yawner for someone shopping for a new car. Inflation is a sustained increase in prices for general
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COVID changed minds about working from home, maybe this is next There is a storm raging between employers and employees that is unlikely to go away any time soon. On the one hand are employers, who hope to have their offices up and running by the end of the year – with employees in those offices. On the other hand are employees, who prefer to stay remote indefinitely. Both reference data that reinforces their position and both sides will end
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Fear-of-missing-out is a very real emotion – but it can derail your portfolio Every day we’re bombarded with reports of what’s hot and what’s not – fueling a fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) on some great investment opportunity. There is even a new exchange traded fund with FOMO in its name. However, a diversified portfolio is still the best way for you to maximize returns while minimizing risk. The anxiety that we feel when we believe something better is happening elsewhere isn’t unique
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Four questions to ask your advisor, plus tools to do your own research Bernie Madoff, mastermind of the biggest investment fraud in history after he defrauded more than 40,000 people of over $65 billion, died at the age of 82 in prison on April 14, 2021. Considered by many to be the archfiend of the financial world, his death will haunt the financial industry for years, despite his 150-year prison sentence that he started more than a decade ago. Regaining
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Markets Reach New Highs in Q12021 Global equity markets had a choppy first quarter, but when the final Wall Street-bell tolled on March 31st, global markets had turned in some very solid performance numbers on their way to new record highs. Given that investors did see interest rates rise, oil prices jump, inflation worries reappear and continued headwinds from COVID-19 surface, the first quarter returns for the major U.S. and global, developed markets was nothing short of impressive. For the
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A list of must-dos for 40 and 50 year old captains that have run aground On March 23rd, the massive, skyscraper-sized container ship named the Ever Given ran aground and got stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal. It took about a week for more than a dozen tugboats, dredgers, engineers, salvage teams, and a full moon that brought an unusually high tide to free the behemoth. While it’s still not clear exactly how it got stuck in the first place, experts
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Can we see patterns from one year to the next or is it a maddening bracket? Newspapers, radio, and TV news programs refer to the Dow Jones Industrial Average every day, calling it the Dow, sometimes the Dow Jones or even the DJIA. And economists and financial advisors pay close attention to its daily changes and the longer trends. But what exactly is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, does it really matter and can one see performance patterns from year
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