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“Boogers Do Grow!”

“Boogers do grow! I find new ones everyday!”  My five year old yells from the third row seat of our minivan while we’re driving down the highway.  A light bulb moment for her since the day before when we told her where they come from (or did our best to explain).  She wasn’t having our nonsense, they grow and she …

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Patience of a Diamond

It is estimated that it takes anywhere from 1 to 3 billion years for a diamond to form as a result of the compounding effects of time, pressure, and intense heat on a pure carbon source.  This sentence completes the science portion of today, so let’s dive into something I know a touch more about. Being patient, especially in the …

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Financial Planning in 1987

A couple weeks back, I was sitting with clients who are on the eve of retiring and one of our last projects was the review of their current life insurance coverage.  Trying to answer questions like “Do we still need it?” “Can we spend the money someplace else or have more fun with it than spending it on life insurance …

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Relaxation is a Muscle

I remember growing up I could lay around in the summer for hours at a time.  Headphones on, book open or just laying with my hands behind my head. Relaxation was the easy part!   Fast forward to present day…should my wife Casey and I get away for a night or a day without the kids, the first three hours …

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$1,000,000,000,000

A trillion!   Look at all the zeros.  It is so difficult to comprehend that level of wealth or that many dollars being concentrated in one spot! During the morning of Thursday August 2nd, Apple Inc. became the first company in U.S. history to reach a value of one trillion dollars.  A company founded in 1976, which on several occasions …

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Vaca Take Away

We just returned from a week long family trip in the Adirondack mountains.  The weather was phenomenal, the kids were great, but the one curve ball was a small black bear that decided to show up near our cabin on several occasions. Our hopes of having the kids ride bikes on the flat driveway while we packed up lakes stuff …

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Finding Parity

Definition of Parity – “the state or condition of being equal, especially regarding status or pay.” Savings parity could be defined as your savings per year being exactly equal to your expenses.  Said another way, money staying in your pocket matches money going out.  Can you imagine? Annual expenses – $75,000 Annual savings – $75,000 Let’s just say for a …

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A Small Leak

“Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.”     -Ben Franklin There exists a term in the finance world, “lifestyle creep,” and it sure as hell is a real thing.  Your spending is a muscle that expands and contracts. It is elastic. With many young clients we see the impact of the mythical “lifestyle creep.”  You …

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The Last Thing Packed

The last thing packed. Probably an afterthought.  You throw it in the car cause who knows! There seems to be room, might as well bring it.  In my car, it ends up atop of a beautifully packed and organized trunk. Everything has its place, heavier bags on the bottom, I use all of my shoes, sneakers and sandals to wedge …

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Demise of the D.O.L. Ruling

The Department of Labor’s Fiduciary ruling is officially dead.  A practical, but albeit backdoor approach by the Obama Administration to try to enact a rule to force financial advisors to put the interest of their clients before their own.  How offensive! The rule had limitations as it only applied to what would traditionally be known as retirement account, but at …