This year has asterisks all over the place. A planned zig, is currently still zagging. An expected slight right hand turn in August, was actually a hard left. For this financial planner, who spends day in and day out trying to help clients plan and have some energy left to plan for himself, the irony of this year’s events is …
Inflate Gate
Sorry to all you New England Patriot haters, today we’re talking about the Federal Reserve’s (“The Fed”) annual conference which was held virtually this week. Chairman of The Fed, Jerome Powell, spoke on their intentions of leaving interest rates low for a number of years in an attempt to keep the economy from deteriorating further from today’s Covid ridden levels. …
Does Anyone Really Like The Taste of Beer?
For those beer drinkers out there, let’s not get too worked up over the title. There is plenty of room for consumers of all brands and beverages here at PubGPS! However, the sale of spiked seltzers has been soaring in the United States. In the fall of 2019, sales grew by 73% at bars and restaurants, and is projected to …
Refi Madness!
Starting early in 2020, mortgage rates began falling. I am writing this from the perspective of a person who refinanced in the summer of 2019 at 3.25% and at a time when I thought, “I can’t imagine the scenario when rates will be this low again in my lifetime.” We can now add mortgage rates to the list of head …
August Challenge – One Little Thing
My Dad mailed some comic strips to me a couple months ago and included in the bunch was this gem, an oh so appropriate one from “The Family Circus.” We had just planted our first garden with the kids and I had no trouble relating to the father in the comic. By the end, I was covered in dirt and …
Four Books for Every Grad
If I could give just 4 books to every high school or college graduate, this would be my current line up: First, to help them learn early on the habits and rules of good financial management, I would give them The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. Second, to help them learn how to listen, whether it’s in …
The Singer Manufacturing Company
Back in the 1940’s my great grandparents had a small upholstery business in New York City and eventually they decided to build a “country home” that they planned to retire to. Although only 30 minutes from where I grew up and 1 hour from New York City, in those days, with the speed of transportation, it truly was the country. From the way …
“You can’t ride two horses with one ass, sugarbean.”
I am no stranger to a good romantic comedy, and arguably one of the best of all time is Sweet Home Alabama starring Reese Witherspoon. At the end of the movie, our leading lady, Melanie (Carmichael) Smooter, needs to decide between staying married to her current, yet estranged husband and first love, Jake (long story, you should probably just watch …
Fireworks For All
Although maybe not the best use of money, I thought it would be a cool idea to have spent some of the trillions in debt we’ve created recently to have a spectacular and inspiring fireworks display in every town across America this 4th of July. With any luck, every citizen in the community, safely at home, could spend ten minutes distracted …
Searching For Simple
Occam’s razor refers to the idea that the simplest answer is often the correct answer. I was watching the ESPN documentary about the 1998 Chicago Bulls Basketball team, “The Last Dance” and in one of the episodes they journey into Michael Jordan’s childhood. One scene in particular talks about how or why he is so competitive and it seems to …