The Cautious Investor

The IRS Tax Code is, as you know, not a small document, nor is it one that remains static year over year.  Given the rapid pace of regulatory changes, many people elect to employ a tax professional to annually help navigate the process and make sure that deductions afforded to you are being taken advantage…

I think that wealth, much like temperature, is relative. One person might feel wealthy making a certain amount of money while another person, making the same amount of money, might feel like they’ve only got pennies to their name. Some of us might scoff when a doctor or lawyer says they don’t make enough money…

“Pride of opinion has been responsible for the downfall of more men on Wall Street than any other factor.” –Charles Dow     Society places a high value on confidence and most people identify it as a key element for success in life. But does it necessarily hold true for successful investing? In daily life…

Many people who manage to save enough for retirement find it agonizing to start spending that money when the day finally comes. As a result, they needlessly deny themselves the simple pleasures and occasional splurges that can make the difference between a dream retirement and a dreary one. More Americans face the opposite dilemma, of…

Our industry sometimes focuses too narrowly on rate of return. It makes sense when you consider that a percentage is the best way to compare how your investments are doing against the broader market, other investment strategies being deployed, or your friends at the water cooler. But we should remind ourselves that we don’t spend…

As Certified Financial Planners we are committed to encouraging savings for a rainy day, whether that is an emergency fund or for retirement. A new report released by the Economic Policy Institute last month further brought into focus the current financial preparedness of the median American family.*  Most statistics seem to quote averages which is…

The irony of it all is that you’ve done the hard part already! Maybe you’ve sacrificed a little from every paycheck to save for retirement and now you’re practically here. If you are like many Americans approaching retirement or recently retired, you too may be finding the decisions you must make on how to spend…

It seems everyone has an opinion about what is coming next which makes it difficult to tune out the noise and “predictions” of market pundits. But if there is one thing we have learned from the media, it is that no one seems to have a clue what is coming next. There is never a…

It’s hard to believe the impact a mere 140 characters can have on financial markets. As demonstrated by now President Donald Trump, tweet-shaming packs a powerful punch. In the early morning hours of December 6, Trump tweeted that Boeing’s new Air Force One fleet project, at a cost of $4 billion, was “out of control.”…

My spouse is the first one to remind me why finance and accounting professionals, of which I’ve been both, take the fun out of everything.  Whether it’s keeping the books in balance or households and divisions under budget, we’ve been known to tend to say no to some of the fun decisions that our peers…