Spend less money then you make (or have) and you will have no problems. I often joke with clients that 90% of personal finance is spending less money or making more of it, a line I’ve stolen from my writing hero, Morgan Housel. Cash flow management, or budgeting, is the blocking and tackling of personal finance. Without it, you will accomplish absolutely nothing at best. At worst, you will go bankrupt.
Read MoreSpend less money then you make (or have) and you will have no problems. I often joke with clients that 90% of personal finance is spending less money or making more of it, a line I’ve stolen from my writing hero, Morgan Housel. Cash flow management, or budgeting, is the blocking and tackling of personal finance. Without it, you will accomplish absolutely nothing at best. At worst, you will go bankrupt.
Read MoreCharlie Munger died this week. He was 99 years old and just a little over a month away from the big 100. He had planned a huge party for New Year’s Eve, his birthday happily landing on January 1st. Sadly, that party will never come.
Some of you likely have no idea who Charlie Munger was.
Read MoreEveryone is unhappy again. No surprise, I suppose. This is the world we live in. Last year, it was inflation. This year, not coincidentally, it’s interest rates. The medicine, unfortunately, can sometimes cause just as many problems as the ailment.
Something as big and complex as the United States…
Read MoreI love spending time with my father-in-law for a lot of reasons, not the least of which being his generosity with his time, knowledge, and wisdom. In my conversations with him this week (in between him taking care of all the boats and the new fishermen in the family), he reminded me of one incredibly important fact with regards to personal finance…
Read MoreAs of this writing, the White House and Congress have come to an agreement to lift the debt ceiling until 2025, which will be the 78th time it has been lifted since enacted in 1960. Congress has approved the new bill, ironically called the Fiscal Responsibility Act…
Read MoreWe spend a lot of time in this space and with our clients describing the concept of “risk.” Nevertheless, it needs to be revisited constantly.
A few weeks ago, the financial world seemed to be unraveling faster than an old sweater. Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB)...
Read More2022 was an unprecedented year for the stock and bond markets, and nobody expected an easy 2023 to follow. The dichotomy between the market fundamentals and the economic data is enough to make anyone reevaluate their investment strategy. When was the last time you took a second look at your portfolio?
Read MoreThe technology sector is going through another reset. I think we can officially call 2022 the end of the second era of the modern technology boom, the first being the internet/dotcom hysteria that ended at the turn of the century, the second was the movement into social media and the “everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame” era.
Read MoreStocks closed out 2022 with a whimper, as major indexes suffered their worst year since 2008. Is Santa real? The stock market doesn’t seem to think so. The infamous “Santa Claus Rally” never came, but that didn’t stop the Arctic temperatures from freezing Denver. On December 22nd, Denver temperatures were the coldest it has been since 1990.
Read MoreI started my career in 1999 in the finance industry in Denver. As a young man in the early part of the 2000s, I would proudly tell everyone in the older generation how easy their lives were because it was sooooo much easier (it least in my mind) for them to buy a house and start a family than it was going to be for me.
Read MoreThis fall, we took my oldest son to college and dropped him off. As I’ve told everyone who asks, it was the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do as a parent. He may be 18 years old, but leaving him somewhere to fend for himself feels…unnatural. On the outside, I told people how excited I was for him to be starting this new adventure in his life…
Read MoreWhy do we enjoy being miserable so much? I’m not asking in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way but in a more serious, psychological way.
You can’t go a day without hearing a news story, reading a headline, or even engaging in casual conversation about how “we’ve never been more divided…
Read MoreI’m going to let you in on a little secret: nobody knows what’s going to happen with the stock market or the economy in the future because nobody can predict the future, as much as we would like them to. The only state we operate in is one of perpetual uncertainty. Tomorrow is always uncertain and believing that someone out…
Read MoreSo many things on my mind…where do we even start? War in Ukraine? Will Smith and Chris Rock? Whatever anyone on either end of the political spectrum is upset about today? So many things and so little time! And to top it off, it’s April Fool’s Day, which gives me the option of writing something that doesn’t even have to be true.
Instead, I’m going to hit on a few things I think I think in this month’s newsletter…
Read MoreThe word RISK, defined by the American Heritage Dictionary…
The possibility of suffering harm or loss; danger.
A factor, thing, element, or course involving uncertain danger; a hazard
The danger or probability of loss (to an insurance company).
Perhaps you define RISK differently in your head, even if you don’t know you’re doing it. How do you picture someone in your head that you consider a “risk-taker”? Do find them brave? Crazy? Out of control?
Read MoreHappy New Year to our dear readers and clients. It’s a very sad time here in Colorado…tragically sad. The area near Boulder, specifically the towns of Superior/Louisville/Lafayette to the east of Boulder, is devastated. As of this writing, over 500 homes have burned to the ground and 35,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes at a moment’s notice as a grass fire swept across a very densely populated part of our home state. The fire was allegedly started by a downed power line onto an extraordinarily dry field of grass on Thursday, December 30th.
Read MoreFor many of our clients, friends, and family, it’s no surprise that retirement is on their minds. Our conversations on retirement run the gamut- from the young clients that want to retire as early as possible because they’re stressed out and hate their jobs, to the older clients that love their jobs and don’t ever want to leave. Truth is, retirement and financial independence are your own journey, and there is little chance it will happen for you right at the tender age of 65.
Read MoreFoliage is here, and it's magnificent in Colorado. If you're in Colorado, head to Kenosha Pass and spend a day experiencing the season change with spectacular long-range views and a section of the Colorado Trail. Take breathtaking pictures while you immerse yourself in one of the top four seasons in Colorado…
Read MoreFall also marks Back to School Mania for us parents. As I embark on my 14th consecutive year of sending at least one of my children to school in the fall (my oldest is a senior in high school), it never ceases to amaze me how August and September calendars are absolutely LOADED with extracurricular meetings and events. Homecoming is right around the corner for my two high schoolers, and it’s yet another reminder of this wonderful time of year, busy as it may be.
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