“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” We can all agree each person’s perspective is unique, but do we ever take the time to contemplate how skewed our financial perspectives may be? Do you compare yourself to fellow neighbors, a person one community […]
Beware of October’s Spooks and Scares
In addition to Halloween, the month of October is known for creating spooks and scares among investors. When it comes to wealth suddenly disappearing, October can be quite frightful. The stock market crash of 1929 that led to the Great Depression occurred in October. So did the 22.6% plunge suffered by the Dow Jones industrial average in […]
Have You Had “The Talk”?
“The Talk” I’m not referring to “the talk” with your teenage children about sex, but rather the “parent and adult children talk” about the parent’s estate plan. Have you had this conversation? Most people have not. My sister Lori is coming to town this weekend from Washington for a high school reunion and we are finally […]
Money vs. Memories: The Cost of Being Too Frugal
Being frugal all the time can cost you plenty in the form of memories. Life is too short to not splurge a little for memorable experiences, even if it means being less frugal and paying extra for special activities or events. There are 365 days in the year. Out of all those days, how many […]
Don’t Just Show Up
When planning your finances, you need to consider all the elements and situations that may impact the success of your plan. Will your children be attending college? What is your retirement age? Do you expect to switch careers in the near future? Are you planning on downsizing? Those are just a few questions to get you thinking as […]
Tragedy in Our Community
This past week we have experienced a tragedy in our neighborhood and the Elmhurst community. On August 30th we lost the lives of four beautiful individuals; Frank Stack (82), Joan Stack (82), Mary Stack (57) and Frank Stack Jr. (48). Newspaper story. The true question is not how this tragedy played out, but WHY. I […]
Does the American Dream Make Cents?
The American Dream has evolved over time from the right to liberty and pursuit of happiness to the ownership of material items, one of them being a home to call your very own. However, after paying a recent property tax bill for my home, I don’t know if this is a dream I want to be living! […]
Jack of Many Trades, Master of None…Completing a Triathlon
Several Steps to Prepare for an Awesome Triathlon As we head into the final weekend of the summer, I reflect back on the last several months. One of my proudest moments was completing a Sprint Triathlon with my daughter Haley. While much of the summer was focused on the actual training preparation, there were […]
700% Return! As S&P 500 Reaches New All-Time High of 2,000
How long do you think it will take for the S&P 500 to reach 4,000 or the Dow to reach 34,000? I started my career in finance back in 1986, when the S&P 500 index was under 300. Today, it crossed the 2,000 mark, which means that it has climbed nearly 700% and that doesn’t count […]
The Real Griswold’s “Quest for Fun”
Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold in the “Vacation” movie was one of the more memorable comedy films I can remember. Like the Griswold’s, our family has always embraced the “family road trip” and this year we took it to a new level by loading our three teenagers in our 2004 Sienna Minivan, which has over 145,000 […]
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How Much is Enough?
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Beware of October’s Spooks and Scares
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Have You Had “The Talk”?
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Money vs. Memories: The Cost of Being Too Frugal
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Don’t Just Show Up
