Protect Yourself Against Uninsured Drivers!

An old college friend of mine (that happens to be an attorney) recently brought this to my attention: The Importance of Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage Trust me on this. You need at least $250,000 in Uninsured and Underinsured…
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No Will Needed - Beneficiary Updates are Critical

Most of your assets will never pass on through your will (assuming you have one).  IRA's, 401k's, life insurance and annuities all have direct beneficiaries that were recorded when you first signed up for them.  For many of those assets, that…

"It's Christmas in August!"

Life is about making memories and I had an all-timer this week when I took my mother (a die-hard Reds fan from Cincinnati) and her dear friend, Lolly,  to Wrigley Field for the Cubs vs. Reds game Tuesday night. Lolly, has been a veryclose…
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Our Story

My wife, Soni, and I celebrated 23 years of marriage recently and I thought I would share what some of the key financial decisions we made along the way and the impact they had on our family. The themes are consistent: Figure out what is…
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Declined for Life Insurance

One phone call with a woman on the other end saying I was “declined” for coverage really had my head spinning.  A little over a month ago I applied for more life insurance, (the kind with the rider that allows you to get an advance on your…
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Stories About Dad

Father's Day is coming soon and I always have mixed feelings about it. When do men with kids stop thinking of Father's Day as a day to think about their own dad rather than being a dad?  I'm sure everybody's different, but I still haven't gotten…
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It's Never Too Early

The Time Value of Money is the oldest, wisest concept ever created for investors. Wait until you see what you could create by saving less than $7 a day toward college for an unborn baby! The real power of this concept comes from rate of return…

My Mother, My Idol

I think many of us would agree that our mother is/was probably under appreciated, especially when we were young. The older I get, the more I love and value my mother. I'm fortunate that she is still with me and going strong.  I'm especially…
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What Matters Most

“I don’t really care” is my first response to many questions these days.  Like the book, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”, right now, due to a medical issue in my family, almost everything seems like “small or unimportant stuff”. Why…
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Left Alone, Many Individuals Are Horrible Investors

Part 2. of 2. Individual Investors Left alone, many individual investors are horrible at timing the market. Instead of “buying low and selling high” people tend to do the opposite.  The proof is in the chart below: The terrible investor…
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And the Winner is? Active vs. Passive Investing

Part 1 of 2 on Investing: Active vs. passive investing For this article the passive approach will be reflected by the S&P 500 stock index. Understanding the differences: It's easy to get caught up in the Wall Street hype about which…
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Mini Van Beats Jet for Family Time

Last week our family embarked on yet another vacation.  We packed our luggage (mainly beach wear) and five bodies into our 2004 Toyota Sienna (195,000 miles and counting) for a long drive. This year's last minute idea was to go to Naples…
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One Powerful Financial Move for Kids (or Grand-kids)

Turn $500/Year into $500,000! I recently created Roth IRA’s for my kids and put $500 into each account. With a little guidance from me, the kids will each choose to become stock owners of one company. Going forward I will encourage them…
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Shut Up and Take My Money

Those of you that know me, know that every year I take my family on vacation, usually to a warm beach in Mexico over Christmas break. This year we decided against it and the reason was that my three spoiled teenage kids don’t seem to appreciate…