Summer’s here, and the time is right for vacations, outdoor activities, and fun. It’s also a good time to consider a few financial matters. Here are some questions to ask yourself mid-year. Goals still the same for 2026? Has market volatility affected your goals? Note any changes since the first of the year that may…
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If you’ve felt the squeeze lately, you’re not alone. Just a few years ago, most Americans felt pretty confident. Wages were strong. Money was flowing through the economy. Prices felt manageable. Bank accounts looked healthier than they had in a long time. Fast forward to today, and that season feels like a distant memory. Inflation…
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Ever notice how Presidents Day sales are suspiciously good? There’s a reason. January is when everyone buys exercise equipment for their New Year’s resolutions… and February is when a lot of it gets returned. Sound familiar? In one way or another, we’ve all been there. Big goals. Fresh motivation. Strong start. And then—life. I don’t…
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While looking for some entertaining statistics on how much exercise equipment is bought in January, I found out why Presidents Day sales are so good. It falls in line with all the returns made on the New Years Resolution items from January. In one way or another this rings true for all of us. I…
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Wait…That doesn’t sound right! Retirement years are supposed to be “the easy years,” right? There is a saying (paraphrased) that states that what messes up most in life is the picture in our head of how things are supposed to be. Retirement is a prime example of this. We assume that if we work hard,…
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The Pareto principle (known as the 80/20 rule) states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. How many times have you heard the 80/20 rule in conjunction with business, health, wealth, etc.? The implication associated with this is that 20% of your efforts produce 80% of the results. Interestingly,…
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Inflation has been a beast on the ole’ pocketbook. In the 4th quarter of 2023, household debt reached 17.5 trillion dollars with credit card debt – an increase of 50 billion dollars within that same quarter. This translates to Americans spending more with less capability to pay their debt. All while most of these same…
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Just the idea of that makes you want to grind your teeth. Retirement is supposed to be anything but a nightmare, right? After all, it’s your Golden Years. You worked so hard to get here. It’s a dream come true… or is it? Right now, it could be a scary time to retire or be…
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Have you ever met anyone that doesn’t have at least one area of clutter in his/her house? I would bet that even the tidiest of homes has a closet or drawer that gets cluttered from time to time. Life gets busy. We throw stuff here and there, planning to deal with it later. Then before…
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How much house can I afford? How much car can I afford? How much horse trailer can I afford? Can I afford a second home? Can I afford a recreational vehicle? I think most of us ask ourselves this at one time or another in our lives, or at least we should. Honestly though, I…
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