Two Simple Rules for Safely Managing Debt

Two Simple Rules for Safely Managing Debt

I think it’s fair to say that we may be approaching another debt crisis in the U.S. According to the New York Federal Reserve, as of Q1 2018 credit card debt stood at $792 billion, auto loan debt at $1,188 billion, student loan debt at $1,453 billion, and mortgage debt at a whopping $8,982 billion…
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Why Is 65 the Default Retirement Age?

Have you ever wondered why retirement in the U.S. is considered to start at age 65? After all, there’s nothing sacrosanct about that particular age. Most people are capable of working well beyond 65, while many of those fortunate enough to have amassed sufficient wealth prior to reaching that milestone are happy to retire earlier…
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Financial Fraud Just Keeps On Coming

There seems to be no end to the creativity displayed by fraudsters attempting to fleece unsuspecting investors out of their savings.  I find it especially egregious when it’s targeted towards seniors and those who have a limited ability to recover.  Human nature can make it difficult for us to resist the apparent opportunity to reap…
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How To Avoid Becoming Rich

We’ve all heard the stories about the Silicon Valley barber who became a millionaire by listening to and investing in the companies of the executives whose hair he cut.  Or about the thousands of employees during the early days at Microsoft who became millionaires simply by accumulating their stock options as the company’s stock price…
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Is Now The Time To Sell My Investments?

This is a question I get quite frequently from clients, friends, relatives, and even strangers that I meet at seminars. When I inquire as to what prompted such a question, the responses run the gamut from “I read that stocks are overpriced right now” to “The loud-talking guy on TV said so.”   In this post…
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What Is Your Advisor Really Costing You?

In a recent article in Morningstar, John Rekenthaler talked about how Ameriprise and other brokerages/custodians/advisors offer funds based on how much revenue they get from the fund companies.  These so-called revenue-sharing agreements, he argues, are a way for the brokerages to hide the income they are actually earning from the advice they are providing to…
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