Times Are Changing – Should You?

photo credit: Pixabay In recent years, cash has enjoyed a period of higher yields, thanks to recent central banks’ aggressive interest rate hikes aimed at curbing inflation. This has made cash and cash-equivalents—such as savings accounts, money market funds, and short-term government securities—more attractive than they have been in over a decade. However, with rate…

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How Did You Get There?

photo credit: Unsplash Ernest Hemingway asked this question through a key character in his book “The Sun Also Rises.” The question was: “How did you go bankrupt?”  The answer: “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”  The response, “gradually then suddenly,” is a great encouragement and a caution to us. It never ceases to amaze how this…

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Happy 5/29 Day!

photo credit: Unsplash Happy 5/29 Day! Today we celebrate the 529 Plan, a college savings vehicle with tax-free withdrawals. What Is a 529 Plan? What Are the Benefits? This beneficial tax treatment comes with a few strings attached: While not federally tax deductible, contributions in certain states are state income tax deductible The money must…

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Operation London Bridge – What’s Your Plan?

photo credit: Unsplash “Begin with the end in mind.”   −Stephen Covey In December 2023, the award-winning Netflix series on Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family, The Crown, ended its run. During a recent break, we found ourselves watching those later episodes of the aging Queen at the time of her Golden Jubilee and, later,…

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Avoid A Knockout

“You can map out a light plan or a life plan but when action starts it may not go the way you planned, and you’re down to the reflexes you developed in training…” Joe Frazier (American Professional Boxer)   A friend shared with me how his son was preparing for a formal boxing match. Beyond…

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The Mirror of Erised

In preparation for a trip to Europe with our son and his wife, both big Harry Potter fans, it made sense to watch at least one movie from the series to familiarize myself with the characters. In the first movie, I was fascinated to learn about the Mirror of Erised. Albus Dumbledore (known as the…

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The Other Shoe to Drop

In the early 1900s, New York City tenement buildings were poorly constructed with thin walls and ceilings and bedrooms stacked on top of one another. As the resident on the floor above you would prepare for bed by taking off his shoes, you would hear one shoe drop to the floor. What would come next?…

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