This month’s intended topic was taxes. We know that the best laid plans will hit one obstacle or another along the way. But having a plan – and sticking to it – is one of the best countermeasures to uncertainty. And so this week began with an escalating crisis in eastern Europe. With a 24-hour […]
Most of us start a New Year with resolutions: lose weight, exercise more, get organized financially. According to credit bureau Experian, almost 50% of Americans want to save more in the next year – even though for many personal savings soared since Covid-19 hit the US in March 2020. Among New Year goals, more than […]
Before we welcome the New Year, let’s take a quick look back at 2021. In my view it has been a terrible year. In addition to the ongoing and awful pandemic with all its associated economic difficulty, here in Washington state we had a disastrous roll-out of a badly-designed state long-term care plan (the WA […]
After the first week of the year, you might have wanted to cancel your 7-day trial subscription to 2021. But onward we went: election, insurrection, inauguration, impeachment. It shows that the Universe has a wicked sense of humor when we were closing out an impeachment hearing over President’s Day weekend. I’m going to try to […]
Stock market watchers often talk about whether “this time it’s different”: Does this bull market reflect the same conditions as the last one? Is this downturn different from the one just before the last recession? This time, is it different? Almost always, circumstances might be different, but business cycles are more or less the same. […]
When the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton was on tour, and despite the ridiculous price-point for tickets, I went to see it. Even if musical theatre is not your thing, it’s hard not to have been exposed to some of the songs, and what was once the obscure story of the United States’ first Treasury Secretary. […]
March seems like a long time ago, even though it’s only been six months. Life in Corona Times. Back in March we had just started shutdown here in the United States, the economy ground to a halt with exception of a few essentials, the stock market plummeted. We found comfort in Netflix and a stockpile […]
Like other advisors during the current market turmoil, I am working with clients on portfolio rebalancing, tax loss harvesting, Roth conversions while account balances may be diminished, and shoring up emergency funds. All of these are good things to consider. But are those the ONLY things you might be thinking about with regard to your […]
For about a week now, most of us have been hunkered down in our little COVID caves under a “social isolation” directive. Some of the rest of you are under strict shelter-in-place orders. Here’s the bottom line: We will get through this. And not in a dystopian, I Am Legend kind of way, though if […]
They say March goes in like a lion and out like a lamb. The last week of February was not meek nor fierce, but ugly, and I don’t know what to call it. February begins with hearts and flowers, and ends with a new virus, entire cities under quarantine, and all the stock traders heading […]