Over $5,700 per household, that’s the new average for credit card debt in this country.  And the average rate of interest being charged for that credit card debt is now 17.14%!  But credit card debt doesn’t even cast a shadow compared to student loan debt.  Debt incurred for an education has now surmounted to $1.5 …

Continue reading “Interest You Earn Is Weightier Than Interest You Save”

George Clason, the author of The Richest Man in Babylon, is responsible for the 10-20-70 Rule.  He tells the tale of the egg merchant going to the gold merchant to find out how the gold merchant got his gold. The gold merchant, delighted that the egg merchant wasn’t asking him for his gold, gladly told …

Continue reading “How You can Increase Your Free Cash Flow using the 10-20-70 Rule”

The Federal Reserve is at it again.  Raising interest rates, as if they have some crystal ball that tells them what only God could know, what is a fair and authentic interest rate. Here’s the crux of the matter.  The U.S. monetary system depends on deposits, loans, and interest to fuel it.  If the Fed …

Continue reading “Your Retirement Plan Is Getting Shoved Around again, but here is How You Can Prevent It”

It’s no secret that your odds of becoming part of the wealthiest 1% in the world is reasonably achievable, as one in nine Americans accomplishes that every year.[i]   However, you have less than a 2% chance of remaining in that top 1% tier for more than 5 years and less than a 1% chance of …

Continue reading “Your # 1 Threat to Building Sustainable Wealth”

The biggest financial fear many people have is that they will run out of money.[i] Not only are returns shabby, at best, but human lifespan has gradually been rising. This is not a good recipe for being able to retire care free on the money you’ve put away during your career. But even with what …

Continue reading “Annual Returns… The Trickiest Illusion of All”

Ouch!  The market had a hiccup last week giving up nearly all the gains it attained over the summer. Now, maybe you don’t have enough in the market to worry about that hiccup or maybe you have enough invested that you now feel you need to hold on until this market recovers and you regain …

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Charles Dickens begins A Tale of Two Cities, with the following words. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…” And …

Continue reading “A Tale of Two Policies”

The story about the Ugly Duckling who turns out to be a beautiful Swan always intrigued me as a child.  Perhaps it was because that, even as a child, it was obvious to me that we are too quick to judge things as they appear, rather than as they really are. This applies to investing …

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That’s right, “68% regret that purchase”[i] and report that watching others suffer the devastation that occurred in the 2008 downturn and following recession was the reason why they wish they had never purchased their home. In a Bank of the West study, “Paying off debt and having the financial means to retire comfortably”[ii] were the …

Continue reading “Nearly 70% of Home Owners Regret Buying Their House!”

Pension plans have for the most part disappeared unless you work for the government.  And defined contribution plans (401ks) have and continue to fail in bridging the income gap which independent retirement accounts (IRAs) and social security were supposed to fill.  That being said, those aware of smart money management principles often encourage their clients …

Continue reading “How to Purchase More Money for Your Retirement”