Buckets, Not Panic: How to See Market Sell-Offs as Setup, Not Setback
Perception is reality in your mind. It’s all in the way you look at things and process them. If for instance you look at the stock market’s deeply red numbers the last 3 days, see amongst them the worst day in a few years, and think of it as the end of the world and your financial future then it will be. You might sell, take your losses and live to fight another day – albeit from a weakened position …
Through the Smoke: Finding Clarity in Market Uncertainty
It’s 3:00 pm, and I smell like a lit cigarette. My only offense was taking a 15-minute walk around the office park. The smoke from the Table Rock and Persimmon Ridge Wildfires has descended into our valley cloaking it in gritty, nasty unpleasantness. Farther north from us, however, the flames are a looming threat, and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who is affected by as-of-yet uncontained fires. May God bless you and keep you …
Recession Talk, Real Strategy: What Smart Investors Do When Markets Wobble
As we approach the close of the first quarter of 2025, uncertainty around the economy continues to grow. Market turbulence and recession fears have many rethinking their financial strategies …
No Panic, Just Planning: Turning a 10% Drop into Long-Term Gain
So … Schwab’s money market rates are at 4.17% now. Did we mention that to you? Because if we haven’t it may be worth a discussion. On Monday, the S&P 500 suffered its worst day since 2022 and wiped out $1.4 trillion dollars of wealth in a single day. As of yesterday, the S&P 500 was in correction territory, down 10%, since February 19th. This qualifies as the biggest drawdown since … you guessed it … 2022 … We keep telling you that if you listen to us, we’ll change your financial world. Here’s a great example …
When Speculation Breaks: Riding Out the Wave Before It Crashes
There’s red everywhere you look. It’s almost like Shocktober for the markets. Yet somehow the carnage could have been worse, as different rescuers have emerged on bad news cycle days as Nvidia did with the announcement of 78% revenue growth in Q4 year over year this week. But the signs are there …
Traps in the Jungle: Why High Valuations Demand Careful Steps
When the valuation of the market is high, a portfolio manager looking to allocate available cash is a bit like General Zaroff stalking fellow big-game hunter Sanger Rainsford in the O’Henry award-winning short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell …
Love in the Time of Inflation: Why Even Romance Costs More in 2025
It’s that time of the year that all husbands and boyfriends who wish to remain on the Love Train must deal with the fact that they’ve had their tushes planted firmly on a bench at Procrastination Station. Yes, I’m talking to you. You’ve waited until the very last minute, and Valentine’s Day is upon you …
The Quest for Marginal Improvements: Finding More in the Money You Already Have
Let’s find some money!! The overture of the Trump Administration has become DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, playing this piece fortissimo. Across all departments of the federal government the process of efficiency has begun. The quest to eliminate the waste, fraud and abuse and reprioritize how the government is spending its money, or rather OUR money has taken center stage …
When Giants Collide: Navigating the AI Arms Race in Your Portfolio
Every day in the stock market that goes by marches us deeper into science fiction territory. On Monday tech behemoth Nvidia, maker of semiconductor chips used for AI applications, dropped 17% when news came out that Chinese AI app DeepSeek grabbed the title of top ranked AI app on the Apple iPhone App Store …
Good Debt, Bad Debt, and the Balance Between
There is a 4-letter word in financial services that wreaks havoc and can create a debilitating condition wherever you find it. That word is DEBT. There’s good debt and bad debt. There’s household debt, company debt and government debt. It’s not visible to the naked eye but it’s always there under the surface breaking things apart from the inside out …
