In the famous Christmas movie, “It’s a wonderful life,” the evil land baron Mr. Potter seeks to further enrich himself by monopolizing the real estate market in Bedford Falls. He does this by sowing seeds of fear about the stability of the local Savings and Loan, while planting ideas that home ownership is too risky…
I do not drink but I have probably watched every episode of Cheers. I did some research and found that the legendary “bartender therapist” is actually very common. Recently, I read a report on these newer “soda bars” that have become so popular in my state. These establishments, designed like a traditional bar, offer non-alcoholic,…
What should we do with this stock market that lately seems to be more down than up? The answer to that question I have found in the least likely of places, far from any talk of stocks and bonds. Our daughter owns a small family farm in Enterprise, Utah. For the purposes of this column,…
If you’ve ever driven a car in Italy you will know that the landscape can be breathtaking, but as the driver you need to be aware of the fairly common potholes along the way. When there is a pothole or some other road damage, the road crews will put up a pretty good-sized barricade that…
During my time as a financial advisor and a father of a large family, I have learned a thing or two about managing money. I’m not talking about the technical things you learn in school. I’m talking about the real practical learning that comes from doing and observing. I have been blessed to learn from…
Ten years ago, a normally cheerful couple came to my office in an unusually solemn mood. After some prodding they confided that they feared their only son may one day try to take their assets while they were still living, and asked if there was anything I could do to help. The conversation was difficult…
It’s a new year and it feels like a great time to think about the future. There is often no better way to plan our future than to begin with a lesson or two from the past. I remember in Elementary school how excited we all were when the teacher showed up with a projector.…
This year’s new college football playoff schedule is certain to bring some exciting games. We’ve already seen several great games during the regular season with the Miami/Cal game standing out as one of them. Trailing badly in the third quarter 35-10, Miami seemed to be on the ropes and heading towards a disappointing loss, but…
On January 15, 2009, US Airways 1549 departing LaGuardia airport hit a flock of geese, causing the extremely rare loss of both engines. What followed became known as the Miracle on the Hudson in which all 155 people on board miraculously survived, although the geese didn’t fare quite so well. The recent movie “Sully” has…
While going through some old boxes I stumbled across my investment research records going back to the 80’s. I found dozens of notebooks on which I had written down my daily market trades. Every page was filled with stock ticker symbols and pricing, as well as the financial results of each transaction. A flood of…