When the recession of 2007 hit, one of the harsh realities that struck many Americans was that they had been living beyond their means, buying houses and luxuries they could only barely afford, and setting aside very little for an emergency. As the economy stalled, businesses cut back and jobs were lost, people were unable…
DetailsWhen my daughter Jaimee came into my office some years back and announced her decision to join the Marines, my first response was, “Why? Why the military? Why the Marines? Why not the Air Force? And why leave such a nice opportunity here at the family business?” But Jaimee had always wanted to do something…
DetailsI stumbled across some old boxes from my investment days dating back to the early 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. I smiled as I remembered…
DetailsLauna and I went up on the mountain above Cedar City, Utah this week to escape the desert heat. Most of the homes on the mountain are surrounded with an abundance of trees, mostly pine. Each year the forest service removes trees to help with fire protection and we were amazed at how quickly an…
DetailsSometimes the highest risk to your finances can come from legitimate companies with less than perfect intentions. In the 19th century it was common for travelling salesmen to come to town in a wagon promoting special elixirs that purportedly would heal “all that ails you.” One of the most common elixirs was made from snake…
DetailsOne of my biggest sacrifices when I became a pilot was accepting that I would be committing to routine medical exams for the rest of my life. I was never a fan of going to the doctor unless I was bleeding uncontrollably or a bone was sticking out somewhere. I didn’t see the value in…
DetailsWhen our family lived by the river in Santa Clara, Utah we were in a continual battle with wolf spiders and cockroaches. Both are harmless but also creepy when you come across them in the middle of the night. Cockroaches are easy to kill with proper treatment but impossible to completely eradicate. Spraying for spiders…
DetailsMy family loves theme parks. We have learned to travel prepared so we have a special backpack that I carry, that has within several items that might be useful throughout the day. I have rain ponchos, sun screen, spare phone batteries, chapstick, sweatshirts, socks, bandages and Tylenol. You never know which of the above you…
DetailsI have been blessed this week as I took some time with Launa and our daughter Jaimee, who is my illustrator, to do book readings at local elementary schools. We wanted to share the special message of my new book, but after each reading we found that we were the ones being educated. I began an…
DetailsIn a report this week on public school financial education, my home state of Utah was the only state to get an A+. We’ve come a long way since the 90’s when several states began to mandate financial education in their public school system. I applaud these efforts, having seen first-hand the ruin that can…
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