When I was newly married I immediately bought some life insurance. The monthly premium was small, and the death benefit seemed like a fortune. As I worked to build my business I often joked that I was worth more dead than alive. But it gave me great comfort knowing that for a very small monthly…
Last week Launa and I stayed at a hotel where the experience fell short of expectations. When we brought it to the attention of the manager the response was a weak apology but no offer to make matters right. I then wrote a letter to corporate headquarters who responded with excuses, but no solution or…
Have you ever been on a commercial flight waiting for it to push back and have the steward go around asking for a couple of volunteers to move to a different seat? Unlike any other transportation device, airplanes are very sensitive not only to weight, but to how that weight is distributed. A small regional…
Last week I went with two of my brothers to Jackson Hole to do some whitewater rafting. The stretch of river we rode has several miles of class 2 and 3 rapids, which means it is enough to be exciting but not really dangerous if you follow the rules. As we approached each rapid, the guide…
At five years old I gave my first public speech. It was in a church meeting for primary children and I still remember it. It began like this, “Everything in the world works by a law; Birds fly by a law; flowers grow by a law and bees make honey by a law…” I went…
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…
When 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…
I 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…
Launa 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…
Sometimes 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…