Welcome to the world of anchoring, where your serenity takes a back seat to anxiety.
“I guarantee to make you an investment genius in six months. Send me $199, and I will reveal my secret.”
Being left solely responsible for wealth through divorce or widowhood later in life comes with its own set of responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges. As with so many financial life events, it is often the emotional challenges that are the hardest.
Recently, a newly divorced woman in her 50s asked me if I knew of any good books for middle-aged, single woman of wealth.
Is the work you do to make a living a job, a career, or a calling? Recognizing the difference will pay great dividends in many ways.
If you're concerned about the downside of leaving real estate to heirs, there are several alternatives.
The reasons people choose to live in high-cost-of-living locations are clearly emotional.
As with so many other financial matters, the varying opinions around student loan debt forgiveness are more about emotions than dollars.
An essential component of planning for retirement and old age is building financial resources to pay for LTC. Yet having enough money is not a guarantee of getting the best care you need when you need it.
Rising interest rates are giving sellers an opportunity to broaden their opportunity set.
The illusion is that people come to financial planners for financial advice.
The cumulative increase in college tuition has been much higher than inflation over the past 40 years.
Recently, I came across an example of something worse than having no will…
At the height of the pandemic recession, a prominent economist proclaimed that the dollar would plunge 35% and lose its status as the reserve currency. Why was he so wrong?
Some couples may have what can be termed "faux" financial intimacy, where there is no tension or conflict because they avoid talking about money.
Here is a tale of two families who were alike in many ways, including political and religious beliefs, income, and net worth. But they were drastically different in how they approached aging.
If you answer “yes” to any of the following questions, you might be caught up in toxic positivity.
Deciding whether to pay a family member for in-home care is highly personal and dependent on individual circumstances.
According to reasonable and trustworthy data, we are not in a recession.
Our money scripts have an impact on the way we think about final expenses for our loved ones and ourselves.
While much information is available about the technical aspects of avoiding bankruptcy and steps to take when filing for it, there isn’t much written about the emotional costs.
When you travel abroad, get travel insurance. I needed to use mine on three international trips this year.
Believing you don’t deserve money is one of the 10 most common money scripts. But holding this belief has very little to do with whether society, friends, or family view you as deserving.
Clearly, investing in gold has been an epic failure.
Financial decisions that are not based on personal integrity are risky in many ways. Making sound, ethical financial choices – and teaching our children to do the same – is essential for financial wellbeing.
There are not four, 10, or even 72 money scripts. A money script can be very personal, and a person can have literally hundreds of them.
Social Security has always been born from political rather than financial necessity. The initial retirement age was not based on life expectancy but rather on the political and social realities of the time.
A long-term financial plan can be dismantled late in life by adult children, usually with good intentions. What can you do to guard against this possibility?
The biggest risk to a planner/client relationship lasting through the client’s lifetime can be the adult children the client has appointed to hold their power of attorney.
What would you do with a million-dollar windfall?
Being presented with only two choices is a financial red flag. There is almost always at least a third choice.
Why do 80% or more of Americans think the economy is bad and will get worse, while over 60% are satisfied with their financial situation?
If the FTC is successful in getting a new rule enforced, non-compete agreements may soon become illegal in all 50 states.
If the Congressional brinksmanship continues until the U.S. is in default, the economic consequences – globally, nationally, and for individuals – will be severe.
I’ve received more emails and calls from clients on the failure of SVB Bank than I did on the stock market crash in April of 2020. That tells me there is wide concern today about the stability of the economy and financial markets.
The best way to preemptively avoid paying unnecessary fees is by checking before the services are consumed.
Why don’t sellers of services transparently list one price that includes all fees?
Some money secrets within a couples are matters of privacy or convenience, while others cross a line into financial infidelity.
Scores of counties offer a free monitoring service to taxpayers if a new need is filed for a property.
Is investing in the stock market akin to gambling?
National rent controls are much more a political “feel good” measure than they are a reasonable economic strategy. President Biden wants to make things worse.
Transparency and honesty are not the same, though both are essential for establishing trust.
Unfortunately, attempted identity theft is a way of life in 2023, and it has been for me personally for a decade.
Two major issues clients should consider in creating their own long-term care plan are where they will live and how they will pay for the care they are likely to need.
The greatest financial risk for depleting retirement resources is an unexpected and lengthy stay in a long-term healthcare facility.
Users of online payment apps like Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay will be in for a complex transformation if the IRS has its way.
I’ve not written much on New Year’s resolutions because “white knuckling” any meaningful behavioral change is rarely successful.
For some holiday shoppers the most expensive holiday purchase this year was hidden.
With all the supply chain chaos, inflation, and uncertainty in the economy, this year is a perfect time to celebrate Christmas in the manner of Ebenezer Scrooge.
How do we decide who is genuinely in need? How do we know when our giving is helpful and when it might merely foster dependence or even be a scam?
