After more than a year of pandemic chaos, Americans are well on their way to getting back out into the world. Letting loose, seeing old friends, taking big trips, living it up. All those long months of worry have left us with a carpe diem attitude toward life in general. Attempting to make up for Read More
Bringing up debt in any conversation can feel like a social taboo. Oddly enough, the more intimate the relationship, the more awkward debt discussions can be. We worry we will suddenly be viewed in a negative light: “What if they judge me? What if they start lecturing me? What if my financial burden creates this Read More
Interest rates march higher. Rates have continued their upward climb through March, a trend leading to sustained volatility in investment markets. Investors keep adjusting their portfolios to account for the rising rate environment. Want to dive into the nitty gritty? Find out why the recently rising rate on the U.S. 10-year note is adding to market jitters here. Ultimately, Read More
Moving on up. Rates that is. Rates are on the rise. While not the end of the world, this shift has certainly reintroduced volatility into the investment market. Everyone is working to adjust their portfolios for a future with higher inflation, growth and interest rates. This rotation has hit the high-flying tech sector, which has been the Read More
When I talk with millennials about growing a retirement nest egg, their eyes tend to glaze over. It is the ultimate “I’ll worry about that later” topic. Believe me, I get it. Most of us cannot even imagine the day when we hang it up. There are so many shorter-term goals our generation is working Read More
The COVID-19 story. The pandemic continues to dominate much of what is happening in our country. The feared holiday surge has come to be. More than 433,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 complications. The spread of disease has transformed consumption habits, driving ongoing weakness in the labor market. Most of the high unemployment stems from the ravaging of the leisure and hospitality industry. This trend will continue until vaccines are plentiful and consumers begin to resume their Read More
“Refinance – yes, no, maybe”? With interest rates at historic lows, I field this question a lot. My response is always the same: “Well, it depends”. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the refi question. A multitude of factors are at play here: What are you trying to accomplish? What are the details of your Read More
We have almost made it. 2020 has certainly been tough for our community, our country, and our world. A post-pandemic future appears to be somewhere on the horizon. We still have a long way to go to get there. For now, with a new year right around the corner, I have a few thoughts to Read More
The pandemic accelerates. COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are continuing to skyrocket in the United States and around the globe. While help is coming with treatments and probable vaccine distributions, we have quite a ways to go. Three different vaccines have shown high levels of efficacy, which has led to a buoyant market over the past four weeks. Read More
Election turbulence. There really is no precedent for this election and the myriad of variables that could impact what happens on November 3rd and the days that follow. Are we looking at a certain winner in the presidential race who is generally accepted by Americans? Or will it be more muddled than that? This election might Read More
