It has been some time since Cathy and I have taken an extended vacation. Much of this had to do with COVID travel restrictions and my overall busy schedule. With all that said, we planned a cruise about six months ago and flew out the end of July. Only about four days had passed when […]
Recently I listened to an interview with Fred Smith, the highly respected founder and executive chairman of FedEx Corporation. He shared how over the next months or years policy changes need to be made when it comes to government spending and debt. Federal spending has risen dramatically to where almost $2 trillion was borrowed last […]
For the past 20 or more years, Cathy and I have been rising early twice a week to join a 6:30 a.m. aerobics class. The participants have become like family over the years — to where we must know your date of birth before you can join. This is because the fellowship of gathering to […]
The reason so many of us love watching the holiday special It’s a Wonderful Life is the main character, George Bailey. Through George, we learn of the importance of sacrifice and redemption, small-town values, and, yes, the virtues of small banks. In a critical moment in the film, George hopes to prevent a run on his family’s […]
In 2022, we watched the former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapse. With investors’ concerns it may result in another Bear Stearns moment, that collapse dealt a catastrophic blow to cryptos reputation and the plans and aspirations of many in this unique industry. The question now is, is this the end […]
The Labor Department announced earlier this month that the consumer-price index increased 8.6% in May from the same month a year ago, marking its fastest pace since December 1981. This was above analyst expectations of 8.3% and sent U.S. stocks down as consumer sentiment dropped along with them. With ongoing inflation and a lagging stock market, you […]
It has been said that it takes 21 days for a habit to be formed. For example, going to the gym for 21 consecutive days results in you not thinking twice about going to work out. Or taking a three-week break from dessert after dinner each night will result in you saying, “No, thank you” […]
There’s been a lot of buzz lately about I-Bonds after the Treasury announced in November that I-Bonds issued through April 2022 will earn an interest rate of 7.12%. So how do you get in on this historically high rate, and is it the right type of investment for you? As with most investment questions – […]
Will we ever one day become accustomed to stock market volatility? I often ask myself this question, especially following the prolonged rise in equity markets experienced over the past 18 months. The good news is that based on history, it will be only a matter of time before a market correction occurs. With that said, […]
When I began my career about 35 years ago, a contractor friend of mine gave me some very good advice that I instituted early on in my office, and it was this: If you want to develop trust, start by being trustworthy in the small things. He used the example of the use of postage […]