Philosophy
Articles for our Clients on Philosophy of Wealth
Your philosophy of wealth is the story of your life and success. Our mission and philosophy are to help you design Lasting Situations of Wealth”™
If you don't consciously know what you're building wealth for—if you don't have a story of what your life should be, then you can't tell if you've hit the mark. A life of wealth is made by every moment of wealth you experience. Your life’s events become moments of wealth when they match up with your narrative of wealth.
We provide this selection of articles to help you refine your own financial and lifestyle philosophy. Enjoy, and let us know what you think.
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December 13, 2011
When it comes to money, the financial climate in which you grew up can have a life-long impact on your financial perceptions and behavior. The influence appears to be particularly strong if the financial events are extreme, such as those occurring in a boom or bust period and especially impactful for people who are between the ages of 18 and 25 when the major event occurs. A research paper...
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November 11, 2011
By some measures, the past four years have been the worst economically since the Great Depression of the 1930s. But while today’s financial difficulties are real, there are some positives. For example…
According to statistics from Freddie Mac, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 18.45% in October 1981 (i.e., 30 years ago). The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed...
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November 11, 2011
With the economic turmoil of the past few years still roiling their personal finances, many American households have made a focused effort to “deleverage,” that is, to pay down their debt balances. And while the average American consumer may have given lip service to reducing their indebtedness in the past, this time it appears they are serious about it. The Federal Reserve reported that...
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November 11, 2011
“What’s my number? – That is, how much do I need to retire?”
These are pressing questions for individuals whose major financial objective is saving for retirement. And no matter how complex and sophisticated the process used to answer these questions, every retirement projection has at its core a calculation of Present Value. Interestingly, most of the time, the critical factor in the generation...
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November 11, 2011
Recently, the paradigm for a lot of financial discussions has been making distinctions between the 1 percent of Americans who earn the highest annual incomes and the other 99%. In some conversations, the 1 percent has been characterized as the “millionaires and billionaires,” with examples of huge salaries and additional compensation that are almost beyond comprehension, particularly when...
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October 7, 2011
When Congress first began writing legislation for tax-favored retirement plans in the 1970s, some of the provisions were likely based more on projections (guesses) than historical precedent or experience. This seems particularly true of the required minimum distribution (RMD) regulations which mandate that a certain percentage of retirement account accumulations must be withdrawn after the...
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October 7, 2011
“The problem is that no matter what you think of insurance, past problems, future difficulties, etc., risk management still is a mandatory element of financial planning.”- Errold Moody
An ongoing philosophical debate in the financial services community is how financial professionals should be compensated, either by commissions or advisory fees. Both sides of the discussion raise some interesting...
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October 7, 2011
In the Internet age, it’s easy for everyone to have a voice, but only a few people have figured out how to get paid for speaking. Those brilliant postings on politics, incisive critiques of entertainment, passionate rants about your favorite sports teams, or hilarious links to stupid human tricks may be great outlets for your creativity, but how much time can you devote to these activities...
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September 2, 2011
The following factoid was part of the August 22, 2011, edition of “By the Numbers,” an online business news digest:
On August 13, 1979 (i.e., 32 years ago), Business-Week’s cover story was titled “The Death of Equities.” The S&P 500 closed at 107 on 8/13/79. The index closed at 1,124 on 8/19/11 (source: BusinessWeek).
Some interesting facts, yes? But how should we interpret them?...
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September 2, 2011
Working from a list that appeared in a Saturday, July 2, 2011, Wall Street Journal article, here are essential personal and financial documents that should be readily accessible by you or your heirs in an eldercare situation. Your personal circumstances might not require having every item listed here, but the categories reflect the range of issues relevant to caring for an aging parent....
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