We are in a period of the lowest interest rates ever.  If you are borrowing money, these are some of the best of times.  We have never been able to borrow money for homes, businesses, cars, etc. as low as we have been able to this past year.  As a …

My son Matthew earned his Eagle Scout several years ago.  The Eagle Scout motto is “Be Prepared,” and the program’s focus is to help boys and girls be ready to face various challenges in life.  I was thinking of that training often this past week when Texas was faced with …

You have probably seen the “SMART” goal-setting acronym, which stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.  These principles apply well to our financial goals as well as other goals.  Here are some brief reminders to help keep you focused and SMART this year! Specific: When setting a saving or …

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about people who used high risk methods to buy high risk investments.  These folks had turned relatively small amounts of money into exceptionally large gains in the past year.  Earlier in the year, the WSJ also published an article about investors who …

As this year comes to a close, here are my top 3 important financial tasks to consider. Review Retirement Plan Contributions: Whether you contribute to a 401(k), 403(b), IRA, or Roth, look at your year-to-date contributions.  You can make 2020 contributions into IRAs and Roth IRAs until April 15, 2021 …

You know you’ve been doing something for a long time when a colleague describes you as an “industry veteran.”  That’s the way Will Hepburn described me to his clients last week.  And yes, it made me aware that I did start as an advisor in 1992 and have been an …

In the August 29th edition of the Wall Street Journal, Jason Zweig wrote an article entitled, “Warren Buffet and the $300,000 Haircut.”  The discipline and mindset of Mr. Buffet is a positive In the August 29th edition of the Wall Street Journal, Jason Zweig wrote an article entitled, “Warren Buffet …

List your five most important core values.  Some examples of core values are: family, faith, meaningful work, philanthropy, ethics, etc.  These values are the foundation upon which we build our lives.  The more deeply you understand your core values, the better you will be able to determine the goals and …

According to a recent study by the Federal Reserve, approximately 40% of Americans do not have $400 set aside for a financial emergency.  This is one reason why so many people are facing significant financial peril from the recent lockdown. One of the cornerstones of being financially stable is having …

My family and I live in Wimberley, Texas, which you may remember was struck by a flood on Saturday, May 23, 2015. Unprecedented is a term often used to describe the flooding. Still, that adjective does not capture the magnitude of what happened that evening along the Blanco River.  Twenty-three …