Year: 2009

I’m often asked, “Do I need estate planning if I don’t have a lot of money?” The answer is, most often, yes. Estate planning is definitely not only for the wealthy. Take our estate planning quiz to see if you need your own plan:   Do you have an Advance Health Care Directive? In cases where you can’t […]

Last year as the wings came off the banking sector causing the economy to spiral out of control, credit card companies responded to mounting customer defaults by raising fees, raising interest rates, instituting hidden transaction fees and reducing credit limits with little or no notice. The reaction from consumers was loud and angry and congressional representatives […]

If you are a perpetual optimist, you can always find something good that, like the Phoenix, rises from the ashes of something bad. Take the generational bear market of 2008. From the peak of the market to its lowest point, the U.S. stock market was down more than 50%. Even the most recent market run-up has left the […]

What if there was a magic formula that would guarantee you could become, have or achieve anything you truly desired? Think for a moment…if you possessed such a magic formula, what would you choose to accomplish? In the financial arena, what would you buy? Where would you live? What would your home be like? Would you travel…and to where? What kind […]

If you follow my weekly column, you know that I have written cautionary tales about the survivability of our Social Security system in its current form. It is a Ponzi scheme of grand proportions and, in the near future, Congress will be forced to provide solutions as the money coming into the system falls short of […]

Even though the government botched the administration of the recent Cash for Clunkers program, it did stimulate auto sales nationwide. While auto dealers continue to wait for federal reimbursement of customer rebates, appliance dealers are bracing for the rollout of the sequel to Cash for Clunkers appropriately dubbed Cash for Appliances.   The target kickoff date […]

With acts of terrorism overseas becoming more common and swine flu morphing into a pandemic, Americans have become more reluctant to travel overseas. But should you be investing your money in foreign companies? As Americans, we tend to think of America as the center of the Universe and fail to realize America only represents 23% of the […]

Recent home sales data suggests that home sales are finally turning up indicating that the housing market may have finally bottomed out. Still, if you are thinking of selling your home, the current market remains a very challenging one. To get the best price for your home, consider these tips: Do a cosmetic makeover. There’s a lot of […]

As the healthcare reform debate rages in town halls across the country, Washington politicians and Americans are taking sides in one of the most important decisions of our generation.   There appears to be consensus that some level of reform is needed but there is a passionate difference of opinion whether the new plan should include […]

While Charles Ponzi didn’t invent the Ponzi scheme, the technique became widely associated with him after he bilked investors of millions of dollars in 1920. The deception is a simple one. Promise investors huge returns then deliver on those promises by using the funds of new investors. As long as new investors invest more money than is paid […]