During a recent meeting, a family asked me, “Who will be able to help my family manage our financial affairs when I am no longer able?” The person who asked the question took the sole responsibility for managing her family’s financial affairs and was able to build a sizeable investment portfolio and a retirement plan that allowed both her and … Read More
Beware of Predictions This Time of Year
Barry Ritholtz, financial writer and host of Masters in Business on Bloomberg Radio was recently quoted in this WSJ piece A Critical Look at Two Investment Practices which could have been titled Beware of Predictions This Time of Year. Anyone who thinks that they know what direction the markets are heading in realistically only has a 50/50 chance of being right. However, these probabilities can be exacerbated by a … Read More
The Negative Impact to Clients with the Ever Increasing Asset Minimum
One of the principles that set TAMMA apart from other investment advisory firms was my decision to work with clients of all asset levels. Even though I have implemented a minimum asset requirement today, (friends and family of an existing client are not subject to minimums) that minimum is a far cry from the asset minimum that most firms require … Read More
Rent vs. Buy: Which is Cheaper for You?
This is a pretty cool interactive chart from Trulia that helps provide some direction on whether it is better to rent vs. Buy in various areas of the U.S. Below are four key variables that drive the decision Interest rate Whether you itemize on your tax return How many years you would stay in the home Do you pay homeowner association fees … Read More
Stressing Out About Money
I recently had a conversation with an individual about the very last sentence in this Ben Carlson post Stressing Out about Money, “Too many people are on their own when it comes to making financial decisions.” As American businesses have shifted from pensions to 401ks, it has shifted the responsibility for retirement savings from the employer to the employee. I agree … Read More
HGTV Host Provides Insights on How to Make a Second Home a Reality
My wife and I have always thought about what it might be like to own a vacation home. We have friends that have been able to pull it off from both a financial and usage perspective. HGTV host Matt Blashaw provides some insight into how to potentially make a second home a reality in this Business Insider article. Caution even … Read More
5 Factors That Determine Your Credit Score
Recently I was sitting down with a new client who just graduated from college and we began to cover the basic tenants of what a financial plan would look like for this young lady. Mind you this young woman only took on a reasonable amount of student loan debt, had no credit card debt, and actually had a material amount … Read More
Even Doing Good Has Its Financial Perks
Even people who help other people have the ability to cash out in the equity markets. Brad Damphousse and Andy Ballester the founders of crowdfunding site GoFundMe have agreed to sell the controlling position to an investor group led by Accel Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures. The deal, values the company at around $600 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. … Read More
14-Day Plan to Radically Improve Your Finances
According to a survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, less than half of Americans keep close track of their spending, and nearly 30% aren’t saving for retirement. I wouldn’t call the 14-day plan below necessarily radical. I would call it a very straightforward approach that radically changes your life. As with many things in life just taking that … Read More
Getting Rich in America Depends on a Lot More Than a College Degree
With both college and high school graduations in full swing throughout the country, this Bloomberg article Getting Rich in America Depends on a Lot More Than a College Degree posed some very interesting points that go well beyond that simply having a college degree and wealth is automatic. Researchers William Emmons and Bryan Noeth at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. … Read More
