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The first month of the new year is almost over. Any new year's resolutions are either well underway or busted by this point, but it is not too late to put together a financial plan for the year. Don't Fail to Plan. It's been said that failing to plan is planning to fail. But what should a financial plan look like for the year? The net five years? And while we can know most [...]

Christmas time is here. Gifts have been bought. Budgets *might* be blown. And perhaps we wonder if we should have counted the costs a little better. We tell ourselves that we will do better next year. But perhaps we are calculating the wrong costs. Planning Christmas isn't all about the financial cost associated with the celebration of Christmas. There are other costs to consider. Calculate the Cost of Time. We are accustomed to calculating [...]

Chances are that Thanksgiving looks different this year for some of us. Some loved ones are separated from one another due to COVID, while others might be facing other difficult challenges. But even if life does not look much different to your family this year, most everyone has been impacted in some way by all that 2020 has thrown our way. The reminder to be grateful in all things is perhaps more poignant this [...]

October has come and flown by. And as those days were filled with fall's delights, October is also commemorated as Financial Planning month. While having a month dedicated to this purpose might seem like overkill, the statistics on the preparation of U.S. families' preparedness for their financial future are staggering and reveal the need for such a focus. With nearly half of U.S. families having less than $10,000 saved for retirement, 55 million Americans with no emergency fund, [...]

Grace Relations Every race on the earth will likely relate with other races at some point unless they are extremely isolated. And when our race relations are grace relations—relating to one another with the same grace we have been given—it is a beautiful thing. “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God [...]

Steward Your Children's Education School doesn't look the same as it used to. Many are adapting to the new way of life of virtual education during a pandemic. And while we are grateful that an education can still take place, wise parents realize that you need to carefully steward your children's education. Steward Your Children's Education—Through Accountability A virtual education is one that is best suited to self-motivated students. And sometimes in the virtual [...]

Bad news can wear us down and it is easy to come by. But good news sparks hope and reminds us that bad news does not win in the end. But we can have resilient hope and faith's triumph in the hard places. In a recent article, Focus on the Family recently featured an inspiring story about American Resilience that I thought we would share with you. It's the story of the Flying W [...]

If your stress and anxiety levels are reaching a breaking point, you’re not alone. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) poll found 45 percent of adults in the United States are feeling worry and stress related to the coronavirus. Steps taken to reduce loss of life – social distancing, non-essential business closures, remote work, lack of daycare, shelter-in-place orders, online school – have caused many people to feel overwhelmed or isolated or both. Anxiety has been [...]

As coronavirus restrictions ease and businesses reopen, the American economy should gain steam. Data released in May and June, including employment, payroll, and manufacturing numbers, suggested the economy may have hit bottom in April.1 The Stock Market The stock market, which reflects what investors think will happen in the future, appears confident the economy will recover relatively quickly. After dropping 1,000 points in late February and early March, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index [...]

Dads can get a bad rap for always being the one to have to say no, whether it was for a purchase being considered or for a privilege. Do phrases like, "You're such a tightwad!" or "All you care about is money!" ring a bell? Sadly, it is often not until children have grown up that they realize WHY Dad said no. We thought it would be great to honor Dad with a list of [...]

Watching a volatile market fluctuate each day can create a sense of apprehension. But an uncertain market situation can also be a golden opportunity to make lemonade out of the lemons the COVID-19 and Market are dealing us. Below are 7 practical things you can do to survive and thrive in uncertain or volatile market conditions. Roth Conversion…while the values are low It is less expensive for many investors to convert retirement savings from [...]