September 28, 2021

It’s never too late to change.

My grandfather suffered from Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 35. He was a warm and generous man, from what I remember. But suffering from such a debilitating progressive disease at such a young age, he faced struggles that we can’t even comprehend, both physical but also emotional. He tried his best, but couldn’t even play catch with his son, my father. By the time my grandfather was 45 years old, he was already in a wheelchair. At 50, he was almost totally incommunicado. By 62, he had passed away. Thinking of my grandfather recently – and my father, and down […]
September 22, 2021

“I really can’t complain.”

This morning, I drove to LAX before the crack of dawn. I silently cursed the early hour, trying to wake myself up and looking forward to getting my short flight over with so I could visit one of my favorite clients. Going through the clear/TSA line at the airport, a young man was working. He was in a wheelchair. As he began taking me and two others through the line at security, he asked, “How are you all doing?” I replied, “’Pretty good. A little tired but not bad. How about you?” This young man, who was in his early twenties, looked […]
September 16, 2021

Thank you for that.

There are many things my clients can say or do that make my day: a kind word, thinking of me around the holidays or important life events, and, of course, trusting me enough to refer a friend or associate to me. And there’s a special kind of appreciation I feel whenever a client asks me if one of their children can come work or intern for me, which has happened a few times. But there’s no greater honor than when a client asks me to help their parents with investments or financial planning. To be a part of the whole […]
September 10, 2021

August 2021 Market & Economic Recap

                Anemic payroll, S&P stays strong, eye on inflation amid Delta fears.   Latest payroll report shockingly low The big news last week was the release of a shocking payroll report. According to the report, non-farm payrolls increased by only 235,000 in August, which wasn’t even close to the 728,000 new jobs anticipated by economists for the month. (However, the unemployment rate did tick down from 5.4% in July to 5.2% in August.)   Fed hits pause on stimulus roll-back The ripple effect of that report is that it will likely keep the […]
September 9, 2021

Seeing the world through a child’s eyes.

Friday Thoughts: Seeing the world through a child’s eyes.   My son, Barrett (6 ½ years old) brought me the mail yesterday. As usual, there was some junk mail and a few bills. Barrett looked over the stack of envelopes and asked me, “Dadda, why do you always get these?” “Get what, bills?” I replied. “Yeah Dadda, bills. Why do you always get these?” I chuckled. “Well, I have to pay them.” I told him. Barrett looked slightly confused for a minute and then said, “Well, why can’t someone else pay them so you don’t have to?” GREAT QUESTION! I dropped […]
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