Bonds are typically considered a safe asset. Today we’ll talk about the risks and look at some actual examples to demonstrate how, as an investor, we could lose money investing in a bond. What is a Bond? Simply put, a bond is a loan to a corporation or government entity. The bond buyer (us) provides […]
How To Lose Money On Bonds Read More »
Monday morning I spent some time at my local Apple store. My visit reminded me what a great company Apple is. And before we dive in, I like to differentiate great companies from great investments. To me, there is a difference. I think of a great company as a company that provides an oustanding product,
Apple Is A Great Company Read More »
Towards the end of each year, I do an annual portfolio review. I’ve written about this here and here. This year I had some help. Grok helped me plan a vacation and helped me come up with a tax minimization strategy using Roth conversions so I thought I’d have him check out my portfolio. Privacy
3 Keys to Navigating Uncertainty Read More »
How nice of him, Right? My wife and I are both retired and the winters are looong here in Massachusetts. We try and get away someplace warm every year. Last year we spent a week in Key Largo. The year prior, we had spent all of January down south. We drove so that our dog
Grok Planned My Winter Vacation Read More »
I was not totally surprised to read this over the weekend at The Daily Upside. The article is a worthwhile 3 minute read, but if you don’t have time (and who does these days??), here’s the premise. Pensions The first important point for all of us to understand is that pensions have gone the way
Hello Gen X. Please Contribute to Your 401k. Let’s Talk About Why. Read More »
Many finance experts view extended warranties as a virus. Stay away! I’m not convinced and I’ll tell you why. Full disclosure. I worked for 6 months as a part-time used car salesman. I know. Pretty glamorous, huh? Most of us car sales folks get paid when you purchase an extended warranty. Which is unfortunate, because
Why You May Want To Consider An Extended Vehicle Warranty Read More »
Here’s my favorite chart. We’ll talk about why in a minute. Here are the actual return values going back to 2008 so you don’t have to squint. Bubble? The S&P 500 was up 26% in 2023, 25% in 2024, and 17% as of December 15, 2025. As we know, the S&P 500 has averaged 10%
Are We In A Bubble? Why It Doesn’t Really Matter. Read More »
For many of us, a portfolio of mutual funds and ETFs is perfect. Whether we have passive funds that track an index like the S&P 500, or active funds in which a portfolio manager chooses a basket of securities, we leave the hard work of choosing individual securities to the professionals. But for some of
Why Buying a Basket of Securities Makes Sense Read More »
It’s almost 2026. Can you believe it??? At around this time every year, most investors start reading articles about how it’s time for a year-end check-up. It seems like a lot of work so many investors just move on and stick with the program. And honestly, this isn’t the worst reaction. With investing, often laziness
Your Year-End Planning Checklist Read More »
I’ll cut to the chase. The best way to get rich is by investing in great American businesses. Not all businesses. Businesses go bankrupt everyday. I learned that lesson with Yellow Trucking. But an investment in the 500 largest publicly traded US companies has proven to be a pretty solid choice. You can read more