“Money may not be too important to you, pal; but, to me, it ranks right up there with oxygen.

Ruth Gordon

Former Actress

It’s a funny line – and there’s a certain ring of truth to it; after all, no one wants to live a life of worry and insecurity in their later years; But, rich and wealthy are two different things.  While both are possible, I think most people would say that freedom from worry, coupled with living a full and rich life, would rank pretty high. Continue reading →

Inflation is like glaucoma.

You can’t see it on a day-to-day basis, but the erosion of purchasing power is still there.  Do you remember when $50,000 a year was a lot of money and $5,000 would buy a luxury car?   I do (okay, I also remember double-knits). Continue reading →

You guessed it:  It depends.

You can ask ten people and get ten different opinions about this issue; but, after more than twenty years in this business – having begun in a Wall Street big name `wire house’ and gradually changing my business model from stockbroker to independent broker to independent planner/broker to independent planner/broker/advisor to independent planner/advisor and having spoken with hundreds of other advisors over the years at scores of industry conferences and conventions – this is my own humble opinion: Continue reading →

Higher Tax Rates

You probably know we now have a new restored 39.6% top marginal tax bracket for high earners. Those people will also be paying a 20% rate on both capital gains and dividends; but, there’s more: These are the people who very likely will be paying an additional 3.8% Medicare tax on investment income. Continue reading →