I was in “Basic accounting 101”. The professor wrote “RULES” on the blackboard (an ancient visual communication device). Rule #1 – debits on the left, credits on the right. Rule #2 – Assets minus liabilities = net worth. While the blackboard may be obsolete, the rules still apply today. A recent Zerohedge article includes a chart outlining corporate bond debt […]
» Read moreWhen Congress names a department and/or passes an “act”, it generally does the opposite of what it’s named. How “secure” is our Social Security, and how much offense has the “Department of Defense” been playing over the last several years? In October, the House of Representatives passed “The Retail Investor Protection Act.” The Investment Company Institute, (the national association of […]
» Read moreI was humiliated! I wanted to cry! I felt like running home, jumping in bed, pulling the covers over my head and never coming out. Then something snapped. For years my wife Jo encouraged me to get my hearing checked. I finally agreed, and quickly learned I lost close to 90% of the hearing in my right ear and struggled […]
» Read moreFor the third time since 2010 social security recipients will not receive a Cost of Living Adjustment. The working class is cutting personal spending and businesses worldwide are doing the same. The Wall Street Journal reports: “More than a year after oil prices began their descent to under $50 a barrel from over $100, the number of energy-company layoffs world-wide […]
» Read moreRemember going with your parents to the bank to open up your own savings account, in your own name? It was neat! What were you trying to accomplish? Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a great tool for understanding investing. The base of all human needs is survival. Each and every day we need food and water to survive. Without that, […]
» Read moreAs a young lad, my off school summer months were spent on my grandparent’s dairy farm. The education I received about life each summer was probably more valuable than sitting in a classroom. Television had not been invented, and there were no neighbor kids to play with. My grandparents were my entertainers and educators 24/7. They did their job well. I was […]
» Read moreThe fairest tax of them all is the lottery. It is voluntary, it is not levied; you are not forced to buy a ticket. It is an adult choice. Recently the Powerball lottery changed the game by adding ten numbers. The odds of winning rose from one chance in 175,223,510 to one in 292,201,338. Let’s put that in perspective. The government […]
» Read more“Are you kidding me?” I was dumbfounded. I was on the Lending Club website. Someone with a poor credit score wanted to borrow a lot of money (enough for a good down payment on a house) for “wedding expenses”. The payments were in excess of 15% of their monthly income. I’ll pass on that one. When I told my wife Jo […]
» Read moreA recent email from my good friend Toots got my attention. She lamented, “We just received our real estate tax bill. Many of our retired friends, who thought this was to be their ‘forever’ home, are being forced to sell and move”. This is a preview of things to come. The State of Illinois is headed off the financial cliff and […]
» Read moreSince the August stock market reversal all eyes have been on the Federal Reserve. What will the Federal Reserve (who are more aptly named the Grand Wizards of Economic Theory, or GWOET for short) do to fix the world? Like Merlin the Magician, what magic trick will they come up with to cure the economy, stock market, labor market and underfunded retirement […]
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