Business & Finance

The Most Expensive Time of the Year

Jeff Masters
1 Dec 2015
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  Wow, I can’t believe it is that “expensive” time of the year again! Christmas is supposed to be the season to have fun while enjoying the holiday with family and friends. However, the cash crunch and credit card bills arriving in January seem to ruin the joy. It’s no wonder that the holidays are actually one of the most stressful times, especially from a financial perspective. Smart spending and creating a Christmas budget can reduce the financial burden and alleviate some of that unwanted stress. But let’s be real, its way too easy to get caught up in the […]

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What to Do When the Stock Market Crashes

Jeff Masters
6 Oct 2015
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  We all experienced a lot of market ups & downs recently. We know that markets rebound from crises over time. However, the recent market volatility has affected investors more than anytime since the Great Recession in 2008-2009. This volatility can be very unsettling, but it is a natural part of the market. We have to remember the big picture and put volatility into perspective so you will stick to your long-term financial plan you have created. Here are some thoughts on how to do that.   Stay invested Over 66 years historically (14 bull markets and 13 bear markets), […]

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Reigniting Your Dream Beyond Mid-life

The Good News
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At a recent Go-DRREAM Workshop I hosted, I was amazed to find an audience of mostly 50 and 60-somethings waiting to learn how to reach their dreams. I should not have been surprised. After many years of moonlighting as a grant writer and evaluator, I left a full-time faculty position to dedicate my time to a research business my wife and I own. The business took off. So I was eager to hear answers to my opening question “What is your dream?” The answers were as diverse as the men and women themselves, who hailed from Central and South America, […]

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Divorced Over Money?

Jeff Masters
1 Sep 2015
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  You’ve probably heard that money problems are one the most significant factors that can lead to divorce. According to a Citibank survey, 57 percent of divorced couples cited money problems as the primary reason for the demise of their marriage. Having counseled couples financially for over 20 years, I have found that money is never the reason for their marital discord but rather just a symptom of their conflicting hearts. Other factors such as incompatibility, lack of emotional support, abuse and sexual problems rank higher than money problems.  Money is a problem in many marriages, but usually the first perceived […]

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Divorced Over Money

A Good Way to Save For Education Costs

Jeff Masters
1 Aug 2015
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Save for education costs

  For some time now the cost of a college degree has been rising at a shocking rate, and as a result the dream of one day going to college, for many, remains just that…a dream. But the rising cost of college has brought heavy debt burdens that have many new graduates wondering if they will be able to pay off their loans before they retire. The challenge for parents can be trying to save for their own retirement while saving for their children’s education at the same time can seem just as daunting. Many parents and students have traditionally […]

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Can You Afford $400?

Jeff Masters
7 Jul 2015
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A typical American household cannot raise $400 without borrowing money or selling possessions, according to the results of a survey published recently by the Federal Reserve, the US central bank (The Fed’s Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2013). The agency asked 50,000 people if they could handle an unexpected “financial disruption” costing them $400. Just over half (53 percent) said they could “fairly easily handle such an expense” by using money in their bank accounts (checking or savings) or by leaning on a credit card. But the rest of the respondents would have to borrow, sell […]

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Can You Afford $400

Choices for Your 401(k)

Jeff Masters
2 Jun 2015
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In our culture of continual job change, people who leave their jobs are faced with a decision about what to do with their 401(k) account. Indeed, a 2012 report by the U.S. Labor Department notes that the average worker holds 11 jobs from age 18 to 46. How many previous employer 401(k)s and company plans do you have, and are you keeping track of them? Probably the biggest mistake you can make when leaving a job is cashing out your old 401(k). According to a 2012 report by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, 25 percent of unemployed or underemployed workers […]

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Sharpening Your Edge for Renewed Success in School or the Workplace

Steve Davis
1 Jun 2015
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“Hmmmm, I think I’ll stop in there and see what’s happening.” Driving by that same retail store on the way back and forth to work, I began noticing something fresh. New activity and new life was erupting. The building was painted with a new attractive color scheme, the landscape was upgraded, signs promising special sales were now waving and flopping for everyone’s attention, and the parking lot had more and more cars every day. But, two months ago that store seemed to be dying. What happened? I’ve noticed this same phenomenon on an individual level as well. It happened to […]

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Renewed Success

The Financial Reality of Living to 100

Jeff Masters
3 May 2015
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100th Birthday

We live in a nation that has become one of the most prosperous in the world. Great advances in medical science and healthcare, extensive social welfare programs to those less fortunate, a military that protects us abroad and domestic, freedom in our capital markets to start a business and work with equality and great opportunity — we are fortunate to live in the U.S. We are also reminded that the success of this country has not come without challenges. Inherent in those are a series of financial challenges that one could argue are the price of success, and the longer […]

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Frugal is Back in Fashion

Jeff Masters
3 Apr 2015
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The Great Recession of 2008 seems to have turned many Americans into lasting coupon-cutters, scrimpers and savers. Consumers dug a debt hole over the past decade from which there’s no easy climb out. This age of frugality seems to be in fashion, and the new normal ushered in by the recession has become the norm. Americans today are even more likely than they were a couple years ago to say that they are saving more and being more frugal. Cost-conscious is now a way of life. The hard financial times apparently taught many Americans a lesson: hope for the best; […]

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frugal is back