Trickle Down Economics?

 

Blame the President

 ** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant 

or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Not Your Average Emergency Fund

Here is an article I wrote recently for the CFP Board...

Hope and Action

 

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Final Gathering

 ** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Unlocking the Secrets of Nature through Dentistry

 

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Passport Quotes

 

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Benefits of the Ukraine War

 

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

The Age of A.I.

 

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Say - I've Been There!

Recently, I shared a re-post of a blog I did about the Millennium Bridge in London and how it demonstrates human behavior when they become connected – and that efficiency does not necessarily equal safety.

Well, I don’t know why I didn’t think about this at the time, but I’ve been to the Millennium Bridge. In 2017, my mother and I attended a wedding in York, England and we made it a point to visit the infamous bridge on the way back through London. 

 

Just Doin' Our Job, Ma'am

Recently we got a call from a client who just lost her job. She was telling us how much she appreciated being in the position she was, due in part because of work we had done over a year ago when her job seemed secure.  This is a common comment to which we always say the same thing:

"That's just financial planning and we're just doing our job."  

True American

 Yesterday I was having a conversation with a 31-year employee of a locally-owned service business. Business is good, and they are very financially responsible people. I was talking to him about how it’s often hard to see what's really going on in the economy from our secure bubble. To which he replied: 

“Look, Troy, when I make or win a sale, I create business to bring into the company where men and women in the manufacturing plant take steel and put it in the machines that make equipment that we then sell all around the world. Then those employees take their paychecks home and they buy groceries, make house payments, and move their lives ahead one month at a time. Now what is wrong with that?”

How to Win Every Time

Last night I watched the movie “Patch Adams” for probably the 4th time.  This is the one where Robin Williams plays a medical student who gets crosswise with the establishment bureaucrats in the school system with his comedic antics aimed at “treating” patients.    

300 Laughs A Day

Recently I heard a statistic that stated that the average child laughs 300 times per day, while the average adult only laughs 7 times.  

Thought Experiment: Unlimited Money

What would the world look like if we had unlimited money?

 

   * Ultimately, over a long enough period of time, the world would be dominated by the physically and mentally strongest who are committed to a unified purpose or mission.

 

 * Humans would be significantly minimized. Natural law will prevail.

 

  * Other “incentives” would need to be created to encourage activities consistent with an integrally informed, sustainable economic system.

 

  *The planet (Earth) ceases to support humans.

 

YIKES – quite a bleak assessment of money. However, contrasted with Unlimited Energy, it seems clear we should focus our money on finding ways to produce unlimited, clean, inexpensive energy. This, in my humble opinion, highlights the difference between our VIRTUAL money system and the REAL world of food, clothing, and shelter.

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Digital Currencies

I have struggled to put together a summary of Bitcoin and other digital currencies that might help people think about how it might be used in their own financial plans. 

However, a good friend of mine from South Dakota - Rick Kahler, CFP® - published an article this week that really helped. I have some additional thoughts on this, but for now there’s no need to muddy the water any further.

Food for thought: “If the perfect currency were to fall from the sky, no one would become instant billionaires.”

Happy reading!

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Thought Experiment: Energy

The other day I was sitting at my desk thinking (as I often do), and I caught myself wondering: 

What would the world look like if we had super cheap, abundant clean energy?

It's a thought that keeps circulating in my brain, so let's think out loud together...

How long would it take if we found that "magic" energy source today? Let's say we could literally have free, clean, abundant H2O.

What would the world look like? What would work look like?

Well, the cost of everything would go down, that's for sure. Some things drastically (except debt).

The earth could certainly be renewed more quickly. We'd still be constrained by all the other resources, but it would give greater access to recycling and those harder to reach options.

And who would fight against this energy source?

Most people would work less and still have a higher quality of life...

I think ultimately we have to ask ourselves which we value more: stuff or spirit?

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Sign of the Times

About 15 years ago, while at a National Financial Planning Association board meeting at the Aspen Institute, I copied this from where they had it prominently displayed on the wall. 

 

I have kept this on my bulletin board all these years, but it seems a little too appropriate for today’s times.

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

We 'R' All Crazy? ...

 

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Nobel Prize in Economics 2021

 

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. **