The Master’s Minute

As we turn another page on our 2024 calendar, we now find ourselves in October, which is recognized as Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Unfortunately, hacking scams surround us, and we must remain vigilant as these schemes become more sophisticated with advances in technology. Here are a few good practices to keep in mind to avoid falling victim to these scams: Email – Whenever you receive an email with an attachment or… Read More

When it comes to investments, perspective is everything. As advisors, one of the questions we are often asked goes something like this: “In light of the [insert scary news headline of the week here], would you recommend any changes to our portfolio?” Let me be clear upfront: I am by no means diminishing the importance of this type of question. As an advisor, if my client is concerned or curious… Read More

Last week, our family had the privilege of hosting two boys, aged eight and ten, from Uganda, along with a young adult chaperone. They are part of the African Children’s Choir and performed at our church. With full transparency, we didn’t immediately jump at the opportunity to host them. It wasn’t until a heartfelt plea from our church leadership—who needed more host families—that we reluctantly agreed. With the challenges we… Read More

In last week’s blog, Managing Debt as Interest Rates Rise, Garry reminded us of some fundamental decision-making regarding debt payoff versus seizing the opportunity to get meaningful interest rates on our cash accounts, or “safe money.” Let’s agree to define cash accounts as money markets, high-yield savings, and CDs. Today’s blog post will discuss the fallacy of “falling in love” with these cash accounts. We begin today’s discussion by looking… Read More

One evening recently, I was reading a book to my kids that, unintentionally, offered valuable money management insights. The plotline is about two squirrels trying to find food to save up for winter. One squirrel spent his year having fun and not bothering to store up anything. The other squirrel was obsessed with storing up any food he could find and had accumulated more food than he would ever need,… Read More

You don’t need me to tell you that we are in the midst of another presidential election year. The leading news stories over the last few weeks have been filled with major developments for both parties and their respective candidates. From the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, and the Republican National Convention, to President Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential election race, significant election race happenings have dominated the… Read More

Investing in a diversified portfolio is a cornerstone of our investment philosophy at Master’s. Extensive academic literature suggests that diversification not only reduces risk but also smooths returns and, over time, tends to outperform individual stock, sectors, or indices. However, diversification comes with its challenges. One significant drawback is that in a diversified portfolio, there will always be investments that do not perform as well as others. This might seem… Read More

From 2022 to 2023, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates 11 times, moving short-term interest rate targets from a low of 0%-0.25% to their current level of 5.25%-5.50%. This change provides an opportunity to evaluate if your cash savings are positioned to take advantage of these rate increases. The approach to choosing the right place to park your savings is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Here is a comparison of cash savings options… Read More

Several evenings ago, Colleen and I took our Mustang GT convertible out for a drive & stopped for a quick dinner on a local restaurant’s patio. It was a very warm June evening, but we cruised for a bit more before returning home. Walking through the door into our house, we were met by a refreshing blast of air conditioning that just felt wonderful! The a/c was working perfectly, and… Read More