You are probably aware that interest rates have increased substantially over the last several months. Since the beginning of the year, the 10-year treasury bond yield has increased from 1.52% to 2.85% as of this writing. That’s an 87.5% increase in less than four months. Similarly, 30-year mortgage rates have increased since the beginning of the year from 3.11% to 5.0% as of this writing. That is a 60.7% increase…. Read More
The Master’s Minute – Spring Cleaning
We are fortunate to experience the change of seasons in Lancaster County, and the one that is my favorite is the change from winter to spring. The longer, warmer days are a welcomed reprieve, and it is always fun to see the trees and flowers begin to bloom once again. For many of us, spring is also the time of year when we clean up around the house, engaging in… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Adding Up the Small Stuff
As financial advisors, we strive to provide value to our clients in many ways. Most commonly, our value is thought of in terms of the ‘big things’ we help our clients accomplish such as planning for retirement, executing a business transition plan, or becoming debt-free. These major accomplishments are milestone events and are occasions we enjoy celebrating together. However, under the surface, there are many small details that go into… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Keep the End in Mind
Habit 2 in Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is to “begin with the end in mind.” I have found it extremely helpful when starting something new to take time to envision what I really want in the end. It might be tempting when we reach an ending point in some aspect of our life to fill the void with whatever is comfortable and straightforward. However,… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Planning for the Road Ahead
My wife, Hannah, and I have known for a while that we wanted to start a family after being married for a certain number of years. After our wedding and purchasing a home, we knew we had to keep this goal of ours in mind as we made decisions. We were intentional about enjoying the stage of life we were in, while making choices that would set us up for… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Paralysis by Analysis
In last week’s blog post, Charlie wrote about the value of pivoting your plans when the circumstances of life cause a surprise change to be necessary. One underlying skill behind the concept of pivoting is decisiveness. The ability to be decisive comes easier for some people than it does for others. Decisiveness is comprised of two key components: being able to make a decision quickly and effectively. Being able to… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Sometimes You’ve Got to Pivot
I am a basketball fan. I’ve enjoyed playing the game (mostly in the past), following the NBA, and, college basketball’s March Madness tournament, of course! In basketball, a player pivots when they plant one foot, but then quickly spin to go the opposite direction. It happens many times during the game. Two weeks ago, my wife and I were planning to fly to Florida for a week-long vacation in beautiful… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Values and Money
At Master’s, you hear us talk a lot about connecting your personal values with the use of your capital. We want to help you align your financial decisions with what is most important to you. Why do we believe this is so important? Because the more resources you have, the more difficult it is to be sure that they are all being optimized for your personal goals and values. Think… Read More
The Master’s Minute – The Value of Buckets
As I write this, headlines are dominated by news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, soaring inflation rates, and dropping stock markets. These scary headlines can, understandably, lead to a sense of anxiousness on the part of investors. Times like these illustrate why the Master’s team recommends positioning money using a bucketing strategy. A bucketing approach to asset positioning involves deciding when money will be needed to fulfill a goal or… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Striking “Goal’d”
The 2022 Winter Olympics have come to a close. There are many aspects of the Olympics that I enjoy and one of those is the athlete’s journey to compete in the Olympics. I like to reflect on their story and how it can parallel our journey through life as we work to achieve our goals. There are several great stories from the Olympics, and one of my favorites this year… Read More
