They say ‘opposites attract’ when it comes to relationships. Those of us who are married see this in many good ways every day, but it also poses a few challenges from time to time. Charlie and I were recently reviewing a detailed and involved retirement income plan for a couple. As we talked through the plan, it was clear that one of the spouses was much more interested in the… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Decide Quickly!
On our recent family vacation to the Canadian Rockies, we arrived in Banff around 3:00 in the afternoon. One of the places we wanted to visit during our time in Banff was Lake Louise. After checking into our hotel, we headed to the visitor center where we were told that the best times to get prime parking at Lake Louise were 7:30 in the morning and during the evening hours…. Read More
The Master’s Minute – The Plan is Always Wrong
The Master’s Minute – Entering the “Empty Nest” Phase
This past weekend, our family and friends enjoyed the celebration of our son’s wedding. We are so excited for Colton & Hannah and look forward to watching God’s plan for their lives unfold. With the passing of this grand event, Colleen and I have officially entered the “empty nest” phase of life. Wow! How did that sneak up on us? Over the last several decades, I’ve often told clients that… Read More
The Master’s Minute – A Life of Transitions
When I was in school, I dedicated much of my time to the sport of wrestling. Wrestling is a demanding sport. It’s a one-on-one match between two individuals where there’s constant positioning to gain and maintain control through an ongoing series of transitions, attacks and counterattacks. The experience of this ancient sport can be likened to the journey of life; an ongoing series of transitions. Some transitions are ones we… Read More
The Master’s Minute – What You Should Focus On
I recently came across an image from Carl Richards, author of the book The Behavior Gap, that hit close to home – so close that I now have it hung up at my desk! It shows a Venn diagram with “Things That Matter” on one side, “Things You Can Control” on the other, and “Things You Should Focus On” where the two meet in the middle. (Image Linked here) How often… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Resist the Herd
On a recent Saturday with some strong encouragement from my wife, we cleaned out a bunch of stuff from our crawl space storage area. While I was working in this infrequently visited area, I noticed that one of the walls was damp. After consulting with a construction contractor about how to remedy the problem, I was reminded again that water always flows to the place of least resistance. This property… Read More
The Master’s Minute – The Great Mitigator of Equity Risk
When investing, you cannot separate risk and reward. In general, when the stock market is rising, the more equity risk you assume, the greater your potential reward. Conversely, in a down market the more equity risk you have taken on, the greater your potential for loss. Risk is a very real part of our investing lives. We can’t eliminate it, but we can manage it. An online publication called “the… Read More
The Master’s Minute – That Nasty Little Emtion
In last week’s blog Garry challenged us to have an opportunistic perspective when stocks go “on sale.” This occurs, of course, when we experience a drop in the markets. It’s not a question of if it will happen, but when it will happen. Markets are cyclical. They always have been and always will be. There is one little, but powerful, human emotion that keeps most people from doing the right… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Prospect Theory
When I was a young boy, I always enjoyed Thursday mornings with my mom. That was the day each week that we would go grocery shopping. Rarely would my mom buy something that was not on sale, and never would she buy something not on sale that we didn’t need. If you grew up in a house like mine, sales ruled the day. In my house today, they still do!… Read More
