The Master’s Minute

You have undoubtedly heard and read many ideas and comments related to a company’s core values. At Master’s, we worked through an intentional process last year to rediscover our core values as a team and redefine what those mean to our clients. Over the next few blogs, you will read about our core values of Authenticity, Empathy, Conscientiousness and Optimism and why they are so vital to the DNA of… Read More

Planning our family vacation this year has been a significant challenge. Pre-COVID, we planned a trip to visit a family friend in Vermont and then continue north to Montreal and Quebec City. About a month ago we realized that it was unlikely Canada would be welcoming US tourists into their country at the time of our trip so we diverted our trip to a couple other spots in the New… Read More

The first question we typically ask when contemplating retirement is “Will I have enough money to retire?”  To answer this, we add all the monthly expenses we expect to have in retirement and then determine if our income from Social Security, pensions and investments, exceeds those expenses.  If we have more income than expenses, we are ready to retire.  Right? While it’s good to be prepared financially for retirement, there… Read More

Here we are at the mid-point of 2020. Needless to say, it’s been an unexpected ride. My wife recently shared with me a humorous social media post that I think frames this year accurately. The post said that 2020 is going to be a synonym for “crazy” moving forward. “Hey, look over there, they’re getting a little, you know, 2020.” “I gained control of the car for a moment, and… Read More

On Friday, March 20th, we packed up some of our technology and a few essentials to take home. We locked the doors and closed the office to comply with the “Stay-at-Home” orders caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. Little did we know that we would be working remotely from our homes for almost three months. A few weeks ago, we moved back into the office, each Master’s team… Read More

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you are right” – Henry Ford I don’t know much about Henry Ford, but this statement indicates that he understood the impact that thoughts can have in living a productive life.  When the stay-at-home order was in place and I worked from home, I spent some time listening to a podcast series related to both the brain and the mind. … Read More

As you probably remember from other blog articles, I am a firm believer that living generously has significant benefits. Research continues to substantiate that notion. I recently found another article in, of all places, A Motley Fool Company related website, that named “The 8 Biggest Benefits of Being Generous” https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/banks/articles/8-biggest-benefits-being-generous/. Among the things listed were more friends, happier with career, better physical and mental health, and higher self-esteem. We often… Read More

The financial difficulties that many people are currently facing during the corona virus pandemic have reminded me of three fundamental principles of personal finance. This sage advice has stood the test of time, and those who have practiced these principles can attest to their effectiveness. Rule #1: Spend less than you earn. Rule #2: Have an emergency fund with enough cash to pay for six months of living expenses. Rule… Read More