Well, At Least October is Almost Over
By Jon Aldrich October can be a great month. Fall is in full swing, and the colors and smells of fall here in the Midwest make it a great time of year. It’s that time for the smell of burning leaves and cider donuts at the orchard. It’s the time for kids to jump in…
Read MoreMario Mendoza and Financial “Experts”
By Jon Aldrich By all accounts, Mario Mendoza was a slick infielder who couldn’t hit a lick. His lifetime batting average was .215, which you don’t have to be a baseball aficionado to understand is not very good. He essentially recorded a successful base hit approximately 20% of the time, give or take. Heck, I…
Read MoreTaken For Granted
By Jon Aldrich Take for granted. It is something I am sure all of us are guilty of from time to time. I know I sure am and probably way more than I would like to admit. So, how do we define “Take for Granted”: Let’s just focus on the first definition. We have too…
Read More2018 First Quarter Market Summary
By Jon Aldrich It has been a long time coming, but for the first time in nine calendar quarters, most of the major stock and bond indexes were down. So far we have only seen modest declines for the year but it does remind us that yes, markets can and do go down from time…
Read MoreBeware, The Ides of March
By Jon Aldrich The Death of Caesar (1798) by Vincenzo Camuccini We are probably all familiar with the famous quote “Beware the Ides of March” from Shakespeare’s tragedy of 1599 Julius Caesar . It was a warning that a soothsayer gives to the Roman Leader, Julius Caesar, to let him know that his life is in peril, and he…
Read MoreThe Equifax Data Breach.
The Equifax Data Breach. OK, Now What Do I Do? By Jon Aldrich (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File) The world is really a dangerous place and just seems to get more so all the time. As I write this on September 11th, and reflect on that awful day that none of us will ever forget, it…
Read MoreHelp! The IRS is Calling to Arrest Me.
By Jon Aldrich Image Courtesy of www.fox13now.com I would venture a guess that I probably get about 6 or 7 robocalls a day on my cell phone from telemarketers or scammers. I have either won a “free” vacation, or they are trying to sell me doors and windows, or I am eligible for a loan…
Read MoreInterest Rates are Up, Are Bonds in Trouble?
Why Bond Investors Shouldn’t Panic by Jon Aldrich Two events occurred in the last quarter of 2016 that many thought may never happen. The first was the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series and the second was, after many years of ultra-low rates, interest rates finally started rising. Since Donald Trump was elected, back in…
Read MoreHave You Checked Your Credit Recently?
By Jon Aldrich Almost daily we hear reports of hackers stealing personal information either from large data breaches at places like Target or Home Depot or via e-mail scams and even with old fashioned phone calls to unsuspecting victims with someone claiming to be from the IRS demanding money or credit card information. More recently,…
Read MoreThe Importance of a Home Inventory
(and adequate insurance coverage) I had just finished up a great round of golf at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale in April, when my phone started tweeting about Tornado Warnings. Since it was 87 and sunny where I was, I had to do a double take, but then realized they were for back home in…
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