by Robert Katch | Oct 19, 2019 | Economy & Markets, Financial Planning
These days, we use actual paper money and coins less and less often, as credit and debit cards—and, more recently, our phones—handle the payments for what we buy. Have you ever wondered: what would it look like if we went entirely cashless? To see, all we have to do...
by Robert Katch | Oct 14, 2019 | Economy & Markets, Investing
How should you invest in a down market? If you want a guidepost, let’s look back to the terrible, traumatic down market of 2008-2009. You’re going through relentless, daily and weekly losses (remember that?), and the feeling at the time was that the global economy had...
by Alan Hopkins | Sep 6, 2019 | Economy & Markets, Investing
Bonds are boring, right? Stocks jump up and down and all over the place, and over several years they might even jump 100% in value. Meanwhile, the bonds in your portfolio crank out predictable coupon yields quarter after quarter after quarter. If you’re bored by the...
by Alan Hopkins | Jul 21, 2019 | Economy & Markets, Social Security
Chances are that you know that the Social Security trust fund is due to run out of money—or “deplete its reserves” as economists put it—by the year 2035. The actual time frame depends on some forecasts, including economic growth, number of workers who remain in the...
by Robert Katch | Jul 15, 2019 | Economy & Markets, Financial Planning
You’ve probably heard, in campaign speeches by Democratic Presidential contenders, that almost half of all Americans couldn’t cover a $400 emergency expense. Senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have all told audiences some version of this line....
by Alan Hopkins | Jul 10, 2019 | Economy & Markets, Financial Planning
Most investment managers and financial planners avoid bitcoins as an investment or as a currency, for a few reasons. First, the coins are not backed by any government or asset; they were made up by computers that solve complex algorithms, and therefore have no...
