Posts Tagged With ‘ Gordon Stein ’

Good night holidays, good morning New Year’s resolutions Ahh the joy of the holiday season as friends and family gather around the tree, menorah, kinara or Festivus Pole. A chance to get caught up with everyone, dust off some board games and remove the tinsel from the carpet before the cats do. Turns out that Aunt Eunice’s bunions are still troublesome and Uncle Jeffrey got turned down for the big promotion at work. On the plus side, only a couple of relatives stretched their stay beyond the New Year and your mother-in-law brought a Bundt cake this year. And, as often happens, the holidays... Continue Reading

It would be great to find a low cost gym membership. But why just lower the cost? Why not design the perfect gym membership? Here’s my perfect gym wish list: Low cost membership Zero commute time Fully adjustable workouts – easy to grueling A personal coach who can appear or disappear on command Full control over the music type and volume No deodorant-abstaining members Clean private shower rooms stocked with your favorite soap and shampoo As many towels as you like Beautiful views A chance to learn while working out In other words, there is a lot of room for improvement! What did... Continue Reading

Everyone is looking for a way to save on gas. That’s a big change in the last year. Back in 2020, in the middle of the Covid calamity, the world appeared to be ending. Everything was shuttered. Traffic disappeared. With no demand, oil prices plunged and then dropped to negative values. Oil storage tanks were filled to the brim and there was no place to store the stuff. We never got to the point where gas stations were paying people to fill their cars. But we weren’t far from it. Since then, the Covid restrictions lifted and people started traveling, The highways filled. Oil demand returned.... Continue Reading

Nothing is worse than outliving your money Outliving your money makes for a sad ending. Your final years spent scraping and saving. A dream retirement deflated to a life of subsistence. A battle of the bills with you on the losing side. Lucky for you a massive retirement industry is there to save you from that fate and get you sailing off into the sunset like the people in the brochure. But there is another, ghastlier possibility: What if your money outlives you? What if your good health is gone in your sunset years? Or worse, what if YOU are simply, well, gone? All of that carefully nurtured... Continue Reading

Valuations are stretched! 5 great stocks to grab now! A crash is coming! Inflation will eat our returns! Buy and hold! Well which is it? And how can we protect ourselves if things really do go to hell in a hand basket? What kind of investments are best right now? One idea is quality dividend stocks. Why? For the reason that dividend stocks fight inflation. In addition, the right ones can be had at a reasonable price, offer rising income and be good bets for thriving in the ups and downs of the market. The case for dividend stocks Well managed companies are able to grow their earnings year... Continue Reading

Always fun to compare yourself to others. Are you a spending savant or a spending savage? Let’s find out! Start by comparing your expenses to the national average and look for improvements by spending category. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics publishes monster-sized tables that show every kind of information about household income and expenses. The data can be useful as a quick comparison to identify areas of opportunity in your budget. Expenditures are broken down for various income levels and each spending category gets into excruciating detail. Right down to nuts, seeds and cooking... Continue Reading

Have you been peeking? Checking your investments. Such fun. With just a click or two, you can see what’s up and what’s down. The bright green confirming your choices, stoking mirages of early retirement, days on the beach and freedom moving closer. The panicky red graphs conjuring temporary despair, years more of daily grind and a second career as a Walmart greeter. The drama plays out in a river of dopamine as your body savors the rush of the latest set of numbers and charts. But is there a real benefit checking your investments? And how often is too often? There’s really not much... Continue Reading

Retire early, love every minute There is a lot of focus on the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early). Lots of ink spilled on homemade cleaning supplies, tin foiling windows and clipping coupons whilst whilst living in a nano house. All in an effort to mass up cash, exit the rodent race and find freedom. Does the math add up? And if you get there, is there happiness? And, of course, will you run out of money? I think yes, possibly and done right, your cash keeps growing. Retire early, love every minute. Let’s take the pieces one by one: How to retire early Financial wellness isn’t... Continue Reading

How to control your spending? It was shaping up to be a financially prudent month. Until you checked the bank statements. A few “dangs”. A handful of “ugh, forgot about that ones”. And some “what was I thinkings?”. Oh, and that was before viewing those 2 other credit card statements. Sadly they all added up to make your month fiscally regrettable. Wouldn’t it be handy to have a list of spending considerations to apply before giving your credit cards a workout? A pre-spending checklist. A kind of monetary mom to control your spending. In fact, there is! Here are some ideas to control... Continue Reading

Bad money habits are standard equipment for most of us. Not your fault. Great news is that they can be easily upgraded to good ones. And all the details are coming, I promise. But let me back up. Last week, I ordered a chick pea and kale wrap for dinner. I know, I know. A bit rabbit-ish. Then came the option of fries or salad. Isn’t that one a bit obvious? Who would order the healthiest thing on the menu and then pair it with a basket of fries? Salad it was. And just a glass of ice water to drink. To the outsider, the dinner looks a bit Spartan — pretty bland fare to say the least. Especially... Continue Reading