When my mother died, she left behind a few collections of porcelain objects. (Think lots of Hummels, lots of Lladro, and lots and lots of birds.) My girls each took one for memory’s sake, and each grandchild selected an item or two. Other than a remembrance, nobody wanted my mother’s collections, which meant I had to figure out what to do with dozens and dozens of items. Here's my story and how it might help you.
If you’re wondering why (and how) the stock market keeps going up during a war with Iran that has caused oil prices to spike, you’re not alone. It seems the Wall Street Journal can’t write enough articles about why the market is up or down, and what it may or may not do next. Spend time reading all of them, and the result will be two Advil for your headache.
We used to warn our clients about the ‘run-of-the-mill’ phone scams, such as calls from ‘agents’ pretending to work for Social Security, or desperate phone calls from ‘grandchildren.’ Then there were the ‘Oh no, your computer has been compromised’ pop-ups that seemed to target all of us. (Hopefully, you all now have McAfee, or a similar virus protection software. Don’t you?) It may be hard to believe, but those calls and scams were from the good old days, because scams have gotten a lot harder to detect.
It would only be a slight exaggeration to say I prefer getting to airports long before my flight is scheduled to depart. I want to have an unhurried drive, a calm wait as I go through security, buy some snacks, sit down, and put my feet up. At least for this part of the journey, I want to be in control.
J.P. Morgan recently published its annual Guide to Retirement. We reviewed the Guide and wanted to share some of our favorite slides. Enjoy!
It’s not uncommon for the stock market to fall more than 10 or even 20% in many years. Markets react to world events ongoing every day, and they rise and fall accordingly. Don’t be deterred or disillusioned by a fluctuating or falling stock market.
We moved to the Town of Westfield with the idea that we would stay for 10 years and then move on to the next step of our lives. We never defined that next step because 10 years is a long time, and perhaps that explains why our former 10-year plan will soon be 20 years old.
When we speak with clients about their legal documents, clients often question why they need wills, powers of attorney, or health care proxies. The answer is we don’t know how life will unfold. Sadly, we’ve witnessed calamitous events happening to people of all ages.
When you hear the phrase ‘the market is rich,’ it refers to the stock market having a high P/E ratio. But let's learn a little more about what that truly means...
If you want to stay close to your family, or to your friends, start a tradition. You don’t necessarily have to announce it’s a tradition, but you will have to repeat it for it to become a tradition. My hunch is repeating the same event a few times will put it on everyone’s calendar, and voila, a tradition is born.