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What's​ your Asset Allocation?

What’s​ your Asset Allocation?

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What's Your Asset Allocation

What’s Your Asset Allocation

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Consistency & the Law of Averages

Consistency & the Law of Averages

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I have been getting a great deal of push back over investment strategies, over what the best way and how to invest money is. While I dont claim to know any ins and outs of buying the dips or worse betting against companies, nor do I have success at buying on the cheap and selling high as a day trader. I just don’t have that skill. Although at times I wish…

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Leaving a Legacy

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I have been thinking deeply about leaving a legacy when my ‘time’ comes. Not that I am sickly or anything. I am still young(ish) after all. Having a new small child will inherently cause you to think about such a subject.

While I am focused on my career and working on financial goals, I began thinking about my young child and my teenager.

With what I have…

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Portfolio Adjustment

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Time for Travel

Ever wonder what it would be like to travel around the world? Ever had that dream? To leave it all for a while, take a skip year and just go? Do you have these thoughts and then wake up to do your normal mundane routine all over again? Get up and do it again, and again. You question it all; what about my bills, what about the cost, what about the kids, what about my spouse, what about the fur…

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Medical Care Rant!

I had a medical issue come up here recently. I am not one to go to the doctors’ office or go to a congested emergency department at a hospital. I don’t even go for annual check-ups as there is no need at my age, or so I thought. Let me start from the beginning and it will come to my main point I think.

Two weeks ago in the middle of the night, I went to go lay down for bed and began feeling short…

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Financial Advisors- Do you need one?

Financial Advisors- Do you need one?

Your money and your future. Should you entrust yours to an individual or a firm? – The jury is out on this. I have spoken with about half a dozen different financial advisors, ranging from the most notable, long-standing trusted firms to the “hottest firms pushing education on the YouTube platform and honestly, I have to say, I’m just not that impressed.

  When I think of investing my money, I…

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Productive or Busy?

Ever wondered why your so busy and your desk looks like the scene from the movie The Intern? The answer is simple; You’re “busy” but not “productive.” Well, then Mr. Smarty Pants. How do I get from being “busy” to being “productive”? I’m so glad you asked, or well, I asked. The answer falls under the skills of time management.

                                           Photo credit from…

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Photo Credit: Pinterest

In our new world of Political correctness, #Me Too’s, prostitutes being portrayed as righteous, the “you didn’t do it alone” and the secret world of so-called “privileges” that don’t actually exist (But once did). How are we as a nation, as a people going to be able to sort this out? When do facts become facts again? Why in our times, are criminals celebrated as though they were innocent martyrs? When does good old fashioned common sense and decency popularise once more? What happened to the word- Responsibility?

So many questions such as these, often come to mind when common civility is no longer common.  The news outlets are plagued with one-sided stories, on both “sides” of the opinion table. All I can bring here honestly is some real common sense and self-experiences. I can not account for others’ experiences and I will not belittle nor downplay them, in fact, I would honestly and openly like to hear them and discuss, so be sure to comment below, please.

The first item I would like to bring up is the socialized popularity of victimization. If a burglar comes into your home, falls and cuts himself with a knife, or falls through the skylight, can then sue the homeowner and actually win, then there is a real problem within our legal system. (Actual Legal Case.) Police hate and demonization when a young man is shot by the cops for having a gun, threatening police or violently acting towards the police endangering their lives, and a protest occurs. Highlighting only the sweet angel of a young boy of times passed but not he violent behavior attributed towards the police or other civilians. Then there is a problem. Police shootings are tracked well by the Washington Post Found Here. And can be shown that race has little or nothing to do with the shootings taking place by a police officer. In 2017, of the 987 people shot and killed by a police officer 466 were White, 234 were Black, 160 were Hispanic. And yet we see protests all the time. You will also see that 14% of the shootings, the larges number of all the states, shootings happened in California, followed by Texas with 69 and then Florida with 58. California is in its own little world. They live by the TV and celebrity lifestyles thoughts and opinions. They believe because of their “status” as a celebrity, they have power in our country. They are doing far more damage than good. Remember, they are paid only for our entertainment, the common jesters of the 21st century. What is happening in California, is NOT happening around the rest of the country.

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Photo by Gratisography on Pexels.com

Photo by Gratisography on Pexels.com

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Prostitutes can now be celebrities and portrayed as being brave! Stormy Daniels “feminist hero” stated Jill Filipovic in the New York Times. She was a prostitute who happened to sleep with the man that became the President. She was paid ‘hush money’, signed a non-disclosure agreement and when her hush money ran dry, she opens her mouth to get more money. It’s that simple! Now, the part where the man slept with a prostitute is a different matter and is just as, if not more disgusting. The point here is, this woman, should be no persons “Hero” and it honestly doesn’t belong in the newspaper. It’s trashy reporting. Modesty is all but lost for America, and this is where (originally) “Conservative Values” were. Being responsible and modest. These conservative values have since been all but removed as well. Conservatives are no longer conservatives, and Liberal/Moderate is no longer as well. It’s an all-out popularity contest with hate ads running every few years. Our beliefs are being trampled upon on all sides.

Photo credit from Pinterest.

Responsibility is becoming an obsolete term or even more so, behavior. It is responsible, to work for what you get or have. It is responsible, to save for emergencies, it is responsible to invest for retirement, it is responsible to not have debt, it is responsible to plan for children and save properly, it is responsible to work for heaven’s sake. (If you can.)

From 2003 to 2013, there’s been a 29% jump in Americans with little or no work experience getting disability payments, according to the Social Security Administration. Over the same time, there’s been a 44% increase in disability claims by people formerly in the workplace. This isn’t because more people are becoming disabled. this is because people aren’t working or are looking for an easy paycheck and free healthcare benefits. Now there are absolutely cases, where people are truly disabled and need to file for disability, absolutely and I am not lumping them in with the group I’m speaking of. I am speaking of those individuals who no longer wish to work, so they file for disability benefits with social security and the pretend and fight their way to get those benefits.  I knew a judge a few years ago who heard some of the disability cases, and she said, “there is no work for them in this town and they don’t have the means to get to the places that do have work, not to mention, they don’t have the skills needed.” So she deemed them disabled! I was so distraught! How could this be? Do we not have a program that will supplement them for a period of say, two years, pay for their schooling or trade certificate in a field, then cut the benefits off and put them back in the workforces? I asked. She’s stated, “there is no program of that nature at this time, but good thought.” With individuals doing this, it is pulling out funds, paid into the system by others and will eventually those funds will run out and the government will have to raise more money to fund the program. 

Don’t depend on the government social security “tax” pension program to be there for you. It may be there, it may not be. What I am saying is that you shouldn’t depend upon it. Learn to save and invest properly. The earlier you begin investing, the more money you will have at retirement. Do you really want to just go crazy and spend all of your money now and have nothing when you’ve reached 60 or 65? You will still have a lot of years left, 30 or so. How will you survive on $1,200 per month? Take a look at your budget; could you survive? Wouldnt you like to survive with$7,000 a month not including social security payments if they are there? I know I would! Invest now! It doesn’t have to be much, just invest. It’s called being responsible for yourself financially and not being a burden to your family or community.

At the end here, right is right. Wrong is wrong. Think of those rules from the older generations, no matter your sex or skin color, “treat others how you would want to be treated.” “A penny saved is a penny earned.” “You are responsible for you.” “The early bird get’s the worm.” The war here at home is that everyone wants the ability to blame someone else, when the fact is, you really are responsible for you. You are where you are because of the choices you made or didn’t make. If you want better, then do more. Stop blaming everyone else. My wife an I have the same opportunities and we are different sexes and different races. With hard work, anything is possible.

The Wars at Home Photo Credit: Pinterest In our new world of Political correctness, #Me Too's, prostitutes being portrayed as righteous, the "you didn't do it alone" and the secret world of so-called "privileges" that don't actually exist (But once did).

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There was once a time, where men were men. I don’t mean this in a cocky manner, almost the complete opposite actually. Men were once gentlemen instead of boys, chivalrous instead of self-absorbed, well-dressed instead of sloppy, not being afraid of hard work instead of looking for the easy way out.

I have looked up to older (golden) generations for as long as I can remember. I’ve listened to countless hours of stories and lessons that I didn’t realize at the time, but I’ve come to understand now how important they truly were. I have tried to instill some of these same lessons to my young impressional son. Here are some of those lessons.

Read the newspaper.

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There is something about getting your news from an actual paper. In our era of digital everything, it’s rare to see a person holding a newspaper and when we do see it, it tends to bring some sense of nostalgia so at least hipsters are drawn to it. We tend to think of an old man in retirement or an upper-class businessman as being the main targeted demographic group for a printed newspaper when we should all be utilizing it.

Each time my newspaper delivery runs late, as it did just yesterday morning, and I’m forced to the Web for my early dose of news, I’m reminded how reading the news online pales compared to reading it in newsprint. There is something very satisfying to me about the physical interaction with a printed newspaper that you can’t get online. Tactile learners experience the world through touch and movement. (And no, clicking a button doesn’t count.)

Printed news—particularly the newspaper, is an amazingly sophisticated technology for showing you what’s important and showing you a lot of it. The newspaper has refined its user interface for more than two centuries and they have gotten good at it. So while your pulling for news in the morning (and you should be) consider utilizing a printed version. Studies have even shown that retention of data is greater when printed information is used over digital.

Think of it this way, a man with a newspaper in a suit an tie headed to work, is a man others will notice.

2. Use an Alarm Clock. 

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For the longest time, I can remember utilizing my iPhone’s alarm clock function to wake me up in the morning. I would set it before bed, place the phone on the charger on the table next to the bed (about 2 feet from my head) roll over and get to sleep. I did this for years!

One day I noticed that I just can’t get to bed on time and this affected the time I woke up obviously. I couldn’t figure out what was going on other than I just couldn’t sleep. I would be in the bed, laying there. One night it hit me, I was reaching for my phone to scroll through the latest Facebook feed then the twitter feeds and I would get caught up in the videos that come along with the news feeds. Once one video is complete, another one similar to it will automatically begin, it was like a well thought of trap. There should be a disclaimer (IT’S A TRAP!)

I decided to buy a docking station. I set up the docking station in the living room and that is where I would charge all electronics in the house. I bought an alarm clock, which may feel “old-timey” but hey, they work. I placed it on my nightstand the same evening I bought it. Wouldnt you know it, as soon as I hit the bed, I was out like a light!

My grandfather used two alarm clocks. One was a wall plugin and the other was battery operated and both were classy looking and situated on his nightstand. I now do the same and when I travel, I bring along the battery operated one and charge my phone in the hotel bathroom.

Ever thought of the science behind cell phones in the bedroom at night. There is a light as well as a radio signal that is emitted from your phone that could disturb your slumber, affecting everything throughout your day that follows.

3. Wearing a suit properly makes all the difference.

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Do you ever think when you flip through the never-ending TV channels, and come across the classic movies and notice all the men are dressed up, all the time; why are they always dressed up? Not just the high-class businessmen, but men from all walks. You can search the internet for men’s fashion in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. Once you have done that, take a quick look around you or just a quick look at the news and you will see a huge difference! It always makes me wonder: What were we thinking? This must have been the time prior to the saying, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”  Well, we broke it.

Wearing a suit to work, no matter what you do places you at a great advantage. It does this in a few ways. The first of which is, it makes you feel different. Putting on formal clothes makes us feel powerful, and that changes the basic way we see the world and how the world see’s us, this includes those you work with.

Secondly, it shows respect no just to yourself, but also those in whom you may meet or interact with throughout the day.

Lastly, with wearing a suit, wear it properly, know that a three-piece suit is never inappropriate; it can always be dressed down if need be. Always utilize a pocket square, it’s not for you, it’s for the lady you may encounter throughout your day. Cufflinks should be utilized on your shirt cuff, they are fairly cheap but help in pulling your look together.

If you’re going to utilize a belt, then don’t use suspenders, it’s one or the other. If you do plan on using suspenders, the proper type does not have “clip’s” attached to your waistline. Ever wonder what those buttons on the inside of your pants are for?…. Suspender loops to attach.

Suit jackets should taper down like the shape of a V never end out looking like a []. If you like a particular suite, a quick trip to the tailers will fix this. The cost is relatively cheap and will pay off a hundredfold. The right fit makes all the difference. I have never seen a suit come off the shelf tailored properly to a body. Just expect the tailoring as a part of the cost.

If it’s too hot for a suit, then wear a proper vest. There are many vests available online through Amazon. These come automatically adjustable with the pull cord on the back but again, a trip to the tailor would be recommended. When you find the right vest, I suggest buying a few in different colors just to switch things up to not look as though your wearing the same item every day during the summer. A rule for vests to remember; if the vest has a silk back, then its usually one of two things 1. For a super formal occasion such as a wedding or 2. It’s cheap quality. Try to stick with vests that have the same material all around. These are not as forgiving when it comes to sizing but the tailor should be able to quickly fix this. This is like a $10 tailor fix here.

I could talk about the proper men’s dress attire for days, but I may leave that to another time.

4. Rise early.

We’ve all heard the term in some sense that “the early bird gets the worm.”  I remember my grandfather already fully dressed for his day and eating breakfast with his newspaper in the morning at 6AM. I would stumble out of my room with drool still hanging on my face to witness this each morning. This was no Monday through Friday event either, but every single day. He used to tell me that the way to win, was to start the day before the rest of the world.

5. Less is more.

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I wrote a small article post on Minimalism and for good reason. I look around my home at times and see new things and then realize those things are never even used. My grandfather, whom has a large home has nearly nothing in there that isn’t utilized on a weekly basis. He has less idle “stuff” in his home, which probably frees up money for investments and such. He could certainly purchase just about anything he wished and yet he doesn’t. So, having less “stuff” kept him with more cash in his pocket, less stress around the house and freed up time as he had less contending for his time and attention.

6. Read voraciously.

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Reading has many benefits, not just opinion here folks but there is science behind it. ‘in our super information highway age of technology we often times forget to just sit back, open a well-printed book and just read. One 2009 study by Sussex University researchers showed that reading may reduce stress by as much as 68 percent.

Try leaving the TV off within the hour before bed. Get in a hot steaming bath and take a book with you. You will be relaxing, boosting your brain power as well as reading can help you fall asleep faster when you do crawl in the bed.

In the “olden days”, they didn’t have video games and movies on demand but most had access to a decent library. We have lost this benefit in some areas with the induction of E-Readers but I have to say, nothing beats a good physical book. No E-reader, no computer-based E-Book can compare. None!

  More to be continued, the list certainly goes on……..

      Lessons For Men-A Time Forgotten There was once a time, where men were men. I don't mean this in a cocky manner, almost the complete opposite actually.

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The Single Stock Price Drop!

The Single Stock Price Drop!

via The Single Stock Price Drop!

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The Single Stock Price Drop!

The Single Stock Price Drop!

We’ve all experienced investing in a single company’s stock and the day after we buy them, the price tanks! Not only have we experienced it ourselves, but we hear about it happening to new investors on a regular basis. If you experience this, from my own experience, I would say to just stop what you’re doing. Don’t sell in a panic move. Remember why you purchased the stock. Are you investing or…

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Work Like an Executive 'Challenge'

Work Like an Executive ‘Challenge’

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What if I were to tell you that you could have an extra two months of time and productivity in a year? Two months! Sixty days! You might call me crazy. While its true that we all have the same 24 hours in a day, the valuable degrees in which we utilize the same 24 hours in a day vary widely.

They say that “The early bird, gets the worm.” They have that saying…

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Invest or Downsize

Should you invest additional money month over month, increasing your investment contribution so that you can retire from your job earlier or should you downsize to reduce outgoing cash flow?

In my opinion, both. But let me tell you why.

If I reduce my costs or expenses that go out month over month, then I am also reducing the amount of money needed to actually retire on, so the amount I will need…

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Minimalism

Ever heard of minimalism? Minimalism isn’t a bad word as it is often believed to be. Being a minimalist could actually save you a lot of pressure and stress not to mention your bank balance. What if you didn’t have to live paycheck to paycheck. Did you know that 8 out of 10 Americans live paycheck to paycheck? How much worse in other countries? It is basically because of our pursuit of “stuff”.…