A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post about how my wife and I are teaching our three kids about money. I covered the basic principles we’re trying to instill (Simplicity, Giving, Discipline, Compounding, Enjoyment, Responsibility, and Hard Work) and how those show up practically. While we have loved teaching these principles, the
Category: Behavioral Finance
Should I Refinance My Home?
In case you haven’t heard, mortgage rates are the lowest they have ever been. The chart below shows average mortgage rates over the past 49 years, from 1971 to 2020. Currently, the 30-year mortgage has an average rate of 3.17%. You can view the chart above and edit the timeline yourself in order to see
The Price Is Right, Or Is It?
The Price is Right has been running on TV for 48 years, can you believe it? Watching the show with my 84-year old Dad, after he moved from Chattanooga to Greensboro in 1992, is one of my favorite memories. We would roar with laughter at our correct guesses, and stare at the TV in wide-eyed
Three Financial Planning Strategies During a Down Market
I remember the first time I had the wind knocked out of me. The day was unseasonably warm, and I was 8, lying in my dad’s arms in a hammock. I started to doze off and rolled out of the hammock, falling back-first onto the Mexican tile. I remember gasping for air, but I had
Do I Belong Here? – All-Time Market Highs and The Good Place
“On December 31st, the S&P 500 Closed at 3227.57, Within 0.35% of its All-Time High…” I would bet that reading the above headline tells you something. Maybe “Finally, I made it” or “How long can we keep this up?” or maybe even “There’s nowhere to go but down.” When my wife suggested that we start
Quarter In Charts – Q4 2019
It’s interesting to think about what an impact Julius Caesar had on the calendar and from that, our lives. I remember when I started at Smith Partners Wealth Management (then Jonathan Smith & Co.) in 2005. The great Legg Mason Value Trust mutual fund manager Bill Miller was in the middle of his 15th consecutive
Budgeting (Part 2): How Much Should I Be Saving?
(This is part two in a series, if you didn’t read my last blog post, then I would recommend starting there.) The most common financial goal I know of is financial independence. People want the freedom to travel, spend time with family and friends, work part-time, or start a business. However, America as a whole
The Quarter in Charts – Q3 2019
I come from a long line of people who can’t keep track of their things. When I was a kid, it was my soccer cleats or my homework. My dad (you might know him as Jonathan) would try to help. He would ask if I looked in the den or on the back porch. When
Budgeting (Part 1): Rules and Tools
You can find part 2 of Budgeting HERE When I was ten, we would visit our family friends in Michigan called “the five boys”, for obvious reasons. Being a ten-year-old looking for fun, their pig farm was perfect. We would arrive and clamber out of the car yearning for the green light from our parents.
Would You Rather Drive a New Car or Travel the World For a Year?
I’ve said this before, but one of my favorite hiking games is “would you rather.” So, I want you to imagine that we are hiking on a foggy day in the Blue Ridge Mountains and I ask you, “Would you rather buy a brand new car or travel the world for a year?” It’s a