How’s That Third Scoop of Ice Cream?

There’s a fancy economics term for this: “diminishing marginal utility.” Textbooks use far too much paper trying to explain it when really they should just talk about ice cream. The idea is that the first scoop of ice cream tastes great. The second scoop of ice cream tastes a little less great than the first. And the third scoop of ice cream might make your stomach hurt.

Am I Rich?

How we spend our time and how we spend our money should make us feel rich. The hard part is discovering what “rich” really means to each of us.  I learned a lot about being rich in early November when we got the call that my father-in-law had suffered a stroke. After what was both

$500 Billion Student Loan Forgiveness Update ($10k/$20k, New IDR Plan, 0% Interest Ending)

Student loan forgiveness has been floating around congress and the headlines for the past few decades. Until 2020, it seemed like empty promises, but since Covid-19, the student loan forgiveness train has started gaining traction. It began with pausing student loan payments and granting 0% interest rates for the past 30 months, which has saved borrowers billions of dollars on its own. And now, the Biden Administration is pushing to forgive $10,000 to $20,000 of student loans.

Quarter in Charts – Q3 2022

Over the last few weeks, I kept the kids up far past their bedtimes to witness Aaron Judge break the American League single-season home run record. While we had to sit through a whole lot of walks, we eventually got to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event that we’ll tell some grandkids about. Sadly, this year, investors have also witnessed an investment market for the record books. Through the charts below (and a recounting of my real-world experience with our 15-year-old new driver) we’ll examine the year so far, talk through viewing investments through the “windshield” of a financial plan, and see how investors have typically fared better than average coming out of historic times like these. 

Quarter in Charts – Q2 2022

“The Circumstances” So far this year, investors have experienced a dramatic increase in interest rates and sustained high inflation, coupled with a decrease in both stock and bond prices not seen in half a century. All of this while the US continued to add jobs and public companies increased profits at a steady pace. Below

Quarter In Charts – Q1 2022

We just completed Science Fair season in our house – whew! Finley (age 12) tested different ratios of Corn Syrup to Sugar to determine the optimal recipe for homemade marshmallows (I take all the credit for the title: “Who Wants S’more Marshmallows?”) Going into the project, she had no idea which recipe would make the