Chances are, you already know it’s expensive to raise a family in this day and age. But exactly how much over the 20 years until your kids reach the age of maturity? A recent analysis by the EverQuote organization estimated various costs for two parents plus a son and daughter for normal costs like housing, […]
Virgin Group founder and self-made billionaire Richard Branson dropped out of school at the age of 16 to start Student Magazine, and later founded Virgin Records—and a few other businesses along the way. Over time and various blog posts, he has recorded some thoughts on how to be successful in business and in life, apparently […]
Have you ever enjoyed a glass of wine at dinner and wondered what the one-percenters are enjoying at their tables? Or, perhaps, the one-tenth-of-one-percenters? Sotheby’s, the auction house based in New York, London and Hong Kong, recently released its 2018 Wine Market Report, which is a summary of the auction action last year among […]
Rich or Comfortable? What would you have to make to be a one-percenter—that is, to have an income in the upper one percent of the population—in the U.S., Singapore, China, Brazil, England or Australia? The answer, of course, differs in every country. At the bottom of the scale, someone earning $81,000 a year in […]
Magnetic Poles You probably know that when you look at a compass needle, it doesn’t point exactly to the place at the very top of the world, called North Pole. The magnetized needle, instead, is attracted to the MAGNETIC North Pole, which is in a different location. In fact, the Earth’s Magnetic North Pole […]
Government Shutdown Consequences As the U.S. government shutdown enters its second week, you might wonder how so many shuttered government agencies and laid-off federal workers will affect the economy and your portfolio. The good news is that the economic impact, overall, is likely to be small. In late 2013, a similar government shutdown, spanning 16 […]
Would you like to lower the volatility of your investment portfolio? There’s an easy solution. No, the solution we’re thinking of is not to retreat to cash—which, even in times of low inflation, is a strategy doomed to steadily lose the buying power of your portfolio. All that does is guarantee a downside. Diversification will […]
Tax Opportunities Before Year-End Every year, U.S. taxpayers face a number of year-end deadlines which, if ignored, can be costly and even punitive. In the latter category, consider people over age 70 1/2 who forget to take the full required minimum distribution from their IRA or 401(k). If they get the calculation wrong, or […]
You may have read that there has been a drop in new home sales—down 13% in September compared to the previous September—and that, combined with the drop in stock market values, might have you worried about the state of the U.S. economy.
There’s been a lot of publicity around sexual harassment this year, and the MeToo movement seems to have brought us to a new age for women and their legal ability to navigate our social system.
