Proof and Belief: Money and Markets
Beware: I’m going to get existential for a moment. I’ll be quick about it. Beginning in 2007 and through 2009, I found myself having a particular conversation about money with a lot of people. What started as a discussion of the happenings in the markets and economy became a journey into the historical role of gold and The Fed. In …
Financial Symmetry and Weight Loss
When I decided to pursue a business career after college, I did so not really knowing what it meant to actually ‘pursue business’. Like most people, I had a vague sense that marketing was involved somehow and that some math must be a part of the deal, but I really didn’t know much more than that. So when I was …
Inching Closer Toward Recession
It’s coming, can you feel it? The next recession is getting closer and closer, there’s no doubt. How do I know this? Simply put, recessions happen and we haven’t had one in quite some time, so it’s a safe prediction to make that the passing of each day moves us closer to the next. Are you ready? Before we get …
If You Could Time Your Last Dollar with Your Last Breath
I often suggest that good financial planning means we die with money left over. Conversely, that must mean that bad financial planning means we run out of money before we die. Of course, omitted from this binary look at the topic is the possibility that you’ll spend your last dollar as your last breath exists your body. Wouldn’t that be …
Shortened Workweek
If you worked one less day per week at your paid job, what would you do with your time? This can be a fun exercise, but it can also feel like asking you what you’d do if you won the lottery. You imagine all of the wonderful things you’d buy and become caught up in that fantasy only to snap …
Financial Finish Lines and Mile-Markers
The Boston Marathon is an event where otherwise normal people travel great distances, at great expense, to punish themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally for 26.2 uninterrupted miles, sometimes in the rain. The very nature of a marathon race really does beg the question, “Why?” In fact, I asked a marathon runner this question years ago, “Why would you choose to …
Does Cash Buy Happiness?
There have been a number of recent studies completed to determine what makes us happy. In several studies, it was concluded that quality relationships are most important in determining levels of happiness. Other studies looked at the effect of money on happiness. In fact, research by the Nobel laureate psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman showed that money increases happiness until about …
Briefcase Study: How Low Can You Go?
Reduced Stress Through Rehearsed Austerity A recent client review meeting reminded me that money can be stressful. This is a statement so obvious that it seems silly to write it out, but there it is. It can stress me out, and I’ll bet you feel it from time-to-time as well. While I won’t suggest that money’s emotional and intellectual burdens …
Back to the Basics: Inflation’s Effects on Your Retirement
The headlines are screaming, and the data is real: inflation is on the rise. In fact, we’re seeing higher rates of inflation now than we’ve seen in 40 years. Prices are going up and that can be a very scary reality for retirees. But how does that actually impact you? If you’re retired now or planning to retire soon, what …
Welcome Baby Harlow
Please join us in welcoming Harlow June Murray to the Elevated Retirement Group Family. Harlow was born February 2, 2022 at 4:16 pm. She weighed in at 7 pounds and was 19 inches. Katie, Brandon, Hadley, Hayes and baby Harlow are all doing great!