In March I went back east to visit my elderly parents. My father, now 94, one of the few remaining WWII veterans, still remembers the Great Depression. He’d never experienced a Starbucks coffee. It was time. Three small Starbucks drinks were ordered: 2 tall vanilla lattes, and 1 black coffee. As my Dad looked on,…
By: Laura Walton AFC® After my father passed away, my mother’s broker recommended she buy mutual funds that had an 8% front-end load. That meant that for every $1000, $920 was invested in the fund. This was a “suitable” investment but a no-load mutual fund would have been in her best interests. The fiduciary standard requires the…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Remember the Marshmallow Test? Are the results different if the kids are from Cameroon, a country in Central Africa, instead of the offspring of Stanford University professors? I talk about the Marshmallow Test in my presentations. Developed in the 60’s by Dr. Walter Michel, a Stanford psychologist, it tested the ability…
By: Laura Walton AFC® This is a touchy subject. In our 3rd DecadeTM program we recommend building a nest egg before tackling other life events like buying a house, getting married and having children. We’re careful to recognize that’s not everyone’s reality. I think back to a participant in one of our first classes – he and…