By: Laura Walton AFC® Well, let’s see. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks consumer spending each year. We have numbers for 2017 – see how you stack up. On average, U.S. households spent an average of $60,060. Using the chart below, we offer the following percentages: Housing: 33% Includes mortgage payments or rent, property…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Some would say that’s what Dave Ramsey dispenses. He doesn’t hold back. “Credit cards? Stupid! Car payments? Stupid on steroids! Borrowing money on your house to put in granite countertops? SOMEBODY OUGHTA SMACK YOU! That’s just stupid!” Dave Ramsey has been ranting for 30 years. According to Kristen Bahler’s recent article,…
Scripps Media, a national broadcasting company, recently came to Tucson to film one of our 3rd Decade™ classes. While here, they interviewed Bob Swift and several class participants. The spot, titled “Unique class pays young adults to learn money management,” showed in 50+ television markets nationwide. Its 5:30 p.m. and most of the 20 and…
By: Laura Walton AFC® It’s Financial Literacy month! In this blog you’ll find a link to a 17 question financial literacy quiz. Annamarie Lusardi, the Academic Director of the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center at George Washington University and one of the authors of the quiz and academic paper “Five Steps to Planning Success,” says…
By: Laura Walton AFC® “I never want to be dependent on one thing,” says Jets linebacker Brandon Copeland – and he’s not. Graduating Penn’s Wharton School of Business in 2013, Brandon didn’t find a spot in the NFL right away. He spent some time on practice squads before being noticed by the Lions in 2015…
By: Laura Walton AFC® This quilt screams the message “you can’t predict returns!” This week we take the allocation conversation one step further into diversification. The best return for a 100% stock portfolio between 1926 and 2016 was +54.2% while the worst return was -43.1%. Over the same period, a 100% bond portfolio returned…
By: Laura Walton AFC® “The year was 1942, I was 11, and I went all in, investing $115 I had begun accumulating at age 6,” noted Warren Buffett in his annual letter to shareholders. That $115 investment helped Mr. Buffett illustrate the abiding strength of American businesses and the stock market that reflects their…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Morgan Housel, an award winning financial columnist, is gifted at expressing complex ideas clearly and with humor. Today a partner at The Collaborative Fund, he posted this recent blog, “Short Money Rules”, and I would add “to live by”. Above-average results require not being afraid of looking wrong. Most people…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Last week’s headlines: Vanguard Ups the Ante in an ETF Race to Zero and Millennial Online Lender SoFi to Offer Zero-fee ETFs. Fidelity started the rush last August announcing two no-fee index mutual funds; today they offer four. How much do fees matter and is it worth chasing 0% fee…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Do you ever anticipate regret? I find it a useful tool when making decisions. If I choose option A, how will I feel about it later, will I regret it? Or, will I feel better about choosing option B once my decision is made? These top 10 financial savings regrets…