House or lottery ticket?

By: Laura Walton AFC® The headline caught my attention. A long-standing cornerstone of the American Dream has been owning a home. Dreams are powerful, but current generations are rethinking this one. The article, by Liz Weston writing for Nerd Wallet, gives two examples. Perhaps you read recently that Warren Buffett’s Laguna Beach home is for sale for…

Ignite 520

By: Laura Walton AFC® Tucson has a bit of a “startup” culture – maybe even more than a bit. This weekend, the TCI Foundation will participate in a forum for young professionals, Ignite 520. Tucson Young Professionals (TYP) is the drive behind this event. They describe themselves as a “group of diverse young professionals united together to…

Out on a limb…

By: Laura Walton AFC® Spring is early…trees are leafing out, desert flowers are starting what promises to be a record bloom year, allergy sufferers are suffering and bird song, if you’ve noticed, is abundant. On Sunday, we joined friends and a professional birding guide in Madera Canyon. It was an eye-opening experience and, guess what,…

The rest of the story…

By: Laura Walton AFC® “‘Devaluation’ of homeowner tax advantage feared by some” was the headline in our Sunday paper that caught my attention. Just how important is the mortgage interest deduction and who benefits most from it? According to the article, the National Home Builders Association, Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Realtors are characterizing…

Agree/Disagree

By: Laura Walton AFC® Definition: Critical thinking is thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking in order to make your thinking better. Really? I started down the rabbit hole of critical thinking after reading an answer given by Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard and champion of index funds. Asked if he’d read an article that…