A day off

By: Laura Walton AFC® With the 4th of July coming next Tuesday, many of us will have a little extra time on our hands. I’ve got a couple of ideas for you. There is, of course, vacation. Husband Dave passed on a fun idea from the Wall Street Journal. It’s the brainchild of a creative travel…

Shoulda had a will

By: Laura Walton AFC® Prince, that is. Since his death a year ago, 45 people have come forward claiming to be his wife, children, siblings or other relatives. His estate, estimated at $200M, has been held up in the courts while they determine his rightful heirs. The judge recently confirmed the money, reduced by about…

When you die

By: Laura Walton AFC® here are things you can control and things that matter. When the two categories collide, that’s when you pay attention – the ball’s in your court to control the things that matter. It’s easy in our busy, distracted lives to spend too much time on things that don’t matter and too…

The Side Hustle

By: Laura Walton AFC® Pretty much everyone has one – it’s the thing you do on the side –the thing you’re interested in outside of work. It could be your hobby, it might even be your passion. And it could be lucrative. You’ve heard the expression, “don’t quit your day job.” Well, Killer Mike and…

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…

Scarcity

By: Laura Walton AFC® When something in our lives is scarce, we tend to focus on it. That focus can be both good and bad. I frequently catch Shankar Vedantam’s excerpt from his website, Hidden Brain, on NRP. A recent piece on scarcity attracted my attention. In economic terms, scarcity concentrates demand on fewer resources which,…

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…