By: Laura Walton AFC® We all have plenty to worry about these days – a pandemic, social unrest, economic uncertainty and now a fire burning in our beautiful Catalinas. Yesterday, in a final meeting at the two-year mark with a participant in the 3rd Decade program he asked “what should I be reading, who…
How Struggle Can Build Resilience “Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.” ― Gever Tulley I’m not the first person to realize that life is inevitably difficult – some seasons more than others. An attitude that has largely shaped my life, however, is my unwillingness…
By: Laura Walton AFC® What stock should I buy now? I’ve fielded this question a few times lately along with this one, “Should I keep contributing to my Roth IRA while the market is in turmoil?” First, which stock to buy? Imagine it’s 2004 and MySpace (remember MySpace?) is the #1…
The 20% Rule The 20% rule simply states that most tasks will take 20% longer than we think, and most things will cost 20% more than we think. This is not a steadfast rule that applies in every situation, but it can be extremely useful in many parts of your life. It can…
Newsflash! Money can be a source of contention for couples. Money can be a stressor even when just worrying about it for yourself. Add in another person’s opinions, goals, and financial decisions, and this can be a recipe for disaster. According to an article in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, there is a…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Miss Sanders Today she would be Ms. Sanders but 50 years ago she was Miss Sanders, my typing and shorthand teacher. Honestly I hadn’t thought about her for a long, long time – why would I – but, curiously, today’s world events have brought her to mind. I…
As we continue to receive what feels like hourly news updates on COVID-19 and the overarching affects it is having on our daily lives, it is getting harder and harder not to feel the pressure to “do something” in terms of our financial situation. There is a helplessness in practicing social distancing as the market…
A message from 3rd Decade’s Executive Director, Scott Bennett: Hello 3rd Decade Community, We’ve had a handful of participants reach out to us and we know that there is a lot of fear and tension right now surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. If the fear of yourselves or your loved ones getting sick wasn’t…
By: Laura Walton AFC® A new investor’s first mutual fund purchase is often a target-date fund. Why is that? A little history. Target-date funds were first offered in 1994 but, according to Brightscope, didn’t gain traction until the Pension Protection Act of 2006. That Act required 401k’s to offer better default investment options. Until…
By: TK Irons Is my car really that bad of an investment? Before coming back to our discussion on invisible money – a quick note on our beloved cars. We can call this 1.5 of the 3 part series. The answer to the question above is – Yep! Pretty much! Many of us fall in…