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…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Last month I attended Social Venture Partners Fast Pitch event at which seven select non-profits competed to inspire the audience through their stories, told in just three minutes, their “fast pitches.” The speakers for each non-profit did just that – they inspired – and so did the keynote speaker, a former…
By: Laura Walton AFC® That was my reaction when I saw the article titled “Financial Illiteracy and the Ineffectiveness of Financial Education Programs.” The TCI Foundation runs a financial education program, the 3rd Decade. Are we irrelevant? No, thank goodness, but… the eye-opening take-away from this was that financial education only affected 0.1% of later financial…
By: Laura Walton AFC® I spent yesterday morning talking about investing with a high school Personal Finance class. This is a classroom that the TCI Foundation has been visiting for the past three years – this time was different. Many teachers use The Stock Market Game and their teacher had received a grant to bring…
By: Laura Walton AFC® I often say this isn’t “rocket surgery” – personal finance really just boils down to spending less than you make over your lifetime. On the other hand, that’s easier said than done. Maybe, one day, my blog will detail all the financial mistakes I’ve made along the way. Want to know the most…
By: Laura Walton AFC® We’ve all experienced sticker shock at the grocery store now and then so it came as a big surprise to me that our spending on food is a fraction of what it has been historically. Today we spend about 13% of our income on food. In 1900, we spent 43%! And, we find…
By: Laura Walton AFC® I often say that wealth is built at the margins – a little bit saved here and there consistently over the years rather than the home run bet on just the right stock at the right time. Americans admit they waste money on inconsequential stuff but just how much and how…
By: Laura Walton AFC® I recently blogged about the importance of having a bigger “yes” – a passion that moves you forward in life by prioritizing your choices. Gwen is a friend whose life is a great example of that. I asked her to put into words her journey as her passion shifted from her…
By: Laura Walton AFC® You had to be there! This is a line taken from the recent movie Hell or High Water. The scene is set in a small café in a dusty west Texas town. Two Texas Rangers (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham) are studying the menu when the waitress approaches – that’s when it…
By: Laura Walton AFC® In recent blogs I’ve shared some excerpts from Jack Bogle’s webinar celebrating his 65 years in the investment business. By now, you all know who he is – founder of Vanguard and credited with launching the first index mutual fund open to the everyday investor. He’s an inspiration both professionally and…