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Is Economic Recession on the Financial Horizon for 2019?

Donald Trump began his reign in the Oval Office on January 20, 2017, inheriting an economy with a seven-year bull market, low inflation, and a low unemployment rate of less than 5%. After, the stock market moved on to set new all-time record highs while interest rates still remained close to their historic lows. That’s where we were and it all looked pretty dammed rosy, didn’t it?

Are we headed for an economic recession? Let's look at where we are and what may happen to our once-rosy economy in the U.S.

But, with that kind of continued trend, one that has been almost a continuum of improvement ever since 2009 began, it is an inevitable fact that at some time we’d have to face the reality that an economic recession will come. It always does.

Continue reading“Is Economic Recession on the Financial Horizon for 2019?”
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My Very Best of the Worst “Pop” Christmas Songs Ever

Today I am taking the opportunity to wish all of you a great winter holiday no matter what you are celebrating! Having a chance to catch your breath and spend some time with friends and family is a great way to conclude the year and get set for a high energy and hopefully fulfilling 2019 for everyone. As such, I will be taking the next two weeks off, so posts on the blog will resume on January 4th and the newsletter will resume on January 9th. In the meantime, please enjoy today’s “just for fun” post on the very best of the worst Christmas songs, in my own humble opinion.

Just for holiday fun, I've selected my very best of the worst Christmas songs. Check them out to see if you agree, or nominate your own worst songs.

Did you ever think about making music as a source of extra income? A side gig as a performer, recording artist, or songwriter? Ok, you may not really have those talents and you may never ever even try, but don’t think that it’s always only about sheer talent that does the trick. Writing the words and making up a tune can really be done by anyone if you think about it for a second. It can happen to the great and the unknown, too.

Continue reading“My Very Best of the Worst “Pop” Christmas Songs Ever”
Health, More

Conquer Holiday Stress and Make It Safely Into 2019

Now that the holidays are here, you are right in the middle of experiencing the “rush” of a lot of fun and happy celebrations. But as we all painfully do know, sometimes the holidays can also bring difficult emotional triggers, such as painful memories, grief for family members who can’t be with us, or challenging dynamics with family members who are with us. Holiday stress can also involve long to-do lists and financial strain to make things even worse.

We're all susceptible to holiday stress, so pay attention to these 6 ways of managing stress to insure you have a happy holiday season!

By no means am I trying to bum out the holiday season. Quite the opposite. Whether you have specific and unique reasons or not that can interfere with a happy holiday, we all go through some kind of stress during the month of December. The reasons can be simple or complex. Time pressures, money pressures, and family pressures seem to come together into a “perfect storm” and sometimes it’s really important to take some caution so that you can enjoy and yet keep your health and sanity too. That’s why I am suggesting some self–care precautions to get us through the holiday season and make it safely to 2019!Continue reading“Conquer Holiday Stress and Make It Safely Into 2019”

More, Personal Finance

Striking Out in Life and the Personal Finance Game

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about what it takes for you inside to become a success in your personal finances. Most of the time, I get caught up and find myself pontificating about what you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to shopping and buying. That’s the premise of Super Saving tips, I’ll admit. But whether you are ultimately a financial success really depends on more than that. Here’s what I mean.

If you don't do the right things, you'll strike out in life and in personal finance. Read on for the 3 strikes that will send you right out of the game.

While everyone says that they want and try to be successful in their finances, some never make it. I believe there are some valid reasons why people are unsuccessful in the personal finance game, but pretty often it’s because they are lazy, stupid, or just don’t give a damn. And sometimes, shamefully, it’s all three at the same time!Continue reading“Striking Out in Life and the Personal Finance Game”

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Emergency Planning – Are You Insured and Storm Ready?

We are not yet through November and some of us have already experienced a fall snowstorm. Storms of all kinds can hit with little notice no matter where you live and even if it’s not weather related, many scary problems strike and can be very dangerous, costly, and life threatening. We have seen that just in the last two weeks with the worst California wildfires ever (and now potential mudslides) that have taken dozens of lives and destroyed so much property. For these reasons and more, it pays to have an emergency plan.

Emergencies happen, but are you prepared? You need an emergency plan in case of a storm, fire, or other disaster. Here's what you need to plan in advance.

What Can You Do About Any of This?

If storms, fires, or other disasters strike, the very least you can do is be prepared with a plan and adequate emergency supplies. Even if you need to eventually evacuate, and I hope you never have to consider it, you need a plan of action.Continue reading“Emergency Planning – Are You Insured and Storm Ready?”

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Racism, Prejudice, and Finances – The Ugly Truth

Today’s post is about a very difficult subject for most of us to discuss: financial racism and prejudice. It’s not the standard “save and earn some money” post and if you aren’t in the mood for a frank, tough read, I’d advise you here to skip to another blog today. But if you are still here, read on.

Financial racism is rampant in the U.S., and it has a profound economic and social effect. Being aware of systemic racism is the first step to stopping it.

Racism and prejudice in America is in our faces every single day whether we choose to recognize it or not. It’s not just politics and it’s not just finances, it’s not just social and it’s not just religious. It’s all of the above.Continue reading“Racism, Prejudice, and Finances – The Ugly Truth”

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What Does the Price of Oil Have to Do with the Price of Tea?

“What’s that got to do with…?” is an expression that is often used to show an irrelevance or non sequitur in a subject of discussion you are having. It’s an idiom and in its most common form like this, it is a retort to an irrelevant suggestion. I find myself saying it often these days but in reality, I really shouldn’t say it.

The price of oil is rising and while there isn't much we can do about that, we do need to do something to prepare for the costs that will rise with it.

 

Economic discussions draw conclusions that every economic action somehow affects everything else that happens economically. The idiom in my example is trying to say that the “price of tea” is the farthest logical connection from the price of oil and is a sort of butterfly effect (the butterfly effect refers to the concept that small events are causes that can have large effects on us all). But is it? Well, surprise, surprise, surprise as Gomer Pyle said over and over again back in the day!Continue reading“What Does the Price of Oil Have to Do with the Price of Tea?”

Income and Career, More

Can You Ever Really Beat the System?

Boy, there’s a real question for the ages, isn‘t it? It seems that a lot of us find ourselves scratching our heads frequently trying to figure out “how to beat the system” and no matter how hard we try, we just can’t ever seem to do it. As we sometimes say, the emphasis is on “we” because when you really think about it, some people actually do seem to beat the system and usually that doesn’t seem to include us. Is that time well spent?

Some of us ask if we can ever really beat the system and get ahead, but I've found a different approach to be successful. Here are my recommendations.

It certainly ruins most of your day when you sit and moan about how you “just can’t win” or you don’t have any luck. When you do that, you are probably dooming yourself to even more failures and future frustrations. Wouldn’t your time be better spent on trying to learn and educate yourself more every day so you have a better chance to succeed in your job or hell, everything in life! Trying to learn more and improve yourself will always improve your chances to beat the system.Continue reading“Can You Ever Really Beat the System?”