When it comes to creating an investment strategy, there are many things to consider. Getting back to the basics, there are four points that everyone must accomplish to get the biggest bang for their buck. 1. Reduce Credit Card Debt While many might not consider reducing credit card debt as an investment strategy, it clearly is., the reason being that you are paying a very high interest rate on that debt. It is not easy to generate massive returns in the stock market, so if one’s credit card interest payment were 20%, one would need to generate a bigger return than that in the stock market to justify not paying off that debt. Reducing or eliminating unnecessary credit card debt is an easy initial step to ge ... Read More

“What should you do when the house isn’t in order?” A good friend of mine asked this question back in 2011. At that time, key stock indices were plunging lower due to issues regarding the U.S. debt ceiling. There was uncertainty, and many wondered what would happen next. I remember this question now because the key stock indices nowadays are falling due to troubles in the emerging markets and there seems to be panic—similar to what we were experiencing when I first heard this question. When key stock indices are declining, instead of panicking and selling ... Read More

Are the long-term retirement plans of working Americans being held hostage by the Federal Reserve? If the point of quantitative easing was to stave off a recession and spur jobs growth, I think it’s fair to say the Federal Reserve’s $85.0-billion-per-month money-printing scheme has been a failure. At the very least, I’m not so sure the money was well spent, and that the end does not justify the means. I enter as evidence almost $4.0 tril ... Read More

One of the basic rules that investors should follow when it comes to portfolio management is to not have a bias. What biases eventually do is either hinder investors from making better decisions or cause investors to not even recognize an opportunity that can take their portfolio to new heights. For example, take the Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as “Obamacare.” A friend of mine, who is saving for his retirement, has a bias when it comes to this topic. He says it’s not worth it for Americans, and it’s just another expense to add to the budg ... Read More

Many dream about being self-employed; being their own boss, and making their own hours. But, being self-employed also means being responsible for your own retirement savings. Unfortunately, many self-employed Americans seem to have forgotten this or have maybe simply chosen to ignore it until a later date. That could be a costly mistake. At present, only 50% of the U.S. workforce is covered by an employer-sponsored pension plan, unchanged over the last three decades. Furthermore, 71% of small businesses with fewer than 25 workers do not sponsor a retirement plan. (Source: Lichtenstein, J., “Financial Viability and Retirement Assets: A Look at Small Business Owners and Private Sector Workers,” U.S. Small Bu ... Read More