Wait, phones are distracting?

Imagine hiring an assistant whose job consisted of walking around connected to you 24 hours a day and would pinch you whenever he or she felt like it.  This is the equivalent of what our phones are set to do by default.  Notifications for text messages, emails, and every app you have downloaded come standard.  […]

Happy Birthday!

“We are food for worms, lads” So goes the line from a classic film about living your life and embracing the gifts you have been given.  Dead Poets Society is the film and it was released nearly 30 years ago.  For those unfamiliar, do yourselves a favor and check it out. The entire film centers […]

What’s your exit strategy, LIAM?

As we approach the end of Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM), it’s fitting to bring up one more financial benefit provided by Participating Whole Life Insurance policies.  Specifically, the exit strategy.  A properly designed PWLI policy should provide you tax exempt income when entering your new phase of retired life.  Ideally, this saving for retirement […]

Confirmation that Universal Life is all Sizzle

The Wall Street Journal published an article[i] today that confirms what many of us have known for some time.  Universal Life (UL) insurance, along with sister products Variable Universal Life (VUL) and Indexed Universal Life (IUL), does not live up to the sales hype.  The article reveals several sad cases where customers have paid more […]

Disturb us, Lord

Disturb us, Lord, when We are too pleased with ourselves, When our dreams have come true Because we dreamed too little, When we arrived safely Because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess We have lost our thirst For the waters of life; Having […]

Stress! Financial and otherwise.

“Procrastination is like a smoke break” said Mel Robbins in the YouTube video posted below.  As I watched the five minute clip of her explaining how procrastination may not be what we think, while putting off the growing to-do list in front of me, the irony was clear. This is a quick post so let’s […]

Happy Star Wars Day

It’s May the 4th, and I’m considering seeing Avengers: Infinity War again.  The debate is not if, it’s a matter of when.  While I’m working out my scheduling logistics, let’s consider how similar this film is to the best of the Star Wars series – The Empire Strikes Back. As a young buck back in […]

Virtual Mentors

I listen to a lot of podcasts.  It all started very small with just one podcast that jumped out at me after reading a blog post.  That one led to another and the avalanche of iTunes subscriptions was on.  There are so many queued up (with so many added every week) that I will not […]

Everyone should be in two businesses

“Everyone should be in two businesses.  Whatever business they operate, and the banking business.”  – R. Nelson Nash The quote above comes from one of my early mentors and it’s just as valuable today as when I first heard it.  First of all, this applies to everyone, not just business owners.  When he refers to […]

Small Business Week!

We are in the midst of “Small Business Week” and I will admit that I’m not sure what that means.  I think the idea is to encourage everyone to shop local and celebrate small businesses this week, but it feels a bit like Valentine’s Day.  It’s a made up “holiday” where you act like you […]