The 3rd quarter is a wrap! How'd markets do? 3rd quarter 01/01/2019 - 09/30/2019 US Stocks 1.08% 19.90% Global Ex-US Stocks -1.58% 11.42% Total Bond Market 2.40% 8.60% First thought: Framing is everything You … [Read more...] about Quarterly Thoughts (3rd Quarter 2019)
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The Stock Market Game
My junior year at Eastern Illinois University I took a course called "Financial Markets: Commodities, Derivatives, and Securities". Riveting stuff. Our professor, Dr. Crystal Lin, asked us to participate in an enhanced version of the "stock market … [Read more...] about The Stock Market Game
Is Small Cap Value Investing Dead?
When an investment strategy is declared as "dead" or "no longer working" there's a reasonable chance it is about to work again. Take for reference this article from CNBC posted in November of 2008, The Death of Buy and Hold. The article claims that … [Read more...] about Is Small Cap Value Investing Dead?
Peter Schiff and His Predictions
Peter Schiff is known for his doomsday predictions on the US economy, and being a permabull on the price of gold. Why is he famous? He predicted the housing market collapse and the ensuing deep recession we experienced 2007 - 2009. If you watch … [Read more...] about Peter Schiff and His Predictions
Scraping by on a $500k Income
An article on July 13th by Shawn Langlois of MarketWatch shares the story of a Reddit discussion where an anonymous man posted his household monthly budget, and how they are struggling to get by on a $500k annual household income. One more thing, … [Read more...] about Scraping by on a $500k Income
Quarterly Thoughts (2nd quarter 2019)
This is the first ever quarterly update from Meredith Wealth Planning. Assuming I stay in this position for about 30 more years, you can expect about 119 more of these. Much has transpired since I launched the firm in early March. I am proud to … [Read more...] about Quarterly Thoughts (2nd quarter 2019)
Overlooked Risks
This may surprise you, but a lot of clients have similar concerns when it comes to investing in markets. Here's a few that come up every now and then: -What if the Fed raises/cuts interest rates? -What if we go to war in the middle east … [Read more...] about Overlooked Risks
Should You Just Put Everything in the S&P 500?
It has been well documented that the S&P 500 index fund has outperformed the vast majority of actively managed funds historically. Having said that, it may not be a prudent strategy to own only the S&P 500. Imagine it is late 1999 and you … [Read more...] about Should You Just Put Everything in the S&P 500?
Tariffs and Your Portfolio
Foreign trade can be a win-win for everyone involved, and it often is. Tariffs can be a lose-lose for for everyone involved, and they often are. A major factor explaining our trade deficit with China is consumer demand. We Americans enjoy … [Read more...] about Tariffs and Your Portfolio
Why I Started My Own Financial Planning Firm
On March 6th of this year I started my own financial planning firm. For my first blog post at Meredith Wealth Planning, I wanted to tackle: Why I started my own financial planning firm. How it is different than every other firm. Why this … [Read more...] about Why I Started My Own Financial Planning Firm