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I have a cousin who was born when I was a freshman in college and we’ve grown rather close in recent years – mainly thanks to him – so when he called around the first of the year to tell me he had quit his high-paying job I was tempted to yell, “Are you crazy?!” I care for him a great deal, you see, so my financial planner brain started to mentally calculate the future value of his lost salary over the next few months. I didn’t react that way, fortunately, and I slowly started to see his wisdom as he explained his motivation. It wasn’t that he hated his job – he was a well-compensated regional manager for Target – but that he yearned to see the impact of his hard work more directly. As it turns out, his professional journey is actually becoming more common.

Enjoy this month’s edition that features a significant birthday, a significant milestone and a market update.

Enjoy this month’s edition that features a significant birthday, a significant milestone and a market update.

It’s Moneywatch’s 40th Birthday!

Born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1980, Moneywatch was one of the very first independent, fee-only financial advising firms in the country. Now, at age 40, we manage about $180 Million in assets owned by our 343 clients. Here is our story:

I’ve been asked a couple of times recently about Bitcoin as an investment, particularly as a hedge against the stock market. Here, then, is a primer on cryptocurrency in general and an opinion regarding adding it to your portfolio.

Several people have asked me recently why the stock market is up so much (the S&P 500 is up over 5% on the year) when the economy is doing so poorly (there are 13 million fewer people working now than in February). So, while the movement of the stock market is unpredictable because it consists of billions of trades each day, each motivated by individual investor’s own needs and beliefs, here are 4 broad reasons for the disconnect:

My favorite Bond is James, not to be confused with the ornithologist(look it up) of the same name. And, while I treasure my bonds with family and friends, they are not Treasury bonds. So, while you choose between reading on or scrolling to the next cat video, here is why you should care what a bond is: You undoubtedly own some or parts of them and you should know what they are and what they do. First, let’s talk about you.

Enjoy this month’s edition that features a market update, a historical note on market performance during election years and a retirement factoid.

Market Update:

Our family started vacationing on Squam Lake in New Hampshire periodically when I was in middle school and my wife, kids and I have maintained the habit. In fact, we just returned from a week at our collective happy place where, this year, we had to dig deep to cope with a challenge unfamiliar to civilized society. Here is our terrifying story.

Interest rates on mortgages have flopped like a World Cup midfielder since the pandemic hit. According to Bankrate.com, the average rate of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders for 30-year mortgages is 3.15% while the average 15-year rate is 2.75%. So, is now a good time to refinance your current mortgage?