Category: Common Cents Archive

Given the way Christmas and New Year’s Day fell on the calendar, the past two weeks have been pretty slow in the investment industry, at least relatively. Judging from trading volumes, along with other data, it…

This week, I almost ran over a church friend of mine who was standing in the middle of the street staring at the sky through binoculars just after sunset. I stopped to ask him what he…

Recently, for some reason, the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I came to my mind when I was reading an article about the continued economic shutdowns in various states (specifically California). This battle was more…

This year, more than most, I have had numerous people from both sides of the political aisle tell me: “I am extremely worried about the future of this country.” Interestingly enough, to a person they have…

This morning the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced the US economy created 245K net, new payroll jobs during November. Ordinarily, that would be a pretty good number, great even, for one month. However, as we…

One of my favorite things to do on the weekends this time of year is to gather wood in the afternoon, and burn it in our firepit as the sun is setting. We will typically have…

If you are of a certain age, you are probably familiar with the expression: “sound like a broken record.” When an audio record (be it glass, plastic, or vinyl) had a significant scratch or crack in…

When I was younger, my parents told me never to discuss politics or religion in ‘mixed company.’ By that, they meant with people you don’t know well, or people whose ideologies are not in keeping with…

Caveat: I am writing this on the afternoon of Thursday, November 05, 2020. The Presidential election still has not been decided, although President Trump’s chances seem to be getting weaker by the hour.   When all…