Common Cents Blog
Last night, a reel came across my Instagram feed which caught my eye. There was a guy hiking through the woods, who almost stepped on an adult copperhead. The snake was coiled up in the leaves…
Given the market turmoil, you should turn off the television. Don’t even think about looking at your investment balances. Stop reading this newsletter and all other pieces of financial commentary. By all means, go outside. Have…
Undoubtedly like many of you, I am tired of hearing the word tariff. I am even more tired of not knowing what the true definition of success is here. Exhausted even. Are we throwing tariffs around…
Last night, my wife told me a frustrating story about something which had happened during her day. She had called a medical office which had been sending invoices demanding payment for services rendered. On at least…
I started recommending gold pretty soon after the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) exchange traded fund became available at the end of 2004. It was an easy way to get precious metal exposure in a “paper portfolio.”…
Before you read the contrary someplace else, know this—the sun is going to come up in the east tomorrow. The Earth is not going to stop revolving. The world is not going to collapse. Essentially, none…
I have a crystal ball in my office. Seriously, I do. It was a gift from a client, who happens to be my old T-ball coach. Every time someone says something along the lines of “I…
Depending on your point of view, the first several weeks of the second Trump administration have been either invigorating or infuriating. They certainly haven’t been boring. However, will all of the upset apple carts ultimately be…
This week, the markets had to digest two disappointing economic reports. Objectively, they did so splendidly. To that end, the S&P 500 was up over 1.5% during the week as of 2:00 pm CDT. The first…
This morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released “The Employment Situation – January 2025.” In it, the BLS reported the Unemployment Rate fell from 4.1% to 4.0%, and the economy created 143K net, new payroll…