“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.” – O.S. Marden Earthquakes, hurricanes, and … homeownership? Well, the first two have left us in a mixture of annoyance, grief (there has been real tragedy in the wake of Irene, I must say), and a growing cynicism over crisis … Read More
Northridge Tax Professional’s: “Back-of-the-Napkin Financial Principles Even *I* Use”
"The game of life is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well." – H. T. Leslie Meeting with clients this past week (and the week before) has been a blast. No — really! And yes, I know, I should get out more. The reason we enjoy doing this (especially this time of year), … Read More
Re: Guarding Against Your Own Private Downgrade
"No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change." – Barbara de Angelis Last week, we were all reeling a little from the S&P downgrade and all of the other chaos flying around the "body politic" (and economic, to boot). After … Read More
Guarding Against Your Own Private Downgrade
“All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.” -Benjamin Franklin What a messy weekend. Heartbreaking news from Afghanistan, the S&P downgrade — and now all of the resultant (and gruesomely predictable) political posturing. Oh, and as I write this, it’s no surprise that the stock market is “reacting” a … Read More
Washington Really is a Different Kind of Town
"If it’s not something you can decide about, if it’s not something you can avoid, then all you can do is worry. And what’s the point of that?" -Seth Godin There are just some stories where nobody comes out looking good — and this "debt ceiling" debacle is one of them, in my humble opinion. Yes, a deal was struck. … Read More
A Story You Should Read
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. – William James This might offend you, though I’m not trying to ruffle feathers — however, I will be a bit bold here: Could you be focusing too much attention on your family? Now, far be it from me to suggest that your family isn’t the BEST possible investment … Read More
In A Sandwich?
"Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." – George Herbert If you take a broad view of our culture over the last 50 years (and you do it objectively), you can see … Read More
It’s About Halftime
"Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back." – Harvey Mackay I have an action item for you in a moment, but before I get there, allow me to explain… You see, one of … Read More
What If King George Had Said ‘Alright…’
"Wealthy people get wealthy by not losing money." -Warren Buffett Truly, have you ever considered how history shifts on small decisions? What we celebrate on the 4th was the bravery of men who said [Enzo paraphrase] : "If you’re going to tax me, I need a representative. And, since you won’t give me THAT … well, we’re free anyway. Government … Read More
Raising Wealthy Children
Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. – Og Mandino These last couple weeks, I’ve been ruminating on how the rich can "act" poor. And there have been a variety of responses — and the questions: "Enzo, fine — but how about what it takes to teach wealthy thinking?" A great question — and the … Read More