By the time he was eight, my son knew he wanted to become a mechanical engineer. He also was clear that he would attend the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, one of the better value...

Money skills are the 21st century’s survival skills! You may have a great education, a successful career, or be the best in your field… but if you don’t understand how to make sound money decisions,...

Ever since Stephen R. Covey published The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in 1989, we’ve seen variations of “Seven Successful Habits” on about everything. Here is my version as applied to...

Someone recently asked me, “How can people avoid financial stress during this pandemic?” As a financial planner and financial therapist, my only honest answer has to be, “Most Americans can’t.” The...

Recessions are typically not good times for real estate owners. We are in the worst recession since the great depression. Yet residential real estate prices in many parts of the country are rising,...

I recently wrote a column about an aging friend who, after years of doing it himself, hired someone to clean out his gutters. His reasoning was that at this stage in his life he had more money than...

Although US Presidents’ influence on the economy is limited, their tax plans can affect Americans’ personal finances. Given Biden’s current lead in the polls and the real possibility of Democrats...

Financial Planning 1. Care more about you and your money than anyone who doesn’t share your last name. 2. Proactively adopt and implement a Fiduciary Standard in relation to you, your family, your...

“Why hire it done when you can do it yourself?” This is a common money belief for frugal people, who often spend weekends doing home maintenance chores. Or, in my case, haunting the neighborhood...

Is it reasonable to think the economy is on the upswing? After all, by one stock market rule of thumb a new bull market started on March 26 when the Dow shot up over the magical 20% mark from the...