fbpx

Weekly Column

Feelings about Student Loan Forgiveness are Complicated

I appear monthly on South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s “In The Moment” program, hosted by Lori Walsh. In a recent segment, she asked me to address the emotions around student loan forgiveness, especially for those who had no debt or did not qualify for such programs....

Why We Put Off Planning for Long Term Care

An essential component of planning for retirement and old age is building financial resources to pay for long-term care. Yet having enough money is not automatically a guarantee of getting the best care you need when you need it. The biggest problem is availability....

Seller Financing: A Real Estate Option From The Past May Be Back

Today’s rising real estate prices and interest rates have sparked memories for me of the 1980s, when I made my living as a real estate broker. Those were the days of 12% mortgages, which put home ownership out of the reach of many. Seller financing, where the seller...

Resistance to Financial Advice Is a Sign to Slow Down

“When you meet resistance, you are moving too fast.” This is a truism that I hold to when it comes to relationships, especially in my capacity as a financial advisor. The illusion is that people come to financial planners for financial advice. Planners often assume...

What’s Behind Soaring College Costs and What You Can Do

Since I first wrote on the increasing cost of a college education in 2011, has anything changed? The short answer is “no.” The cumulative increase in college tuition has been much higher than the cumulative increase in inflation over the past 40 years. Between 1980...

What’s Worse Than Having No Will? Having Two

Estate planning matters. Not having a will can leave surviving family members to struggle with legal complexities, increased costs, and strained relationships as they make decisions that they can only hope the deceased would have approved. It adds pain and heartache....