Making big, hairy, audacious goals is easy. Achieving those goals by yourself is much harder.

Without a basic understanding of how capital markets work, there is no way individuals can make prudent investment decisions.

I’ve got some good news. You’re not crazy.

Last year certainly had its challenges. For instance, your job or career may have been affected, perhaps requiring you to work from home, stop all your usual travel, and forcing you to learn new online technologies to keep in touch with your clients and customers.

To look back on 2020 and say it was a challenging year would be an understatement. Uncertainty was a theme, stimulus debates took center stage, and millions of Americans scrambled to revisit their budgets.

Saving Too Much Too Early In The Year Can Hurt Your Retirement

A financial economist, and passionate defender of the EMH, was walking down the street with a friend. The friend stops and says, “Look, there is a $20 bill on the ground.”

Optical illusions can be fun and, at their worst, elicit some argumentative conversations among friends and family, similar psychological phenomena are common in the investing world, too.

Think about rebalancing your portfolio like preparing a balanced meal to include a protein, vegetables, fruit and grains. Specifically, you could have chicken, asparagus, watermelon and whole wheat rolls. Or you may want BBQ ribs, french fries, roasted peppers, cantaloupe and chocolate cake.

It’s been a year like no other. A global pandemic. A sudden shift to a bear market. Unexpected oil price drama. A race for a vaccine. Or better testing. Or a nationwide database to trace outbreaks. It all has an impact on your personal finances. As we head into the second half of the year, let’s take stock of what you may want to consider before year-end.

During this pandemic, you may have family or friends whose health has been directly affected by COVID-19. And the longer you live, the more people you know will face significant health concerns. Making sure you and your family are prepared for these situations – now and in the future – is an act of kindness...

Cultivating an “abundance mindset” might be far down your list of what needs attention today. In times such as these, you might even believe that the thing most in abundance right now is a mounting variety of very real financial stressors...