Money Management

2020 Is Here! Are You Ready to Tackle the New Decade?

2020 Is Here! Are You Ready to Tackle the New Decade?

Where were you 10 years ago? I was in my 20s, living on the North Side of Chicago renting an apartment with a roommate, and newly dating my now-husband. I loved my job as a Financial Advisor, but I wouldn’t say things were really clicking and I definitely wasn’t making what I’m worth. My finances weren’t terrible, but they weren’t the best. Despite these setbacks, I was loving life. Being a 20-something in a city like Chicago can be pretty great.

This isn’t my first rodeo…

This isn’t my first rodeo…

I started investing in 1994 after my grandparents bought me a share of stock for my 14th birthday. At that time the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was valued at 3,829.73. By the lowest point of the dot.com bubble burst on October 7th, 2002 it was valued at 7,422.84. We lost companies like Pets.com and eToys.com, but by January 1st, 2004 the value was back up to 10,453.92.

There Is No “One Size Fits All” Approach to Financial Planning

There Is No “One Size Fits All” Approach to Financial Planning

A year ago Michael and I found ourselves at an industry conference listening to the politically incorrect keynote speaker.  He focused a portion of his presentation on the issues with children who aren’t raised in households of married heterosexual families.  He asserted that these children weren’t as capable as those who were raised by a married mother and father.  By the end, we were both feeling pretty offended by the fact that the organizers of this conference felt it was appropriate to bring this person to present to us.