Brian Cochran, Financial Planner | CFP® | CKA®
A Broken Sneaker: A Metaphor for Uncertainty
The future is always uncertain, no matter how much we agree on what may come next. A recent example of this is the Duke and North Carolina basketball game on February 20th. This much-anticipated event drew significant attention. Tickets were selling at prices similar to the NFL Championship game. The packed crowd included big name…
Clearing Up Tax Refund Confusion
As if tax refunds weren’t already a misunderstood area of personal finance, politicians and media outlets are adding unnecessary anger and confusion to them. Tax refunds are really quite simple. If you overpay funds to your state or the US Treasury, you are entitled to a refund upon filing your taxes. Refunds are not a…
Back to Basics
At JMA we teach Six Keys to Financial Success: Spend less than you make Be prudent about debt Build liquidity Set long‐term goals Act like a manager, not an owner Give Generously These timeless principles not only help you meet long‐term goals, but also prepare you for the hard times we all face at some…
When the Road is Uncertain, Stay the Course
When the market is volatile, the temptation to sell stocks is strong, but it rarely benefits investors. According to Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, investors pulled $39 billion out of stock funds and over $8 billion from bond funds in the week ending Dec. 12, 2018. These extreme fund flows tell us that investors are selling…
Tuition Paid & Lessons Learned
Millennials are now the largest generation in the US and the most represented age group in the workforce. I’m one of them. We are starting to save and invest in stocks, real estate and other markets, which is great news. Everyone benefits from a new generation of buyers as the baby boomers retire and become…