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Blog

What Is a Bond? And Why Should You Care?

Submitted by Moneywatch Advisors on August 11th, 2020

My favorite Bond is James, not to be confused with the ornithologist(look it up) of the same name. And, while I treasure my bonds with family and friends, they are not Treasury bonds. So, while you choose between reading on or scrolling to the next cat video, here is why you should care what a bond is: You undoubtedly own some or parts of them and you should know what they are and what they do. First, let’s talk about you.

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Our Terrifying Vacation

Submitted by Moneywatch Advisors on August 4th, 2020

Our family started vacationing on Squam Lake in New Hampshire periodically when I was in middle school and my wife, kids and I have maintained the habit. In fact, we just returned from a week at our collective happy place where, this year, we had to dig deep to cope with a challenge unfamiliar to civilized society. Here is our terrifying story.

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Is It Time to Refinance?

Submitted by Moneywatch Advisors on July 21st, 2020

Interest rates on mortgages have flopped like a World Cup midfielder since the pandemic hit. According to Bankrate.com, the average rate of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders for 30-year mortgages is 3.15% while the average 15-year rate is 2.75%. So, is now a good time to refinance your current mortgage?

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5 Ways to Offset Taxes with Charitable Giving

Submitted by Moneywatch Advisors on July 6th, 2020

Although we’re all living through the same global pandemic, it has affected some of us more than others. By sitting on the boards of God’s Pantry Food Bank and the YMCA of Central Kentucky, I’ve seen how many in our communities are suffering economically. For instance, the need for food assistance in Lexington alone has increased almost 90% - many seeking help for the first time - since the pandemic hit. Similarly, as the Y never turns anyone away because they can’t pay – and there are more now than ever - donors’ contributions serve needs like helping kids attend summer camp and play in sports leagues.

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What Has The Pandemic Taught You?

Submitted by Moneywatch Advisors on June 22nd, 2020

Below are a few random thoughts from my own experience interspersed with some from friends. What about you?

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Want To Bet Online?

Submitted by Moneywatch Advisors on June 9th, 2020

The Financial Times reported last week that online stock brokerages, like E-Trade, hit a record number of account sign-ups in March and April. Rich Repetto, senior analyst at Sandler O’Neill (investment banking firm) commented that the stay-at-home mandate plus no live sporting events for bettors to wager on motivated many to trade stocks online. Whoa! Think about that for a minute. These people were so starved to bet on something, they decided to bet on stocks!

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A College Graduation Letter To My Daughter

Submitted by Moneywatch Advisors on June 2nd, 2020

Last year I wrote what I called a “practice” graduation letter to my daughter. Now that she has officially graduated, sans in-person commencement, I reviewed what I wrote and decided the advice is still pertinent. Here goes:

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Should You Rent Rather Than Buy Your Home?

Submitted by Moneywatch Advisors on May 26th, 2020

Friends of ours are in the process of downsizing and would like to move to a different, hipper, part of town. (Not in Lexington) As they grapple with the details of freeing up cash for necessary work on their current home, look for a new house to purchase, attempt to decipher mortgage details and, maybe most of all, try to assemble all the moving parts in a sequence that avoids living in an apartment between houses, it can be quite stressful. Amid all of this I asked if they had ever considered renting rather than buying a new place.

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Post-Pandemic Planning

Submitted by Moneywatch Advisors on May 20th, 2020

What have you learned about yourself during the pandemic?

Recently, a friend of mine told me she used to dream of being at home all day during retirement…until the pandemic forced her to work from home. Although busy, she is nonetheless bored. She now believes that dream was premature and maybe she needs a more thorough plan for when retirement arrives. Her story reminds me of the importance of planning for your post-career purpose, not just for your financial future.

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The Wisdom of Wally

Submitted by Moneywatch Advisors on May 5th, 2020

My 14-year old client, Wally (not his real name), recently showed wisdom beyond his years when pondering an investment question. For background, four years ago Wally had a few bucks that he’d saved from birthday gifts and mowing his grandfather’s lawn that he decided to invest. The measly interest from a bank savings account wasn’t getting the job done so he chose, on his own, three individual company stocks to buy. Now, we invest our clients in mutual funds rather than common stocks, but occasionally a client will ask to invest a small amount of their portfolio in a company they like and this seemed to be a good way for Wally to learn about the stock market. Here are the companies he chose to purchase:


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STEVE BYARS, VP MONEYWATCH ADVISORS


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ABOUT THIS BLOG

In 1996 Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. and William D. Danko, Ph.D. wrote a seminal book entitled, The Millionaire Next Door. These two researchers went in search of the rich in the country: Who are they? What do they do? What do they drive? How do they invest? They discovered, much to their surprise, that many of the wealthy in this country don’t live in the most expensive neighborhood or drive the fanciest cars but are ordinary people living right among us regular people. Because, remember, wealth is not the same as income. If one earns a high income and spends it all each year, one isn’t getting wealthier, just living high. Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend.

This blog is about and for those who live beneath their means, save their money, invest and, yes, get wealthy the old-fashioned way: steadily, over many years.

And I’ll occasionally share interesting stories that are completely unrelated to the main topic of financial planning.

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