Tag: My Upstate Planner

The “secret” to investing success is spelled TIME

by Dave Conley on October 21, 2022.

The hamster wheel literally describes the concept of lots of activity but making no progress. In times of crisis, either real or imagined we are encouraged to do something. If your house is on fire or if you witness a car accident you must do something and quick. Why is it that doing nothing when it comes to our investments is so difficult. When clients ask "what are you doing..." sometimes the better question is "is there anything that needs to be done" related to our investments? Are you OK with doing nothing when nothing needed to be done?

I “herd” it through the grapevine…

by Dave Conley on October 14, 2022.

Ralph and Betty recently bought a new Ford Explorer SUV for $40,000, after carefully research before the purchase. Surprisingly, over the next few months they began to receive offers to buy the vehicle from them at smaller and smaller amounts of money. As far as they knew the vehicle was still in great shape, it had a few thousand miles on it, a ding or two but apart from that the engine still purred and ran like it did when they bought it. Still, Ralph and Betty considered selling the Ford Explorer for half of what they paid for it because they worried that something might be wrong. Should they have sold the vehicle?

Which Path is Correct?

by Randy Chalmers on October 14, 2022.

I’ve been asked many times “if Dave Ramsey says to fund a Roth IRA, why would I ever choose a traditional IRA”? Well, much like any advice, there is no absolute in reference to what will work best for everyone in every situation.    Let’s examine the main characteristics of both types of IRAs. As...

I Don’t Want to Lose Money! What Does that Mean?

by Dave Conley on September 1, 2022.

$10,000 is still $10,000 = Capital Preservation $10,000 still buys what it did = Purchasing Power Preservation The distinction is vital to your long-term wealth! Not a month goes by that we do not have a call where someone inquires about investing and includes the phrase, “but I don’t want to lose my money“. The...

Enjoying the Fruit of your Labor

by Michelle McEachin on August 30, 2022.

We all work hard. Some of us work four 10-hour days. Some work five 8-hour days. Some choose to work 12-hour days all the time. But whatever you do… you put in labor and expect a fair return for your effort. You use that return to plan, budget, and live life to the fullest.  Back...

Great investing is like growing a tree.

by Dave Conley on July 21, 2022.

There are a few big things that really matter in successful investing (and growing trees). The SINGLE most important variable in the quest of investment success is the ONLY variable you can control: your own behavior.

Reasons for optimism in the second half of 2022

by Dave Conley on July 11, 2022.

While market optimists are scarce these days and the list of investor concerns is long, there are several historical patterns that provide reasons for optimism as the second half of 2022 gets underway. First is stocks’ record of strong bouncebacks from big two-quarter drops. The average gain over the next sixth months after the biggest...