Advanced Wellbeing offers financial therapy insights each week to inform more details about financial therapy.
International diversification has long been part of a balanced investment strategy. Rick Kahler explores why looking beyond U.S. stocks may matter more than ever in today’s changing global economy.
The “Trump account” savings vehicles that were created as part of last year’s “Big Beautiful Bill” are now available. If you have children younger than 18, should you open one of these 530A accounts for them?
The “Trump account” savings vehicles that were created as part of last year’s “Big Beautiful Bill” are now available. If you have children younger than 18, should you open one of these 530A accounts for them?
On July 3, speaking at Mount Rushmore, President Trump warned of a resurgence of the “communist menace” in this country and called it “a mortal threat to American liberty.” Is it? Only if the United States ever became a purely communist system, which no country has ever done. Communism is not threatening our economic freedom.
Let’s start with the disclosure: I enjoy betting—though I’m too frugal to ever risk more than maybe 20 bucks. I’ve wagered on World Cup soccer games and political races. To me, calculating the odds and analyzing predictions is a game, an inexpensive form of entertainment.
You might think, then, that I would be a fan of online betting venues like the prediction platform Polymarket. I am not
“Find a financial advisor who is a fiduciary, someone legally bound to put your interests first.” I have made this recommendation many times over the years. Now, most financial advisors technically qualify as fiduciaries, which is a problem for consumers.
For decades I have watched couples come undone over money. In many cases, red flags warning of money conflicts could have been identified long before they married. Such signals are not as obvious as differences in net worth or income levels; they are in the deeper, emotional reasons that drive controlling, avoidant, or obsessive behaviors around money.
Many observers expected that the Federal Reserve interest rate was likely to be lowered when Kevin Warsh replaced Jerome Powell as board chair. President Trump’s nomination of Warsh came after strong demands from the president for aggressive rate cuts. With recent price and inflation numbers, however, it appears that rates might be going up instead of down.
“But we can’t cut back our giving; they depend on us.” A retired couple wanted to continue giving generously to their church, even though it would have jeopardized their own financial health. Their money scripts included a belief that giving until it hurt was a virtue.
Religious trauma is one of the childhood experiences that can shape money scripts with damaging lifelong consequences.
It’s common for parents of high school seniors to joke, “At least when he goes off to college we won’t have to feed him! Think of how much we’ll save on grocery bills.”
If you look carefully at actual college costs, this may not be such a joke. Is education as unaffordable as it seems?
