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Nov 10, 20204 min read
2020 Jazz: Financial Plans Need Flexibility
Want to have a good laugh? I recently took a few moments to review my personal and investing goals for 2020. That’s right—I actually set...
Nov 29, 20174 min read
5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Invest In Bitcoin
If you’ve been paying attention to the talking heads lately, you’ve probably heard something about the phenomenon that is Bitcoin. Or...
May 12, 20172 min read
Can You Afford to Neglect the Details?
I recently read a book by Andy Andrews that was titled The Little Things, and if you’ve ever read Andy Andrews, you know that his style...
Nov 23, 20165 min read
Trump is President-Elect…Now What?
Believe it or not, this will be my second crack at writing this article. After seeing the outrageous reactions that came from the...
Sep 9, 20164 min read
Can a Financial Planning Movie Win an Academy Award?
Is it possible for financial planning themes to be at the center of a critically acclaimed film? Most would say, “Not likely.” However,...
May 23, 20165 min read
Can a Navy SEAL Teach You About Financial Success?
Is it possible to apply leadership and life lessons from the military to your financial life? The answer is a resounding YES. I’ve been...
Mar 10, 20165 min read
How Does Credit Card Debt Destroy Your Savings?
As long as we have people writing about personal finance, we will have people writing about the destructive nature of debt. It’s one of...
Feb 14, 20165 min read
What Can Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Teach You About Investing?
<img decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-611" class="size-medium wp-image-611 lazyload" src="https://michaelhbaker.com/...
Jan 20, 20164 min read
Market Worries–Some Perspective Is Needed
(Original content written Friday, January 15th to VCA clients) As I was returning from my lunch meeting today, I was weighing out the...
Nov 23, 20159 min read
Should Your Kids Inherit Your IRA?
It is often reported in the financial media that Boomers are under-saving for their retirement years, and a significant portion of...
Sep 24, 20154 min read
Why Is Budgeting So Hard?
This is an interesting topic, and to be honest, the truth is that even I, a financial pro, hate to budget (gasp!). That’s right, I don’t...
Jul 10, 20159 min read
7 Reasons Why Clients Fail At Retirement
Retirement: The land of hopes and dreams and peace and quiet and blissful adventures, right? For the Baby Boomer generation, retirement...
May 1, 20156 min read
How to Protect Yourself from Financial Scams
You may not think that financial abuse or fraud can happen to you, but don’t allow yourself to be overconfident. There are too many...
Feb 6, 20154 min read
Retirement Focus: It’s About Cash Flow
I was recently having an in-depth conversation with one of my clients, and he said perhaps one of the truest statements I’ve ever heard...
Jun 10, 20146 min read
Stock Market Review: June 2014
Market Review: June 2014 Written by: Steve Osterink, Jr. By the end of May, the US stock market hit another record high. Now that winter...
May 27, 20148 min read
How Should Investors Assess Risk to Improve Decisions?
Although stocks posted blockbuster returns in 2013, many investors opened their year-end statements and found much more modest returns. A...
Jan 27, 20142 min read
WHY do you invest?
“Knowing WHY is essential for lasting success and the ability to avoid being lumped in with others.” — Simon Sinek Do you ever stop to...
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