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Will Vehicle Prices (Ever) Come Down? Thumbnail

Will Vehicle Prices (Ever) Come Down?

I bought my trusty 2007 Toyota Yaris in October 2012 for $9,300 with 32,000 miles on it. Today, it has 114,000 miles--plenty of life left to live. While I have intended several times in the past to replace the vehicle for one that will better accommodate a family with five young children, the process has not quite gone according to plan.

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When Inflation Gets Personal Thumbnail

When Inflation Gets Personal

The Colby family van (affectionately called “the Party Bus”) was recently totaled in a car accident. Thankfully, there were no major injuries to the passengers, but it was a complete wreck of an excellent motor carriage that had faithfully transported my family 130,000+ miles over the past eight years. Once the shock of the accident had worn off, I began the disheartening task of finding a replacement.

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Thoughts on Residential Real Estate Thumbnail

Thoughts on Residential Real Estate

I was talking with a client recently about a home he owns in a major US city (not Minneapolis). I was curious about what the historical price appreciation has been in his market, so I pulled some data on his market. The data on his city fascinated me. I then began wondering how other US cities’ real estate has performed over recent periods.

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5 Practical Ways to Automate Your Finances Thumbnail

5 Practical Ways to Automate Your Finances

One of our primary goals as financial advisors is to help our clients put good financial behaviors into place in their lives. Some of the most commonly-used phrases about finance and investing are so generic as to be ignored or met with a yawn by most of us. So, how can we make them specific – to apply them to your own personal financial situation?

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Is a Discount Cell Phone Plan Worth It? Thumbnail

Is a Discount Cell Phone Plan Worth It?

There is no shortage of discount cell service providers these days. It's to the point where The Paradox of Choice and inertia set in, leading most folks to simply stick with the same cell provider they have always used. My wife and I switched from Verizon to Consumer Cellular in October 2017. The main only reason we switched was to save money. The tl:dr version of this post is that we really like Consumer Cellular.

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