Category Archives: The Big Picture

If They Are Making the Call, I Am Going The Other Way

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Dan from Madison

Carl and I really are chumps in the world of which we speak, which is mostly the stock market.  I heard someone say that the stock market was the bond markets idiot little brother.  I have to agree.  Sometimes the … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Performance, Stocks, The Big Picture | 2 Comments

Inflation/Deflation

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Dan from Madison

The big topic at a lot of investment/business websites is the ongoing debate of our future wrt inflation and deflation.  Peter Boockvar at The Big Picture writes a good post today on the subject.  It is worth repeating here in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bacon, The Big Picture | 1 Comment

Lack of New IPO’s and Impact on Performance

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Carl from Chicago

If you read typical finance articles out in popular media you commonly see facts and figures about how US stocks outperform other investment classes over “the long term”.  As I do my own research I tend to see threads leading … Continue reading →

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Contrarian Investing

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Dan from Madison

I have been blogging for a long time at several other sites.  Back in the day I used to fisk articles by Pa*l Krugm*n.  After doing this a few times it was very apparent that Krugm*n was just another partisan … Continue reading →

Posted in Performance, The Big Picture | 2 Comments

A Matter of Perspective

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Dan from Madison

Carl, in his last post, challenged me to write a few words about the topics of saving and thrift.  I come from a pretty thrifty family so here goes nothing.

Posted in The Big Picture | 2 Comments

The Importance of Saving and Thrift

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Carl from Chicago

Yesterday I had a chance to talk to my nieces and nephews who participate in this program and they were working summer jobs and other odd jobs to collect the money to invest so that they can receive their “match”. … Continue reading →

Posted in The Big Picture | 5 Comments

Along For The Ride

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Dan from Madison

As retail investors, we are pretty much along for the ride as far as the stock market goes.  That purchase you make today of 500 shares of xyz company doens’t do squat to move the big numbers.  The institutional and … Continue reading →

Posted in Stocks, The Big Picture | 2 Comments

Antoine Walker An Example of Net Worth vs. Earnings

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Carl from Chicago

One of the prime concepts behind this site is the difference between “net worth” and “earnings”.  Net worth is what you have, left over, after all of your liabilities (mortgage, car payment, student loans, and other debts) are paid off.  … Continue reading →

Posted in The Big Picture | 1 Comment

Greetings

Posted on May 10, 2010 by Dan from Madison

As you can see up above this blog is about running a trust fund for kids and general investing.  I will be mostly under the general investing end of things.  Thanks to Carl for letting me post here! One funny … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Stocks, The Big Picture | 3 Comments

The Psychology of Gifting

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Carl from Chicago

While I called out Gail Marks Jarvis of the Chicago Tribune for her article on our assumed rate of return, she provided what seems to be solid advice on the topic of giving in an article titled “Financial Cord Can … Continue reading →

Posted in The Big Picture | 2 Comments

Trust Funds and Financial Aid

Posted on March 7, 2010 by Carl from Chicago

I started these trust funds over a decade ago. The financial opportunities and situation has changed over the years and we are open for doing things differently if needed. There are many ways to save for college. From the perspective … Continue reading →

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Net Worth in Perspective

Posted on November 27, 2009 by Carl from Chicago

“Net Worth” is a key concept in personal finance. From the wikipedia definition: In personal finance, net worth (or wealth) refers to an individual’s net economic position; similarly, it uses the value of all assets (long term assets) minus the … Continue reading →

Posted in The Big Picture | 8 Comments

What I’ve Learned About the Stock Market

Posted on March 28, 2009 by Carl from Chicago

Anyone who has a retirement fund or personal investments has an interest in the stock market.  I have an additional interest because I am the fiduciary in charge of trust funds and describe at this site. When the stock market … Continue reading →

Posted in Performance, The Big Picture | Leave a comment

My “Lost” Purchase

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Carl from Chicago

Virtually all of us have been touched to some extent by the decline in stock prices and asset devaluations (houses). I recently was talking to someone and they mentioned this thought experiment: What if you had spent all the money … Continue reading →

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Larger Investment Topics

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Carl from Chicago

This blog is focused on practical advice for someone starting out in investing, setting up a smaller trust fund for a relative, or wanting to manage their own performance of a reasonably sized portfolio. The author of this site also … Continue reading →

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