A turning point.

I’m on version three…maybe four of this post. With so much going on, I honestly don’t know where to start. There’s continued concern about the pandemic, piled on top of COVID burnout. A fear of loved ones falling ill, the economic ramifications — to our economy as a whole, and to our families, our communities, here at home. As our anxiety and stress ramps up, Zoom happy hours trail off, and the “new normal” starts to take hold. Of course, no one really knows what that means.

And then we’re hit with another awful reality. The video and images out of Minneapolis…of George Floyd pinned down, begging for the right to breathe. The lessons, I feel, are coming at us from all sides. At first, they were whispers: “Pssst…do you see what’s happening overseas? A mysterious illness. What will you value? What will take precedent?”

Then the whispers grew louder: “You’re not listening, so the tough decisions will be made for you. You’ve got to dig deeper to remember, to understand what matters. This is bigger than you.”

Then the screams: “We will come together or be further divided. You see the inequities with your own eyes. Will you still ignore it? Will you scrounge at the bottom of the barrel for a reason to turn away? Will you blame the looters and point to the riots…cast aside the ugly truth beneath it all? The choice is yours — and the decisions you make, the actions you take, the words you deliver — they matter now, more than ever. What will you do…”

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Covid-19: Impact On Dependent Care FSAs

Before you get to the good stuff… Now that YMTT is back up and running, I’ll be featuring — from time to time — some Tips from Pops posts. For those who are already fans, you know the very beneficial information and insights passed along in these articles — information that can help keep you […]

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This life is full of choices.

I don’t know about you, but managing my emotions — especially over the past week or two — it’s pretty much been a sh**show. I mean, really, I’m all over the board. Totally in control one minute. Grateful. Hopeful. Dreaming of what’s next. And then – BAM – concern, worry, even negativity creeps in. I […]

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17 years ago.

The annual message came early. Via text. They’re almost always texts these days. 11:56 pm “17 years ago.” The next came at 3:02 am. I heard the alert. It didn’t wake me. I was already up. “I can’t believe it.”

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An Introduction to Pops’ PDQ Investing Principles

In merry old English pubs where ale was sold by the pint and quart, bartenders would often encourage rowdy customers to “mind your pints and quarts” – later shortened to “mind your p’s and q’s.” I’ve adopted a revised version of this ancient scolding to encourage members of the younger generations to do the same […]

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Patience, my friend. Patience.

Welcome back, my fellow Treehuggers! As promised in the last Tips from Pops post, we’re going to start taking a deeper dive into each of the three components that make up my personal investing approach — what I refer to as my PDQ Principles. Short, as you might recall, for Patience, Diversification, and Quality. If you need […]

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Diversify, diversify, diversify.

Welcome back, Treehuggers! Let’s just get cracking where we left off — about half way through an introduction to each of my PDQ Principles. Today, I’ll be tackling the “D” in “PDQ” — Diversification. If you need a quick refresher on what we’ve discussed up to this point, you can check out an overview of […]

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The importance of “quality” in investing.

It’s time to round out the introduction to my PDQ Principles for personal investing, with the last (but certainly not least) principle: Quality If you need a quick refresher on what we’ve discussed up to this point, check out an overview of my Introduction to Pops’ PDQ Principles and my deeper dive into the first two principles […]

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