PE4FAMs Blog

One of the smartest investors I know taught me “you don’t bank percentages” so even if your bonus is ten percent, if it is applied to below market base pay you likely would be earning less than someone who got 5 % bonus on a higher base. In addition, the base number is a fixed […]

Chevy Chase immortalized the American vacation with the Griswold family’s cross-country journey to Wally World.  That was the travel scene in the 1980s before Covid-19, inflation, forest fires, thermal inversions, flash floods, passport processing snafus, sold out National Parks, double digit lodging taxes, shortages of hospitality workers, road construction delays, crime in major cities, summer

When I was first introduced to the stock market by my aunt, a securities analyst for a leading regional securities firm, her formula for success was picking companies that were growing revenues fast and also paying dividends. In the 1960’s the so-called “Nifty Fifty” had many of those attributes and, like millions of Americans, I

This Monday I was anxious to scour the news for one of the greatest emerging conflicts of my lifetime. I raced right past the war in Ukraine, tensions in the South China Sea, the Wagner Group’s march to Moscow and China’s burgeoning spy base in Cuba. The real news of the day is Zuckerberg v.

I attended my 50th college reunion earlier this month and had the good fortune of listening to a dozen subject matter presentations by reunion alums from class years ending in “3” or “8”. I was really interested in a presentation by several of my class members and a gentleman from the class of 1978 on

I am always keeping an eye on a backwater of the U.S. financial system called Zombie Companies. There is a general consensus that “Zombies” are businesses that do not have the cash flow to service the interest on their debt. For example, the biggest zombies in the world right now would probably be Chinese property

As digital technology began to emerge in the early 1970’s Memorex entered the consumer media market with a series of legendary TV commercials featuring Ella Fitzgerald. In those commercials, she would sing a note that shattered a glass while being recorded to a Memorex cassette. The tape was played back, and the recording also broke

Several years ago, I was engrossed in a series of investment insights from Ray Dalio’s book “Principles For Dealing With A Changing World Order.” Mr. Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates said to be the largest hedge fund in the world. In a series of monthly chapter releases, Mr. Dalio’s book explored the macro

I have been a customer of Key Bank and JP Morgan Chase for a long time and have never had a savings account with either institution. The rates were never compelling and there were always restrictions or disincentives related to withdrawals. Like many of our readers, money market products seemed to combine acceptable interest rates

I hope this blog headline got your attention because I know of only one way you can earn 21% compound interest risk free in today’s financial markets. But before I reveal this windfall for your wallet let me pick up on a blog I wrote in June of 2022 Credit Card Toxicology Report (click to read)