Montgomery Community Media

Despite incredible political acrimony, mudslinging, and some seeming chaos in the new administration, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (“the Dow”) managed to rise about 14% from Election Day to February 28. While there have been gradual increases to the underlying economy and corporate profits that pre-date the election, three possible reasons for the recent stock […]

After some August doldrums, September is witnessing a return to higher stock market volatility.  While it’s probably prudent for long-term investors to stay the course and not get too fancy with market timing, for those with shorter time horizons or lower risk tolerances it might be prudent to carefully examine what is inside their investment […]

To raise or not to raise? That has been the question for most of the past few years if you are a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The FOMC is the arm of the Federal Reserve Bank that votes on the direction of interest rates. The challenge is that while the […]

Recent research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the typical worker born in the latter years of the baby boom (1957-1964) changes jobs approximately 11 times in their lifetime. While many of these transitions occur at younger ages, there are impacts whenever there is a change. There are many areas to consider before transitioning jobs. […]

It’s that time of year again. Before we know it, our kids will be walking into their classrooms for the first time this term. This is the time of the year when my office is asked almost daily, “Can I afford this private school tuition?” The national average private school tuition is approximately $10,096 per […]

This is Part 2 of my 2-Part series on how a Republican, Democratic, or Libertarian presidential win would impact a person who is near retirement or recently retired. In Part I, I focused on each candidate’s positions on Social Security. This part will focus on Medicare, Medicaid, and will touch on other issues that are […]

This is the second installment of my two-part series on top financial mistakes to avoid in your early 30s. Earlier, I spoke of how detrimental a lack of discipline or to a written financial plan can be. In the final four mistakes below, I address the most common missteps with 401(K) investments, taxes, and insurance. 1. […]

Do April showers bring May flowers or does the April tax filing date bring us face-to-face with our non-flowery tax realities? According to Bloomberg, the average federal income tax rate in 2015 was over 10 percent, but for a family earning over $100,000 that rate can quickly climb. After adding the average 9.5 percent paid […]

The Markets:  Have you seen the 35% rally? Typically a monstrous 35% price movement in just over three months would grab major headlines if it was for stock prices or even interest rates. But this price movement in oil prices hasn’t created a lot of buzz. While there may not be front page headlines on […]