Don’t Pay For Free Stuff

April 24, 2015

I was walking down a long pier with my kids not too long ago and there was a big splash off to our left.I jokingly yelled “Free Willy” and my kids looked at me like I was having some type of out-of-body experience. They had no idea what I was talking about since the movie was made well before any of them were born, and while they’ve seen nearly every Disney and Pixar movie made since their birth, I guess they missed some of the older ones. They know way more about “Finding Nemo” than “Free Willy.” Continue reading “Don’t Pay For Free Stuff”

Good News For Credit Scores

March 13, 2015

At a time where I love to look for good news stories to combat all the negativity I’ve seen in the press lately, comes a very good news story for consumers. The 3 major credit bureaus have agreed to overhaul how they handle medical debt in credit reports. I meet with a lot of people who are looking for ways to improve their credit score so that they can buy a car, buy a house, get the nod of approval on a new job or many other reasons. Often, we look at a credit report and the biggest negative is debt from a medical provider. What’s amazing to me is that over half of the debt on credit reports is unpaid medical debt. That is gigantic. Continue reading “Good News For Credit Scores”

It Takes More Than a Helmet to Protect Yourself Today

November 22, 2013

If you ask fans of the NFL what one of the biggest news stories of the year is, many would say “player safety.” There have been numerous rule changes designed to limit the impact of violent collisions on players’ long term health. This is especially true with hits to the head and neck. Players can no longer use the crown of their helmets to tackle other players. The hoped-for result is fewer concussions that can lead to serious long term health consequences. Penalty flags are common for dangerous plays now and very often players are fined significant sums of money for illegal and dangerous hits. The league and the NFLPA (the players union) take safety and protection very seriously. Continue reading “It Takes More Than a Helmet to Protect Yourself Today”

Hey Mr. Planner, What’s in Your Bag?

November 04, 2013

I’ve always been fascinated by the game of golf or what Mark Twain referred to as “a good walk spoiled.” During childhood, I would spend hours at a time out in my yard creating my own imaginary course designs and pretending that I was at Augusta National competing for the coveted green jacket. (My parents and neighbors were probably grateful that I was using plastic golf balls at the time as my errant shots often landed on cars and houses.) Continue reading “Hey Mr. Planner, What’s in Your Bag?”