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On balance, the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 was a very positive financial development for American taxpayers. Lower corporate and individual income tax rates, wider tax brackets, and an increased Standard Deduction were all helpful. However, these provisions were offset somewhat by the elimination of the Roth Recharacterization and a few other deductions.

Credit cards are one of the greatest and worst inventions of our lifetime. How is it that something can be so good and so bad at the same time? It all depends on how you use them.

The UBI test project will give several families $500 per month for doing absolutely nothing. At this time, the project is being funded with private funds, most likely to circumvent a taxpayer revolt. The spending habits of these families will be monitored, as well as the impact on the families’ (are ready for this?) self-esteem!

For many families, the annual trek to Orlando is the event they look forward to all year long. Did you know that the average cost for a family of four to visit Disney World for four days can now reach almost $5,000? Imagine what a whole week would cost! In this blog, we tell you how to save a little money on your Disney vacation.

Small town 1950s Wisconsin was pretty much like the mythical Mayfield, or perhaps even Mayberry, where doors were unlocked, and Deputy Fife kept his single bullet in his shirt pocket, “just in case.” Depending on the season, in the trunk of my car was either a set of golf clubs or a hunting rifle. In the ignition (where it belonged) was the key.

Every so often a new cry emerges to change the way we assess civil fines for breaking speed limits and other “offenses” against our society. Some vocal people (often elected officials looking to generate revenue for their communities) want to implement a system of penalty fines that is variable according to the income of the offender.

I have read and heard many descriptions of this past week’s market action as representing a “Perfect Storm,” which is probably a reference to the very intense movie by the same name in the year 2000. During the week, we saw the FED raise interest rates, Facebook get caught not properly protecting personal information, and President Trump implementing tariffs on some imports.

President Trump is a unicorn in Washington, D.C. He is the one president in recent history that systematically does what he promised. Keeping one’s word is simply not done in politics, with the major exception of raising taxes, which is easily done by big government-loving politicians.

Everyone who had money in the stock market in 2007 remembers the painful 18 months that began on October 9, 2007. Most of us would rather forget, but learning from history should help us avoid mistakes made in the past. Did most of us miss something back then?