Rick Brooks
Rick Brooks's Latest Posts
Volatile Markets and Human Behavior
Regret is a very complex emotion, but it is also one of the central emotions that drive our investing behavior. I was pondering the concept of regret the other day and thought I would share some of our thinking on the topic, to help you frame your own investment decisions. Generally, when people think about […]
So You’re Thinking About Retirement
The old “rule of thumb” for retirement is that you will need about 70 percent of your pre-retirement income during retirement. This may be true for some folks, but generally we’re seeing new retirees spend 100 percent or more of their pre-retirement income during retirement. A key reason for this is that people who retire […]
Europe: Financial Crisis or Opportunity?
By Rick Brooks I’m taking a risk with this column, because the rapid pace of change ‘across the pond’ means that everything could be different by the time you read this. Having said that, Europe’s problems are deeply seated, and to put it mildly, far deeper than a ‘mere’ banking crisis. Today’s European Union, the […]
When Relatives Need Help
No one wants to give up control of their lives. That’s as true at 20 as it is at 80. But if you sense an older relative is slowing down, or if a serious illness threatens the finances of any loved one, it’s time to start planning. A good first stop is a Certified Financial […]
A Brief Reminder About Volatility
By Rick Brooks When you are investing, you are being paid to take risk. The more risk you take, the more you should expect to make on your investments. This is something that seems to be forgotten during the good times. But volatility is part of investing. If you are not willing to take risks, […]
Investing in a “New Normal”
For those who missed my last column (available at presidiosentinel.com), I wrote that I expect government spending to be cut while taxes increase over the coming years. I also mentioned that my personal outlook is for slower economic growth as the both the government and consumers “de-lever” (that is, reduce debt). Finally, with economic growth […]
Economics and the Debt Ceiling
Lately, there has been a lot of public hand wringing about the debt ceiling, or the legal limit on how much Congress can borrow. Essentially, they’ve reached the limit and since Congress borrows about 43 cents for every dollar spent, they need to raise the ceiling in order to fund the current operations of the […]
