Managing a Household Allocation

Ballast team

One of our mantras in planning is to “Know What You Own.”  Peter Lynch popularized this term during his management of a Fidelity mutual fund in the 1980’s, and we think it applies to more than just investments.  Your home, your health insurance, your business, and yes, your investments each have features, risks, and opportunities […]

The Power of Homeownership

Key Takeaways: Having a fixed-rate mortgage keeps a large portion of your budget constant versus the variability of rental costs Lower expenses in retirement creates more disposable income, greater flexibility in combatting rising costs, and the ability to invest Saving what’s left rarely works – making monthly mortgage payments creates a forced savings vehicle saving […]

Balancing Saving and Giving

Most of our clients aspire to be financially self-sufficient.  As those clients age, we notice some amount of transition into wanting to benefit others with accumulated resources.  This giving can range from donations to charities of interest to paying for a grandchild’s education to helping a friend in need.   We have been fortunate since the […]

Inflation Concerns: Are Higher Prices Here to Stay?

Higher prices are here – I learned this last month when booking a rental car for our summer vacation, a 6-day rental for which I had typically budgeted $400-$500 was now going to cost over $1,000.  Although an unpleasant surprise, the reasoning is quite simple, the travel demand has skyrocketed, in conjunction with a major […]