THE FATHER BLOG

As we begin another week of stock market ups and downs, there are two points I want to make.

Point 1: Max out your company 401K match and then exceed it. Hopefully you work for a half decent company that at least matches from 3-5%…or some fraction in between. Also, when we all hopefully get the pittance of a raise/merit increase of 2-3% each year (which doesn’t even keep up with inflation), those changes usually fall into effect sometime by the March paycheck. So you get a few extra bucks each pay period. Would you really miss it if it wasn’t there? Some may say…Absolutely…I live pay check to pay check. If you don’t….then drop that extra 2-3% in your 401K or Roth IRA account. Those savings will build and there are obviously tax benefits as well.

Point 2: When I look at the ups and downs of the stock market since the beginning of the year, my portfolio looks like the roller coaster you would expect. Most of my stocks purchases are ETFs and though the fluctuate, they haven’t been crushed….and I still reap the dividends each month or quarter. Pretty much every stock I own has gone up and down several times since the start of 2025…except one.

I’m no expert…and all this “advice” is simply food for thought and to hopefully push you to educate yourself further regarding your finances. But let’s just say regardless of the fluctuations/tariffs/ etc….people have not backed off tobacco products. Altria group (MO) has risen almost 16% since the beginning of the year and pays an annual dividend of 6.73%. And at around $60 a share, it’s not like purchasing some of the huge stocks that hover at or well above $200 a share.

Educate yourself and invest! Happy Monday all!

Last weekend Emily and I decided to find a little 5 mile hike to take Delaney on since she loves being outdoors as much as possible. The trail was over in Pennsylvania and while a little overgrown, it was still a nice trail with some rocks and fallen trees to go over and some other small obstacles that made it fun for Delaney.

When we were done, Delaney was tired as usual and napped on the way home. After getting home however, she was ready to run around a bit more and that’s when the ticks started coming off of her in bunches! On the couch, the rug, jumping from her to Deke….

So furniture cushions outside, carpets vacuumed, dogs brushed and bathed…the full on “fire drill” as my wife calls it. I washed a tick off myself in the shower later that day and my wife (who wasn’t even hiking with us) had one come out of her hair the next day. It kind of sucks that there is limited places to go “hiking” in and around the NJ and Eastern PA area where ticks aren’t a major problem.

I don’t worry so much about the pups because they take their monthly medicine for just such incidences. I just don’t like the idea of ticks in the house and on and around the human family members!

If anyone around this area has any decent hikes where they find ticks aren’t an issue….let me know!

Have a great weekend!

Here’s a picture from the hike of the “sisters”.

So the above phrase came to mind after a late night evening of men’s beer league hockey. However, it certainly applies to life in general as well.

Last night provided multiple examples of individuals that “Don’t get it”. As we were waiting for the 10:30pm start of our game, we were having a pregame beer watching the game before us on the ice. It got a bit chippy and some of the guys were chirping at each other. It happens.

But when you need to start fighting in a men’s league game….maybe you need to re-evaluate certain life choices. As we watched two guys get kicked off the ice…they basically circled around the bleachers to the locker rooms and just started at it again…this time with cursing, insults, and even slurs. (Took it a bit too far). Even better, one of the players involved in the tilly (hockey term for a fight) has his parents in the stands. Not a common occurrence. Then the mother started spitting out curses, insults, and slurs at the other players. It felt like so off to have “adults” act like this.

Luckily, they kicked everyone off the ice and ended their game a bit early which helped us get on the ice before 11pm….just so we could play a handful of guys who also “don’t get it”. Don’t show up in low level men’s beer league hockey when you’re a A level players and think you’re playing in the Stanley Cup finals. The goal of everyone on my team is basically: get some exercise, have some fun, compete, and go drink some beers. We all have work the next day….don’t act like assholes.

So whether you play sports still or compete or even just have to associate with other humans during the day…..give your actions some thought. Because you either get it or you don’t. Become one of those that get it.