Author: Kevin

The Stock Market’s Growing Dependence on a Few Companies Recent data shows that the U.S. stock market — especially the S&P 500 — is increasingly driven by a small group of mega-cap technology firms, raising concerns about diversification and resilience. Concentration in the S&P 500The top 10 companies in the S&P 500 now control over 40%… Read more

I was going to go back to a Google Trends for today’s post but once I saw the number one trending topic was SpaceX stock, I figured I might as well touch on that. Are you going to invest in SpaceX? I decided to take a pass on this one and maybe it will end… Read more

Yes, they sure do! I was looking back at the last full family vacation we took which was just 2 years ago. Not really that long ago. I came across some pictures of all of us at dinner during our last night on St. Kitts. I had to look it up on Google Maps but… Read more

Weird topic for a Wednesday…but Deke is acting a little strange lately. This seems to go beyond his normal separation issues from me that he has on occasions. For the record, this is not a concern….more of making people aware that dogs can have some seasonal changes or issues too. When you live somewhere that… Read more

Lately it has been quite hot here in NJ and we’ve been fortunate enough to get in some nice pool days. I’m not going to say I haven’t fired back a few high ABV double IPAs while swimming in the sunshine, but lately I just haven’t wanted anything that heavy in the heat. I definitely… Read more

I’m quite sure this is a commonly “googled” question and you will get a lot of “it depends” responses. Truth is: it does depend on your life situation and I have touched on this several times in the past. But beyond that, let me ask this question: can you handle being invested in the stock… Read more

I have proclaimed time and again how much I love the dividend income from a balance stock portfolio. I have had friends ask me lots of questions about it. One question that comes up is can you just buy a stock by the ex-dividend date, claim the dividend, and then sell right afterwards? The answer… Read more

Well I hope you understandI just had to go back to the islandAnd watch the sun go downHear the sea roll in That little line is from Jimmy Buffett. And though it’s been less than a year that I was in the islands, it’s been two years since we went as a whole family. I… Read more

Good morning and happy Monday. Today’s financial topic is whether or not your portfolio is healthy or not. I utilized AI once again and had it perform an analyzation of my portfolio asking questions such as: “What is the sector allocation of my current portfolio? Please generate a breakdown.”“Based on these holdings, do I have… Read more

My apologies for not posting in a week or so. It’s been a busy time lately and not always good things. The job that pays the bills and kills time between vacations has definitely ramped up my demand (I didn’t ask for it but it is what it is) and I’m spending more time in… Read more

We are in the middle of an unseasonably warm stretch of weather here in NJ. 90+ degrees F and today is calling for a high of 98! It will go back to the normal mid 60s and rainy/shitty for Memorial Day weekend as expected but for now, we are going to enjoy this taste of… Read more

Stocks that historically perform well during wartime include aerospace and defense contractors, energy and oil producers, cybersecurity firms, and safe-haven commodities like gold. I guess this doesn’t come as a surprise. Let’s take a look at Exxon Stock as an example. Exxon Stock (XOM) was on the rise before the War with Iran officially started… Read more

I love vacationing as much as anyone. But everyone around the world right now is feeling the pinch due to the rising cost of fuel. Drive around your own town all week doing your normal errands and that’ll run you a tank of gas right now that costs upwards of $70+ or more. It’s ridiculous.… Read more

Why are we not talking about booze on a Booze Tuesday post? This is just more of a curiosity thing for me. I figured it probably wasn’t a complicated process, but I never thought to do any research on it. So how do they remove the alcohol from beer? The alcohol in beer is formed… Read more

Happy Booze Tuesday! Today we will discuss the $20 case of beer vs the $125 case of beer. Some of you are already confused by this and can’t understand why or how anyone would spend 5+ times the amount on a case of beer. I can understand both sides of the story and hence….there is… Read more

I love running scenarios and giving them to my friends with children younger than mine. Especially the ones that are waiting for the “dip”. You don’t need to wait for a dip when you’re investing in a growth fund for a 5 year old then holding it for 55 years!! That is the exact scenario.… Read more

If you are a child of the 80s or somewhere close to that period, you absolutely heard this phrase said to you by your parents. There were no cell phones, the TV had maybe 5-6 stations, and you could only play so much Pong on the ATARI if you were lucky enough to have a… Read more

I’ve mentioned before that I still play in a men’s ice hockey beer league once a week. I wouldn’t trade it for anything because the benefits of playing have been amazing. I get some late night exercise, have expanded my social network to include some of the closest friends I’ve ever had, and get mental… Read more

It’s been a busy week or so here in our town regarding our high school baseball team. We have had both our varsity and freshman baseball coaches removed over the weekend. Any articles I find online leave things very speculative as to why. But for those of us in town….we have a decent idea of… Read more

For today’s finance topic…..should you pay estimated taxes? As always, the answer is “it depends”. I will give you a few examples. If you find yourself paying thousands of dollars each year in taxes and it’s just based upon a normal year (meaning no major events such as home sale/purchases, stock market wins/losses, etc) then… Read more

The bad news is that Mikey’s baseball season is officially over. The good news is that we’re not talking long term or a major injury thankfully. Yesterday, Mikey was hit with a pitch on the hand while batting and he broke his thumb. Luckily, it broke and didn’t shatter. I’ll give the kid points for… Read more

Happy Monday everyone. For Finance Monday today, all you have to do is a simple Google Search of “Stock Market today” and you will see headlines with phrases such as “US-Iranian tensions” or “flare up” or words like “uncertainty” or “instability”. These are your hints….but will you be ready this time to buy the dip?… Read more

I had a conversation with a work colleague yesterday who is a wonderful person/employee and admittedly takes her job too seriously. She told me, during a stressful day, that she felt guilty for taking a walk to clear her head because it was 3pm. What? First things first, I reminded her that she is way… Read more

I apologize for not posting earlier this week but work/life gets in the way sometimes. I really wish I had a chance to post my normal Finance Monday topic but I’m doing that today because it’s important. Here is one of today’s headlines: Updated Wed, Apr 15 20268:16 AM EDT Stock futures are little changed… Read more

The Masters started yesterday and what great entertainment to watch this weekend! Obviously I will make it a point to watch the final round on Sunday, but I’ll be doing my best to catch as much as I can today and tomorrow as well. Are you watching? Who do you think will be wearing the… Read more