My family just finished the third season of the Netflix series “Stranger Things” on the night before we sent my second daughter off to Purdue. If you watched this great 1980s period sci-fi drama, set in sub-rural Indiana, you know this probably...

My birthday is at the end of July, and this year I got to spend part of the weekend riding motorcycles with a buddy through northern Wisconsin. It was a great ride, but I discovered I had a summer riding gear problem. My protective jacket was too...

As a financial adviser, one thing that is a constant is the need for continuing education and training. A typical financial adviser may be registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), hold an insurance license, and maintain a...

Setting up shop in Oak Partners, Inc.’s inviting office in downtown Valparaiso, Chris Mahlmann, Founder of the Life Sites, convened a round-table discussion with members of the Oak Partners team. The group covered a lot of ground in the space of an...

More employers now are offering Roth 401(k) options in their employer-sponsored retirement plans. The Roth retirement plan offers some attractive benefits and this option merits some considerations for retirement savers. There are some key...

In late September of last year, fears of a recession and widely predicted declines in corporate profits dominated the financial press. As could be expected, investor sentiment soon followed suit and U.S. stocks went into steep declines. A review of...

April is National Financial Literacy month so we are going back to financial planning basics. Last week we discussed the first two steps in the process toward financial independence used by many financial advisers, and promoted by financial media...

April is national financial literacy month. A topic near and dear to my heart. If I had to give America a financial literacy grade I would say we have a solid C+, but I believe we are trending higher. The very fact we have a high-profile financial...

With April 15 fast approaching, we are getting down to the wire on taking steps to potentially reduce your tax bill. As I mentioned in the column a couple of weeks ago, almost immediately following the Tax Reform and Jobs Act of 2017, the government...