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Over the long haul, stocks have proven to be one of the best performing asset classes. You can make a lot of money in the great years and lose a lot of money in the lousy years, with up years nearing 40-50% and negative years at 40-50%. The long-term returns of the S&P 500 index (over the past 45 years) has been about 12%. A word of caution is in order: If you decide investing in stocks is the right choice for you and your family, make sure you have a long-term time horizon.

On January 8th, 2008, I came home from our attorney’s office with a very large check. We had just sold our investment firm. The Everett Financial Group, Inc., had been one of the largest and most successful independent investment companies in the United States. My darling wife MarySue asked me what I was planning to do with the check—I think she felt a shopping spree coming on! My reply was, ‘put it in a guaranteed money market account’. The stock market was overpriced, and I felt led to put the proceeds in a safe place until better investment opportunities opened up.

Successful investing can be difficult, illogical, and sometimes downright precarious. If investing were easy, then everyone would be rich, and as we all know, everyone is not rich. That being said, we must embrace reality and deal with it.

The beauty of compound interest is, it allows you to earn interest on your interest — it allows your money to work for you, instead of the other way around.

Successful investing can be difficult, illogical, and sometimes downright precarious. If investing were easy, then everyone would be rich, and as we all know, everyone is not rich. That being said, we must embrace reality and deal with it.

Successful investing can be difficult, illogical, and sometimes downright precarious. If investing were easy, then everyone would be rich, and as we all know, everyone is not rich. That being said, we must embrace reality and deal with it.

“Yes, I am a Star Trek fan. I was intrigued by the memorable scene from ‘Star Trek: Into the Darkness,’ when Leonard Nimoy’s Spock advises the younger Spock (played by Zachary Quinto) on how to defeat the treacherous villain, Kahn. It’s a time warp, science fiction moment that gets you thinking. What could I say to a younger me if I could go back in time?