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My mother-in-law, Jan,  was wonderful at many things.  Like everyone, she had her special skills that made her, well, special.

For instance, she made some awesome traditional New England meals.  From a boiled dinner to stuffed clams to Indian pudding, she made it all.  

She never forgot a birthday or other significant date.  Invariably, a birthday or some odd anniversary would arrive with a card in the mail or a small package dropped off at the doorstep.

Last time, we discussed the funny sales tax laws in Massachusetts and some information regarding corporate income tax changes.  You can click HERE to catch up if you need to.

I had an interesting incident last weekend.  My son, William, was playing one of his video games on our PlayStation gaming system.  He had just received his allowance and wanted to buy some “upgrades” to his character.

In order to purchase upgrades, you need to buy some in-game tokens or coins and then use them within the game to purchase whatever you need; from weapons to vehicles to costumes to tools.  

It is finally Spring.  Opening Day was last Thursday.  Crocuses are blooming in yards and gardens all over New England.  After a last-gasp, it seems Winter may finally be in our collective rear-view mirrors.  After this last snowfall disappears, anyway.

There has been a lot of discussion in the news regarding tariffs and trade wars, so I wanted to take this opportunity to try and tease out some facts and help you make better decisions and to help understand better while watching this situation unfold.

First, let’s talk about what tariffs are.  Because we have them on just about every good that enters a country, be it the US or somewhere overseas.  

We've had some interesting times in the stock market this month.  In January, the US markets roared to new highs.  Yet in early February, the wheels came off the rally, so to speak.  We reached an official correction status as the market dropped by more than 10% from the previous high.

The cause of this drop is more interesting than the drop itself.  It's a window into the human psyche and, if we heed its lessons, will make the next drop much easier to experience.

Over the past few months, we've seen a lot in the news about Bitcoin. Not only do you see it on the news, the Internet is full of the stuff. Most financial sites and apps are tracking cryptocurrency prices. And I can’t scroll through Facebook without at least one ad or ad-pretending-to-be-an-article about cryptocurrencies. Everyone seems to be watching them. But without a basic understanding, it’s all just gobblygook.

“Quality investments since February.”

That was the inside joke my former business partner and I had regarding our new company twenty-five years ago this month. We didn’t have hundreds or even tens of years of experience. This was a new venture.

Prior to forming Successful Money Strategies in 1993, we both worked for a small financial planning firm run out of an insurance office in Back Bay. It was an eye-opening experience.

As I promised back in the Fall, I am committed to keeping you updated on any developments regarding the massive data breach at Equifax.

What has happened to plug this breach? Nothing.

Not a single thing.

This isn’t all bad news. No developments means we haven’t seen significant damage from this breach. If thousands of people were having their stolen identities used, we’d hear about it on the evening news. So whomever has the data realizes the massive risk of using it.

Who would have thought, a year ago, we would be here today? After a divisive election gave us an outspoken, often-times crude President-Elect, many suspected his Inauguration would bring back the economic dark times we just came from.

Here we sit a year later. We’ve seen real growth in both corporate profits and GDP. Something most experts didn’t think was possible anymore.