Owning real estate will still be a good idea in the twenty-first century. However, it will be for different reasons than in the past. In the foreseeable future real estate will not increase in value as it did during the 1970s and 1980s.

The real estate boom was an anomaly directly traceable to the uniquely huge baby boom generation driving up the demand for a limited number of houses. (more…)

When someone asked the famous English mountaineer George Leigh Mallory why he was going to try to climb Everest, he responded: “Because it is there.” Well, if you’re like most of my clients, you could probably respond the same when asked why you buy something. Do you really need it? Or are you buying it because “it’s there”? If you’re going to survive and thrive in the new economic age, you’re going to have to stop this “Everest” buying. From now on, simply wanting something isn’t sufficient reason to buy it; you must need it as well. (more…)

Most of my clients put themselves last when it comes to paying out money. Each month they write out checks to pay their credit card bills, mortgage, telephone, utilities, cable television, and everything else. They tell themselves that if there’s anything left over after paying their bills, they’ll try to save it. Of course, there’s never anything left over. (more…)