Mind Over Money

I pay my bills online through my local bank account. When I want to make a deposit into my brokerage account, I snap a picture of the check on my phone. A click of a button and large sums of money move through cyberspace. I place investment trades online, and I shop online, inputting my [...]

I grew up singing “Go Mississippi.” In fact, I learned to spell the state name by reciting “M-I-crooked letter, crooked letter-I-crooked letter, crooked letter-I-humpback, humpback-I.” While I have often heard of the tensions surrounding our state flag, I had never heard of the segregationist themes of the state song. And I really don’t care. Why do [...]

It’s hug your regulator day! When I first started my business in 1993, I filled out the paperwork to become a registered investment advisor in the State of Mississippi. As a small start-up, I was put under the watchful eye of the Secretary of State’s Office. On three occasions, auditors showed up at my door, [...]

I am hopping mad! Jack Welch and others have taken to the air waves suggesting the latest economic data on jobs has been manipulated. They have no evidence, but that hasn’t stopped them from claiming that government information has been “cooked.” Such an accusation reveals an ignorance of the collection and calculation of such data [...]

Recessions are part of the business cycle. They are relative, and they are temporary. They can last up to 18 months. The Great Recession, which began with the Financial Crisis of 2008, has been longer and harder than most. Here in Mississippi, we were late to the party. The effects of the contraction hit us [...]

I was so excited when the State of Mississippi finally started offering a college savings plan. My daughter was 16 and on the edge of qualifying. I plunked down my money for the full four years. By the time “H” headed to college, tuition costs had spiked. It was a great return on my money. [...]

I hate flying. Every time I climb on board one of those tin cans, I think, “Surely, God didn’t intend for us to be hanging around at 10,000 feet.” The source of my distaste used to be my irrational fear of flying. Panic would set in days before my scheduled trip. During the trip, turbulence [...]

Mississippi is a red state. Blood red. Come November, there will be no doubt which column our 6 electoral votes slide into. In fact, blue people are wasting their time going to the polls. Mississippi is no swing state, not even close! Head into any barber shop or beauty shop (not in the African American [...]

Gas prices are falling. Thank goodness! Something happens to my psyche when the number at the pump goes over $50, and I have a fuel efficient car and a short commute. Nationally, we only spend about 6 percent of our income on all energy. That includes transportation costs. In Mississippi, the number is a bit [...]

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, feels really bad about the mistake that occurred on his watch. He felt so bad that he fired a couple people, and he actually apologized to shareholders. I’m sure that an apology from Dimon is like finding a real diamond in the garbage heap — rare, real rare. Dimon [...]