mountain peak with snow
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The Snowpack Principle

Every spring, Coloradans watch snowpack reports with unusual devotion. We know the water filling our rivers in July often arrives as snow in January. The mountains collect it, then release it gradually when the valleys below need it most. Generosity also works like this.
for sale sign in front of a home

Thinking About a New Home? Move Wisely.

Most people think of a move as one transaction. But in reality, it’s usually two: selling the home you have and buying the one you want. The hard part is that those two events rarely line up as neatly as you might like.
blank check
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The Paycheck That Doesn’t Require You to Go to Work

For most of our adult lives, our financial arrangement is simple. We go to work, and somebody pays us. Every few weeks, a paycheck appears. Then one day, if we are fortunate and have planned well, something remarkable happens. We retire. But the bills? They don’t get the memo.
tree standing alone in a field

Building an Income That Gives You a Raise Every Year

One of the great ironies of personal finance is that most people spend their working lives pursuing raises, promotions and bonuses, yet devote far less thought to creating an income stream that can continue growing after they retire.
welcoming home in the mountains

The Assets That Pay You — and the Ones You Pay For

I believe in the value of home ownership and regularly encourage it. But beyond a primary home, the financial picture muddies. Put simply: Some assets help fund your life. Others require that your life funds them.
man staring over edge of cliff

Retiring at Highs, Planning for Lows

As I write this column, the S&P500 is again hitting an all-time high. This isn’t unusual, all-time highs are much more common than they feel. But it leaves many near retirees with a nagging question: “What happens if I retire just before a bear market?”
life board game pieces
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Playing Someone Else’s Game

Most investors don’t abandon a sound plan because it stopped working. More often, they get distracted by someone else’s results that seem better, faster or more exciting.
us flag
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A Market of Possibilities for 250 Years

We often measure history by wars, presidents, elections and crises. While those events are relevant and notable, another story runs parallel: that of free people asking a simple question on repeat. What is possible?
man stares up at advertising billboards

What Do You Own, and Why?

The greatest enemy of successful investing is not always inflation, recessions, elections, interest rates or even market declines. Often, it’s distraction: the shiny object promising an easier path; the belief in “something better” than patiently following a well-designed plan.
a woman leans on someones shoulder

There Is Still No Algorithm for Trust

AI raises an important question, especially for any business that offers advice: What can technology do, and what can it never truly replace? I believe technology can provide information, but a good advisor provides understanding.
man writing on paper
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Do You Want Advice, Agreement or Assurance?

I’ve held many versions of this same conversation over the years. Sometimes they genuinely seek perspective. Other times they want reassurance that everything will be all right. Sometimes they’ve already decided what they want to do and hope an advisor will simply reinforce that choice. Those are three very different conversations.
newspaper headline

While the World Worries, Progress Continues

Fear is understandable. People are not foolish for worrying about war, rising prices, political division or an unexpected event interrupting the retirement plan they spent decades building. Yet my nearly five decades in this business have taught me a critical lesson: Even understandable fears can drive damaging financial decisions.
man sitting along in a train car

From We to Me: The High Cost of Becoming One

There are few transitions in life more profound than moving from “we” to “me.” Whether through the passing of a spouse or a divorce, the change is emotional, financial, and deeply personal. For those approaching or already in retirement, this transition can be especially difficult.
question mark on a blank background

Why? What? How?

I believe it's valuable to step back from all of the political, financial market, and economic noise and ask ourselves some fundamental questions: Why am I investing? For what am I investing? How will I get there? The answers to these questions…
hand in a hospital bed with a blood pressure monitor

The Plans You Don’t Make

Most people think of financial planning as being solely tied to numbers. But a quiet assumption is built into nearly every person’s plan, whether they recognize it or not: They assume the future will cooperate. But life never has been, nor will it ever be, linear.