Jeff LeFave To achieve any of your financial objectives, you need to save and invest – that much is clear. But just how you save and invest may differ from goal to goal. Let’s look at two common goals to see the differences in your savings and investment strategies. The first goal we’ll consider is…
Tag: Dollars and Sense
Features, May 2019
Dollars and Sense: Time to ‘cycle’ through some investment ideas
Jeff LeFave. Edward Jones advisor If you’ve noticed an increase in bicycle-related events lately, it may be because May is recognized as “Bike Month” – and some cities even observe a specific Bike Week. Of course, bicycling is good exercise and an environmentally friendly method of transportation, but it can also teach us some lessons…
Features, April 2019
Dollars and Sense: Understanding risk tolerance
Jeff LeFave To succeed as an investor, you might think you need to know about the economy, interest rates and the fundamentals of companies in which you’d like to invest. And all these things are indeed important. But it’s most essential to know yourself. Specifically, you need to know how much risk you are willing…
Features, February 2019
Dollars and Sense
Jeff LeFave When interest rates rise, the value of your fixed-income investments, such as bonds, will typically fall. If this happens, how should you respond? First of all, it’s important to understand this inverse correlation between interest rates and bond prices. Essentially, when interest rates rise, investors won’t pay you full price for your bonds…
Features, January 2019
Dollars and Sense: Consolidating accounts leads to clear financial strategy
Jeff LeFave None of us can completely control all the things that happen to us. Yet, when it comes to achieving your long-term financial goals, including a comfortable retirement, you do have a great deal of power – as long as you follow a clear, well-defined financial strategy. And one way to help build and…
Features, October 2018
Dollars and Sense: Questions to ask for your financial advisor
Jeff LeFave, Edward Jones You should always be able to ask as many questions as you’d like when working with your financial advisor. So, before you have your annual review, think carefully about what you’d like to ask. Here are a few suggestions: • Are my goals still realistic? When you first began working…
Features, August 2018
Dollars and Sense: Help protect vulnerable members from scam artists
Jeff LeFave If you have older family members whose cognitive functions or decision-making abilities have declined, or who are lonely or recently widowed, you might need to help protecting them against financial scams. What steps should you take? First of all, try to gain a good sense of their overall financial activity. Look for…
Features, July 2018
Dollars and Sense: What does conservation investing mean to older investors?
Jeff LeFave If you’re a certain age, or getting close to it, you might hear something like this, “Now that you’re older, you need to invest more conservatively.” But what exactly does this mean? For starters, it’s useful to understand that your investment preferences and needs will indeed change over time. When you’re first…
Features, June 2018
Dollars and Sense
Don’t let your investments go on vacation Jeff LeFave Summer is here and so is vacation season. Americans spend a lot on their summer getaways, more than $100 billion in 2017 alone, as reported in Travel and Leisure magazine. When you hit the road, you will enjoy getting away from your regular tasks, but there’s…
Features, May 2018
Dollars and Sense: Stay Calm on the investment “Roller Coaster”
Jeff LeFave Unless you live near an amusement park that does a lot of advertising, you probably didn’t know that Aug. 16 is National Roller Coaster Day. Actual roller coasters provide people with thrills. But as an investor, how can you stay calm on the “roller coaster” of the financial markets? Here are some…