Author Archives: David John Marotta

Before executing a conservation easement donation, you should be certain that it is in line with your financial goals.

Fewer than 20 percent of investors are financially literate.

P/E ratio tells you how many dollars you have to invest to receive $1 in earnings.

You can either pay now or pay more later.

Historically income taxes have not been this low since 1931.

More businesses migrate across state borders than national borders.

Virginians can take a $2,000 state tax deduction simply by flowing their money through a 529 account for a day.

Although the lender almost always wins, a reverse mortgage does offer a Band-Aid solution to pending cash flow problems.

The markets are brilliant long-term, but short-term they have the IQ of a gnat.

The party’s over for home owners who sought the lower initial payments of ARMs.

On average, international stocks appreciate more than US stocks, and stocks in countries with the most economic freedom appreciate more than the international average.

Delegating your morality to a fund’s screening process is like using a blunt instrument to do brain surgery.

Consider moving your official place of residence to your vacation house, live in it 760 days out of five years, and then take the exclusion.

“A wise and frugal government shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.” – Jefferson

Canada is the one major country that is not included in the EAFE (Europe, Australia, and Far East) foreign index. Not only are they good neighbors but a good investment.

One out of every ten patients consume 69 percent of health care costs. The other nine would benefit from an HSA.

An overwhelming number of failed marriages cite financial troubles as a major factor in their breakup.

Rebalancing means selling what has done well and buying what has done poorly, not visa versa.

Community college for the first two years is the best deal to avoid the mountains of student debt and still graduate from a top-rate school.

Due to our progressive tax system, your taxes increase even if your buying power does not.

My grandfather Donald Mortlock worked on Wall Street during and after the 1929 crash. The firm he worked for was a “market maker,” a company which helped to literally “make a market” in several stocks.

The life of my grandmother Florence Mortlock provided me with many life lessons on finance and financial planning.

Many people in this situation would choose the quick cash.

Investors are quick to forget that the markets also go down.

French labor laws have made doing business in France with French employees very unattractive.

To meet your goals you don’t need to beat the investment returns of everyone else. Instead, you want a decent return in order to retire comfortably and to ensure a cash flow which will support your standard of living.

Although the French gave us the word ‘entrepreneur,’ it’s a wonder the term isn’t obsolete in French.

Between 40 and 60 you should increase your net worth by half your annual take home pay every year.

2005 was a year which showed the weakness of limiting your asset allocation to US stocks and US bonds.

Do whatever it takes. Ask your mother-in-law to hold your credit cards while you are getting out of debt.

Like the iron rods in sailing ships, bonds keep your portfolio upright in stormy weather.

Credit bureaus charge to see your credit score. Save your money.

Beware of bogus credit companies claiming to offer free credit reports in order to gather your personal information.

Every six years you delay saving and investing you cut in half the lifestyle you will have in retirement.

Market timing is the attempt to switch a significant portion of your assets between different types of investments in an effort to maximize profits. If this is your investment strategy, good luck, because you’ll need it.

At first glance, this story fills us with pity for the Cratchit family, always struggling to make ends meet. But is that the true story?

While it’s hard to muster pity for diminished drug company profits, negligible earnings jeopardized production and supply.

Poor families with children will subsidize millionaire seniors.

Even if you don’t need coverage you can avoid future penalties for as little as $1.87 per month.

Don’t borrow or withdraw money from your IRA.

Prepaid programs are not safe. They just assume a different type of risk.

If you are one of the 92% with children under the age of 18 who haven’t started a 529 plan, we encourage you to meet with a fee-only financial advisor soon. You can never start too early, and it’s never too late to do something.

In the past three years Joshua’s account has grown a whopping 76.6% averaging 22.5% per year.

If you are not saving for college you are falling behind.

Education matters. He who doesn’t teach his son a trade teaches him to steal.

Probably the most important question you can ask of anyone offering you financial advice is, “Do you have a legal obligation to act in my best interests?”

There are many things riskier than volatility.

Reunification of the country has put a drag on economic growth.

The value of salt in ancient time was enormous.

Hayek wrote, “More harm and misery have been caused by men determined to use coercion to stamp out a moral evil than by men intent on doing evil.”