This has to be one of the most common questions I get asked on a daily basis. It doesn’t matter who I’m talking to, inevitably the question comes up. However, if you know me as a financial planner, I am by no means a market prognosticator nor do I profess to be some kind of stock market guru.

Nonetheless, managing my client’s investments is part of my job, so I expect to have these types of questions. Now, whether I answer it in a black and white way is yet to be determined. On the one hand, the stock market has always gone up looking at it long-term, however, over the short-term, the market experiences all kinds of ups and downs.

Ever thought somebody owed you something, but you just can’t remember what? Well, guess what, maybe someone does, and it might just be waiting for you in a state where you once lived. And, it’s actually not out of the ordinary to find your name on a state's unclaimed property list.

Believe it or not, states are holding onto BILLIONS of dollars in unclaimed property. And, because of unclaimed property laws, this money has to be returned to you if you ever come looking for it. In 2015 alone, over $3 billion was returned! Crazier than that, though, almost $8 billion was collected leaving another $5 billion uncollected. Trust me, there is a lot of it out there.

The budget. To many, it is simply known as the “b” word. The budget has turned into this scary thing that few people dare to discuss.

I’m not sure if it’s just overwhelming to think about tracking or if people fear seeing where they’re spending their money. Regardless of the reason, the budget is the foundation to anyone’s personal financial situation.