von borstel & associates Archives

15 Sep

Staying Found

By Craig Smith, CFP®, CFA®, CKA®
In Blog

Staying Found Years ago, Melinda and I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Ashland, OR to Manning Park, British Columbia. We learned a lot about ourselves during the roughly 900 trail-mile trip, celebrated our first wedding anniversary sleeping on

18 Aug

Who Owns Today?

Who owns today? We often give our day up to those we don’t know. We look at Facebook, TV, or some form of media. We may not know whose agenda we are hearing, but we still let it impact our

14 Jul

Everything You Own

By Craig Smith, CFP®, CFA®, CKA®
In Blog

Everything You Own A realtor friend jokingly congratulated me on purchasing my home in 2009 by saying, “Welcome to the class of ‘home-moaners’!”. Get it? Homeowners constantly moan about their property’s maintenance, upkeep, and to-dos. If you’ve owned a home

15 Jun

Thoughts or Strategies?

Thoughts or Strategies? Which is worth more? Many people have thoughts about financial plans. They have opinions that they’re willing to give you. But is that what you want to build your future on? Probably not. I have many thoughts

15 May

6 Ways to Increase Your Probability of Success

I recently talked with a man that was almost irrational with anger. Something else had performed better than his portfolio. In his career he had been a perfectionist and only the best was ever acceptable. If you only accept being

01 May

What was the Price of Today? Who Paid?

I was driving through the Columbia River Gorge towards Portland, Oregon and it struck me once again, as it often does, that life is beautiful! You know what else is beautiful? Freedom. Freedom equals choices, choices equal action, action equals

30 May

Stop the World! I Want to Get Off!

By Craig Smith, CFP®, CFA®, CKA®
In Blog, Live Your Best Life, Self-Help, Success

That’s the sense I get from many people that I talk with today. There’s so much going on, and coming at us so fast. If you turn on the news, peruse the internet or pick up a newspaper, all you

09 Mar

Rolling Back on Dodd-Frank

Is regulation protection? Does it hinder productivity? Does it make dishonest people, honest? Could regulation possibly keep honest people, from being their best for their clients? I think we could write a book on these four questions. Whatever happened

16 Dec

Investing and Politics

Who will have the greatest impact on your financial future? You or President-elect Trump? Now I know there are two groups in this country: one hates what they see going forward based on our election; and one loves it. What

30 Jun

Brexit and the Boston Tea Party

Let me ask you a question? Do you perceive the Boston Tea Party as a negative historical event? I would agree that in the short-term it was not very pretty, yet in the long-term it led to the independence, formation,