Money and Your Brain, AMT Update

First and foremost… Merry Christmas! This is my favorite time of the year. It is during this time when the year is coming to a close, family and social time outweighs normal day to day business, and we all have the time to reflect on our blessings and short-falls.

2007 is about to be history, and many of you are probably scared because the stock market has been anything but stable. Today’s show will hopefully bring you comfort in these uncertain times (by the way we are always in uncertain times), and help you recognize what is important in the big picture of personal finance.

The emotions that your brain creates can lead to disaster if you do not know how to recognize where your decisions and actions are coming from (analytical side of the brain or emotional instinct to avoid risk). Listen to our show and then also check out the Money Magazine article by Jason Zweig titled “Your money and your brain” (click here for link)

Remember when you are wondering if the financial markets are going up or down the answer is always, “YES”. Investing is suppose to be a long-term commitment (at least 5-7 years) and in the short-term the markets will both go up and go down. However, if you can put that money to work and not let your short-term emotions spoil the riches of deferred gratification in the long-term you will make money. Listen to our show and I will share the average returns for each decade of the S&P 500 (from 1928 to now).

In today’s show I also discuss the band-aid of a fix that our government has done to keep the AMT monster at bay for another year (that is alternative minimum tax). If you need more insight on what AMT is, one of our listeners has a great blog that gives a pretty good crash course.

Thank you for an incredible 2007 and for providing so many positive comments on iTunes (I truly believe that your comments have led many to listen to our objective and open insight into the world of personal finance). Please continue to share our show with your friends and family, and I always welcome more comments.

Merry Christmas and Thanks again!!!

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