Celebration Trips

by Karen Pettingell on

As the days tick by until my 25th wedding anniversary, I started thinking of all the other milestones in our lives and the trips we took for them.

When I turned 30, I was living in Atlanta with my husband (then fiancé).  I missed home and my friends terribly, so we invited one of my best friends to...

Cool Inflation Summer

by Eric Parnell, CFA | GVA Chief Market Strategist on

By Eric Parnell, CFA | GVA Chief Market Strategist

The primary risk for financial markets in the second half of the year in this Chief Market Strategist’s view is a renewed rise in inflation.  Over the past year, capital markets have been cheered by the notion that the surge in inflation that began...

Football Finance

by Rick Ropelewski on

Who knew that sitting on the couch watching football could help one improve their understanding of personal finances?  The scientific research is not yet conclusive but stick with me here.

Just like a football team has a plan for how to attack the opposing defense, your own finances need a plan. ...

Truro

by Tom Lally on

I recently returned from Truro and my in-laws’ annual family vacation.  I’ve gone about five times now but some of them have been going for over 50 years.  For little Briana it was her second trip there and it was amazing how different the experience was for a 14-month-old compared to a 2-month-old...

Saoirse's first plane ride

by Nora Daniels on

We have our sights set on a trip to Europe in the Fall but figured a 7-hour plane ride shouldn't be Saoirse's first flight. So, to prepare for that, we flew to where my husband hopes to retire a few decades from now: Wilmington, NC.

Upon visiting for the first time, we did love it. It reminds me of...

Third Time is a Charm

by Karen Pettingell on

I recently traveled to France for the 3rd time.

The first time was my honeymoon, 25 years ago, when I was just a “kid”. We did all the touristy stuff.  I was too nervous to go to the top of the Eiffel tower or the Arc de Triomphe, so I waited while my husband did it. I don’t remember much of...

We (Okay, “She” Did It)

by Rick Ropelewski on

Last month we celebrated a family ‘first’ and ‘last’.  Our daughter Molly finished college in May month, so we celebrated our first college graduation as parents.  It was also my last (at least as best I can tell) commute from Washington DC to Boston, driving the family car jammed to the roof with...

Birthday Party

by Tom Lally on

As I’m now getting ready for my 34th birthday, birthday parties aren’t something I even think about at this point.  But turning 1?  That is definitely cause for a celebration!  And celebrating is exactly what we did recently, with a wonderful birthday party for our daughter Briana.

We intentionally...

Let's Go Crash A Kite

by Nora Daniels on

Last weekend, I took Saoirse for her first time to see kites flying. She was much more interested in seeing the other children than the kites, but the experience brought back one of my favorite childhood memories of flying a kite. Well really, it involves crashing a kite.

When I was about 4 years...

For the Dogs

by Karen Pettingell on

I have loved dogs for as long as I can remember. I grew up with parents who were on the opposite end of the loving dogs spectrum.  My father did not want anything to do with them, and my mother loves them. I have 4 siblings and between the 5 of us and my mother, my father was worn down.  On...

Market Update: Debt Ceiling

by Rick Ropelewski on

With tax season behind us, the big financial news coming from Washington, D.C. now is about the debt ceiling.  Here we’ll talk about what’s going on, what could happen, and what it means for your portfolio.

Congress authorizes various forms of spending through the legislation it passes.  When...

Look Both Ways, Twice!

by Rick Ropelewski on

As the training wheels come off and we get more experience as empty nesters we recently decided to go farther afield with our travel. My wife Martha loves art history and is a big fan of European artists from the 17th through 18th centuries.  She read about an exhibition for the Dutch artist...