Thoughts From the Finance Factory

Financial Lessons From Walter White

I would like to thank Netflix for introducing me to binge watching TV. Without it, I would have never been introduced to AMC’s Breaking Bad and come across all of these wonderful financial lessons to share with you courtesy of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.


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My Baby Will Cost Me What?

Since 1960 the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released a number for the estimated costs associated with raising a child until they reach 18. The costs include food, housing, childcare, education (not college costs), and other expenses. The full report is linked at the bottom of this post. So if you or a loved one has recently had a baby it is going to cost $245,340 on average to raise him or her to age 18.


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Financial Planning in the Shark Tank

I really like to watch the TV show Shark Tank. It is amazing to watch the “American Dream” on display in every episode. For the few of you out there that haven’t seen the show 6 successful entrepreneurs (Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, Lori Griener and Robert Herjavec) listen to small business people pitch their companies or ideas so the Sharks (the entrepreneurs) might consider investing in them. I was watching the other day and thought there were some interesting similarities between successfully convincing the Sharks to invest and clients having a successful financial planning experience.


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Lessons Learned The Hard Way!

There is an old adage that there are no mistakes only lessons to learn. I can say that is only partially true. I think it is a mistake to not share lessons that you have learned along the way especially if it could help keep someone from making the same mistakes. So at the risk of embarrassing myself I will share the 5 financial lessons I learned the hard way.


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What The Heck Is Thorium?

Thorium is a naturally occurring radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It was discovered in 1828 by the Norwegian mineralogist Morten Thrane Esmark and identified by the Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, who named it after Thor, the Norse god of thunder.


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