Thoughts From the Finance Factory

Episode 15: Tech Talks @Thorium

In this Episode Walt Spence and I discuss the Google IO developer conference.  We discuss the AI advances, the impact of Google Lens and the killer new virtual assistant.

The shiny new toys are my amazing new computer and a killer app for parents with school age kids to help manage allowances.


Here we go again! What’s the stock market doing?

Well volatility is really back for good apparently. After a short hiatus after the February stock market correction Volatility came roaring back with a 724 point decline on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on March 23, 2018. It was the 5th largest single day point decline in the history of the Dow.


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Elon Musk: A Modern Day PT Barnum

I grew up in Bridgeport, CT. For those that don’t know Bridgeport is the childhood and adult home of PT Barnum. Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) is most famous for founding the Barnum and Bailey Circus but was a tremendous businessman, philanthropist, politician (mayor of Bridgeport and served two terms as a member of the CT House of Representatives) and most famously as a showman. What most people don’t know about Barnum and his business career was that he was an innovator across many different business. He founded a ferry company that connected Bridgeport to Port Jefferson, NY a business that still operates today, He was part of the original lottery craze and had a lottery shop where he sold tickets before the state of CT outlawed the lottery forcing him to close his store and move to New York City. (more…)


What a Pain In The Bitcoin!

Before I begin this piece let me preface it by saying I don’t know if Bitcoin or any of the cryptocurrencies will be around forever. I do believe that the technology backing these crypto assets will be a game changer but it will take a long time for that to occur. In the interim we are left with this mania that has gotten a little out of control.


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What You Need to Know About The Tax Act 2018

Most of us have been watching the twists and turns of the recently signed Tax Act with bated breath—what Senators will hold out, which last-minute provisions will sneak in, and most important of all, how will the law affect us, our clients, and the American public?

Well the waiting is done and I have spent most of the New Year’s Weekend reading the bill. There are still several things we need to understand like how the elimination of deductions, compression of tax rates, and brand-new benefits for certain taxpayers will affect all of us. According to the Tax Policy Center, four out of every five taxpayers can expect a reduction. How big a reduction will depend on many factors and many lower income tax payers will notice only a small decrease while people living in high property and state income tax areas will likely see an increase. (more…)


ICYMI: The Best Posts of 2017

The Most Popular Posts of 2017:

2017 was a very big year for Thorium Wealth Management and in particular for The Finance Factory blog. The firm saw assets grow and added our first person (welcome David!) The blog saw traffic grow by a mind boggling rate (OK Mind boggling to me lol). To the point now that 1000’s of people read my thoughts which is humbling and scary all at the same time. When I started this blog in August 2014 I told myself that I would give it 3 good years of effort. If after 3 years hardly anyone was reading I would stop. I didn’t start writing with the intention of having lots of people read it. I started because I had some things to say and thought writing would be the best way to share it with the most people possible. (more…)


My 2017 Reading List

My Year End Book Review!

In 2017 I read 36 books. Not my best year for reading as I was on pace for a book a week but my reading tailed off here the last couple of months with work/life getting really busy.  I am a big believer in reading and view it as one of the best ways to acquire knowledge and information whether it be reading books, blogs (mine is pretty good if you are looking for one to read regularly), or books on tape through Audible. I wanted to give a quick review of my top 3 reads of 2017 followed by the rest of my 2017 reading list (more…)


How I got a free fridge!

We have needed a new fridge for a really long time. The one we have is 14 years old and came with the house when we bought it. The ice maker has never worked and the seals are starting to lose their grip. It was time to get a new one.

If you have gone appliance shopping you know that fridges are really expensive if you want to get a nice one. Heck most of them cost more than my first car and they even have one that connects to your smartphone and will add stuff to your grocery list for you. I’m not sure who needs that but if you want it you can get it for the low cost of $6,299 plus delivery and taxes. (more…)