To Inform: Summer and country music (the good stuff, mind you) go hand in hand. Now I know I’ve used these pages before to express my love for country music, so if you’ll indulge me, I’m going to do it again. I recently wrote a commentary for our 401(k) plan clients that reminded me of […]

To Inspire: Tomorrow Mark and I (and our spouses) will be attending a family reunion, on our mother’s side. Mom’s maiden name was Weaver, and this Weaver Cousins Reunion has been going on for years. We meet at our cousin Maggie’s home (and her husband, Rob) and it’s an afternoon of catching up, eating, and […]

To Inform:  Yesterday, I was in a client meeting with a beloved friend who had a long career in public service. As we were talking about investments and his family’s terrific looking financial plan, he said, “oh, I forgot to tell you – my Social Security went up by about $1,000 per month because of […]

To Inspire: At 96 years old, Betty Parker admits she doesn’t have as much energy as she used to, and while that does impact what she can do, she says her 90s have been purpose-filled – something we should all strive for, whatever our age. We’ve talked a lot in WealthNotes about how people are […]

To Inform: “We’ve got to feed the monster, so it doesn’t get upset, it’s got an awesome appetite, Tyrannosaurus Debt.” For schoolchildren of a certain age “Schoolhouse Rock” was one’s earliest lessons in civics. “Tyrannosaurus Debt” was one of a long list of video vignettes set to jocular music about topics that were a lot […]

To Inspire: Through an organization called Young Catholic Professionals, I (along with some other older Catholic professionals) was recently asked to be a mentor. A young man named Ben was chosen as my mentee and we had our first meeting this morning. I looked up the word mentor and was drawn to the definition: someone […]

To Inform: If it hasn’t come through in my Wealthnotes, I love to read. I’m currently reading a historical fiction novel by Stephen Pressfield called The Gates of Fire about the stand of 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. One thing that struck me in my reading is just how chaotic and unpredictable the […]

To Inspire:   We’ve been talking about holiday traditions around the office this week. Most of The Joseph Group team couldn’t come up with what they consider “traditions” around this holiday, but most have plans to enjoy local parades and street fairs, spend time with family and friends, and see some fireworks. For central Ohio, […]

To Inform: Earlier this week, TJG Chief Investment Officer Alex Durbin, Summer Intern Avery Rice, and I (Travis) attended the Ohio RIA Summit in Downtown Columbus. It was a gathering of investment managers and financial advisors across Ohio and an opportunity to share ideas and best practices. I had the good fortune to serve as […]

To Inspire: Last night I attended a gala celebrating the 20th anniversary of our local Catholic radio station here in Columbus, Saint Gabriel Radio. There must have been 500 people in attendance – volunteers, donors, staff, and many who have found the station’s daily programming so uplifting. It got me thinking about the power of […]