The passing of time during the pandemic has felt very weird at best. For me, it felt like 2020 moved at a snail’s pace and 2021 has been a bit of a blur. And, it’s caused me to forget exactly when certain events happened. Thank goodness for time stamps on the pictures on my phone! […]

A big headline in 2021 has been the unusually high annual inflation figures, as compared to 2020.  As of November 30, 2021, the Consumer Price Index increase from November 2020 was 6.8% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Much debate has occurred over the causes (supply chain? Used cars?) and whether it is

You’ve hired a professional to provide services for you. Hopefully, you have some idea of what these services will cost. Most contractors, it’s said, will finish their work in twice the time and at twice the cost that’s quoted. But, hey, if you factor that in at the start, you won’t be disappointed! What’s

You may have seen or heard that I bonds (AKA inflation bonds or series I savings bonds) are currently paying 7.12%. That is true, but as with most headlines these days, it’s important to read into the situation and dig a little deeper. Shameless plug: if you’d prefer a shorter video version of this blog, […]

As a reminder every morning, my daughter announces the days until Christmas and New Years Eve…in case you’re wondering, there are 46 days left until Christmas and 53 days left in 2021).  The television is playing Christmas commercials constantly, and all the stores are decked out for the holidays. Year end is

Happy November! We are officially in the home stretch of the year.  Including today there are only 60 more days left in 2021 of which there are approximately 40 work days! Here at Meridian, we are taking advantage of every one of those days and are continuing to work through end of year planning with […]

October officially kicks off one of the busiest times of years for most as holiday planning, fall breaks, and extracurricular activities fill our schedules.  This also seems to be the time bucket lists are drawn and we feel we need to check off every seasonal and holiday themed activity (pumpkin patch/ apple orchard

If you are an investor in the markets, you are probably aware that the stock market can go up and down (news flash!). September lived up to its reputation of being a historically bad month for stocks, but many bond investors may also have been disappointed when they opened their recent statements. In most cases,

My two boys have been fascinated with TV shows, music, and movies from decades past—or as they like to call it: “stuff from the 1900s.” ☹ To my heart’s delight, we’ve been binge watching the A-Team at night–with occasional diversions to Knight Rider and MacGyver.  My husband educates them on key