James Dicks

Make Life Less Taxing

Well, here we go again. April 15 is right around the corner which means it's time to get your 2009 Income Tax done. Hopefully you've been working on your documentation throughout the past year but if you're like most people, you only begin when you have... Read >

Protect Your Children and Their Teeth

This may be a little off topic from most of my blogs, but after watching the most disturbing investigative news report I have seen in a long time, there was no way I was going to bed without writing about it. The story was on 20/20 last Friday night on A... Read >

Prepare for the Worse but Hope for the Best

While I don't have a personal crystal ball to predict the future, I continue hearing the so-called "financial experts" forecast that 2010 won't be any better than 2009; some even say it will likely be worse. Now I'm not saying that we should just give up... Read >

Hire a Vet

As a former U.S. Marine, I am extremely proud of my military background. Many of the men and women who are responsible for protecting our country are now being placed in a position of searching for their next career. Some of them have been fortunate eno... Read >

New Year, New Plan

I wish everyone a very joyous and profitable 2010, but in order to make it profitable, you must start planning. I'm not going to tell you to make resolutions for the New Year (resolutions normally fall by the wayside very quickly anyway), but rather organ... Read >

The Challenge of Investing

Every year brings with it new challenges. The global economic situation I'm sure has thrown some new challenges at your investments, but as long as you take precautions prior to any calamitous events, your personal financial situation could remain balance... Read >

Evaluate Your Personal Finances

As we enter a New Year, I want to remind you about something I consider to be a very important aspect of any well-balanced financial situation. Make sure you do frequent financial checkups to insure you are on the proper path to develop your assets effect... Read >

Make Your First Move

When a situation makes you stumble in life, are you the type of person to fret about your circumstances or are you more likely to do something productive to alleviate the problem? The old Chinese Proverb states that "a journey of a thousand miles begins ... Read >

Living a Credit-Free Lifestyle

One of the major effects of the current economic downturn is that many people are putting their credit cards away and only using cash to make all their daily purchases. I know that the American population has a long way to go before it will totally accep... Read >

Recovery or No Recovery? That is the Question.

We are inundated on a daily basis by the 24-hour news and business channels that the United States has experienced the worst of the economic downturn and is now coming out of the greatest recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. But if you ask ... Read >

Applying the Lessons Learned

When I look back on 2009, I realize that it was an extremely challenging year and many things I wanted to accomplish just didn't get done for one reason or another. I'm still very proud of what I did accomplish in my business and my personal life and I'm... Read >

Your Most Valuable Business Asset

The ability to conduct business efficiently in your specific area of expertise is certain to be one of the most critical aspects of your daily routine. In these difficult economic times, the unconditional professional skills of making things happen in you... Read >

Leadership Traits of the USMC

Many of you know that I spent some valuable time as a U.S. Marine; a period of time in my life that I am very proud of and a time when I learned so much about myself. I can honestly say that if I had not learned these vital life lessons as a young Marine... Read >

Pioneering the Current Economic Situation

As a business owner, I can tell you from firsthand experience that this year's recession has created some very challenging experiences. In order to sustain what you have, business today must be extremely creative. This productive imagination will feel, ... Read >

Finding a Fresh Path for the New Year

The past year has been very rough on traditional investors; investments have blown up in the faces of people who had been religiously putting funds in 401(k) plans and IRAs and chances are their home values have crumbled around them as well. Thousands mo... Read >