"Was last week a bear market bounce or start of next bull?" by: John Sample

   We were able to post a positive week last week.     Some would say that was the bottom of the recent selloff.     I have no clue but feel that there is more pain to come.     In 2000 we had four bear market rises before the collapse.     You can conjure all kinds of scenarios.

PSA: Prepare yourself for a long retirement

   Here’s an interesting finding from a survey by Age Wave and Edward Jones: Retirees say, on average, that they expect to live to 89, and they say the ideal length of retirement is 29 years.    That’s a long time to be retired.    How can you prepare yourself financially?

"Reflections on tithing" by: Caleb Gibson

   Tithing is the belief that we are to give 10% of our income to the local church.     This is a difficult subject for many because it involves money and is a tradition for the majority of churches.     This is a great topic to study because we all must ask God, “How much should I give?

"Reel Reviews: ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ blends superhero action, hilarity on silver screen" by: Jessica Shepard

   I’ve been a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Thor since the original film came out in 2011.    But its 2013 sequel and storyline just sucked the fun out of everything.

"Celebrating freedom with family, food & fun" by: Jessica Shepard

   My siblings came down for the holiday weekend last week.    Strangely enough, I think this was the only year we haven’t had a homemade fireworks show since I graduated from high school.

"Half way through year and it almost seems like a decade" by: John Sample

   We made it through the first two quarters and it was beyond ugly.     This was the worst market performance for the averages and indexes for the first six months of the year since the 70s.    I lived through that bear market with interest rates climbing to 20%.

"Reel Reviews: ‘Elvis’ storyline disappears under burden of glitz, grift" by: Jessica Shepard

   I’m not going to spin a yarn about growing up listening to Elvis as if he had much of an impact on my life.    My grandparents listened to him now and again, but, outside of that, he was virtually non-existent in our household.

"Weekend free time spent revisiting ‘vintage’ movies stirs curiosities" by: Jessica Shepard

   So we’ve been exploring old movies via several streaming services over the weekend.    Surprisingly, there are plenty of films that mom hasn’t seen and more than that for me – especially if it was released in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

"If this is a recession, you may be lucky" by: John Sample

   We are closing out the second quarter, and unless you were in a coma or you chose not to look at your retirement account monthly statement, to find that we may have only two up weeks for equities.    I will say though that last week at least stopped the bleeding and we aren’t on life support.

PSA: What to expect from a financial advisor

   If you know you need to invest for retirement and other objectives, but you’re unsure of the road you should follow, you may want to get some guidance from a financial professional.    But if you’ve never worked with one before, what can you expect?