By Kevin Theissen During your accumulation years, you may have categorized your risk as “conservative,” “moderate,” or “aggressive” and that guided how your portfolio was built. Maybe you concerned yourself with finding the “best-performing funds,” even though you knew past performance does not guarantee future results. What occurs with many retirees is a change in…

By Dom Cioffi Nearly 10 years ago, in September of 2011, I wrote a review for the film “Contagion,” which is highlighted below. The film was an interesting composite of what might happen during a modern-day pandemic. I remember enjoying the film and also appreciating how realistic the plot seemed even though I believed the…

By Cal Garrison This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Gemini Moon that will turn Void-of-Course then enter Cancer. The business of being in quarantine has been a mixed bag for me. I have definitely enjoyed the peace and quiet and the long afternoon naps in the sun, but I noticed…

By Merisa Sherman It has been cold. Not that wonderful “let’s go skiing” kind of cold but the kind of cold that gets you way down deep in your spine. A spine-chilling cold that you never seem to get away from. My mom would tell me to turn the heat up, but I’m the kind…

Having a Ball By Dom Cioffi At some point during my early teenage years, I decided that basketball was going to be my thing. I don’t remember there being an epiphany or single moment when this dawned on me. Rather, the sport slowly enveloped my attention until it was the most important part of my…

By Mary Ellen Shaw If you are looking for something different to do with the free time you may have right now why not try growing plants from seed? I have been doing this for about 30 years and it’s a great way to obtain exactly what you want for flowers or veggies. There are…

By Kevin Theissen It is not difficult to understand that with the Covid-19 crisis, we all should know the value of having an established emergency cash fund. Beyond this crisis, have you ever had one of those months? The water heater stops heating, the dishwasher stops washing, and your family ends up on a first-name…

by Olivia Box I love that time in spring when the hills around my house change from gray and brown to shades of yellow, green, and red. The trees have not yet leafed out, so what’s painting the forests these wonderful colors? The answer: most of our northern hardwood trees are flowering. It begins with…

By Cal Garrison This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of an Aries Moon. The Sun entered Taurus on April 19, which puts us in the last hours of the “Old Moon.” This means we will be wrapping things up, dealing with elements of endings and completion, until the Moon turns “New” at…

By Merisa Sherman My internal alarm clock woke up a little bit extra that morning and I could feel the change in the air even from inside our house. Instead of pulling the blankets back around me, I quietly snuck out of bed and down the stairs. The curtains were down in the main room,…

Tradeoffs when taking care of business by Dom Cioffi I told my son at the start of mass quarantine that this was not going to be a vacation, that we — individually and as a family — would be getting things accomplished throughout the duration of our home confinement, no matter how long it lasted.…

By Kevin Theissen The American Public Education Foundation recently found that Vermont schools are woefully short in helping prepare students to be financially literate. With a grade of “D,” many students are not learning to handle their finances smartly, avoid debt, better understand the economy and learn to make good decisions about their life and…

The Outside Story By Olivia Box One spring-like afternoon this winter, I was skiing near Middlebury, Vermont. The trail followed Otter Creek, weaving through cedar patches, hemlock groves, and past the occasional hardwood. It was one of those days where you can shed a few layers and still break a sweat when the sun spills…

By Cal Garrison a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week’s Horoscopes are coming out in the wake of the Easter rituals, under the light of a Capricorn Moon. This week, I decided to keep it simple and look at the aspects that will be in play for the next seven days. This approach paid off…

By Merisa Sherman I have a nook in my house where there’s a chair there, just out of the morning sun, where I can see the tree tops. They descend in a steepish yet skiable pitch down toward the valley on the right, kind of like Highline. There’s a second bit of dull greenish-brown peeking…