It's November, and three weeks from today will mark the sixth anniversary, to the day, of this column.

We talk and write a lot about how important it is to have a plan for managing your long-term investments, particularly your retirement accounts. Regular listeners to Smart Money Management know that I have a major concern about how we fund retirement in the United States.

Folks, We have to talk about these Chicago Bears.

I have a couple of thoughts to offer to you today. 

Chip goes through three different topics this week.

We are often asked, “What can I do to be a better investor?” There are many simple steps that you can take to improve your investment results. Many of these tips are topics which we devote an entire radio show or newspaper article to.

It’s rare for almost the whole country to agree on anything. But Americans agree on this. D.C. politicians should not be using insider information to trade stocks and get rich.

I’m sitting here on a Wednesday afternoon, perhaps a bit more tired than usual, and my brain is not firing on all cylinders like it usually is. I’m trying to think of a Halloween angle for this week’s introduction, but I can’t seem to think of which way to go. Scariest losses I’ve suffered as a fan? The not-so-creative “athletes as Halloween candies”? Shoot, I thought about just abandoning sports all together and just listing some of my favorite scary movies and Halloween memories. Actually, why don’t I just do one of each? 

Dr. David Jeremiah tells the story of a shepherd in Texas who had a large flock of sheep he was tending on a cold evening.

The winds of change are blowing again in Indianapolis. 

A funny thing happened on the way to college football becoming a game for the highest bidder.

Over the last 30 years, exchange traded funds have become a popular and inexpensive way for investors to achieve their asset allocation goals. ETFs have many advantages, but also some complexities. Today we are going to discuss ETFs and the role they can play in an investment portfolio.

You can love it, you can hate it, but the 24-team playoff in college football is going to arrive all the same.

We all have dreams. 

Fall sports are at varied stages of their postseason run, trophy games. 

We all enjoy the conveniences of modern life, but there are some aspects we could do without. Technological advances save work and time, but they can also lead to identity theft.

It’s crazy how much can change in just seven days. 

I was watching sporting events this weekend, as I often do, and a common word kept coming up during the broadcasts. 

Editor, Times-Union: As I was reading a book last night by Bear Grylls, “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” (highly recommend it), I was reading the account of the betrayal of Jesus. As the religious leaders who wanted him gone were inciting the crowd to yell “Crucify him!” and chanting louder for Pontius Pilate to do their bidding, I wondered, “Where are the people? The common folks whom He touched and healed, and fed, and taught, and loved? Where are they? Why aren’t their voices heard?”

Editor, Times-Union: Admitting you're wrong about something is not a weakness but a strength. I have been wrong about various things and admit it.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association is reportedly studying additional competitive balance measures for football, borrowing ideas that look a lot like what our neighbors in Ohio have already implemented.

We hear all the time from folks who wake up one morning and realize that they are 55 and haven’t anything saved for retirement. It happens more often than you might think.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a very angry column about the Chicago White Sox having fallen out of first place in the AL Central. I said they had choked, claimed that even if they made the playoffs, I didn’t see anything coming out of it, and even called out a couple of guys by name that had been struggling down the stretch. 

With anticipation, I keep looking out our kitchen window to our backyard where there are two maple trees, waiting for their leaves to turn.

We talk a lot about hate these days.