10 minute read
Doug Love sets out on California's new Oregon Trail.
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Californians
My old buddy Bill and his wife Kym are just two in the parade of people I know who have packed it up and moved to Idaho. If somebody I know says, “We’ve decided to move out of California. We’re moving to...” I can finish the sentence for them: “Idaho.” They are moving to the Boise area, buying homes in suburb communities all within a few miles of each other. The community names are familiar to me now: Eagle, Star, Middleton, Caldwell, Nampa…
As it so happens, my wife and I loaded up the truck and travel-trailer and headed out to Idaho two weeks ago for her niece’s wedding in the little town of Tetonia, on the eastern edge of Idaho.
As we drove through Boise, we saw the boom first-hand as we travelled past miles of new-home subdivisions in various stages of completion and lots of earth-churning in preparation for more construction. “Ugg...,” said my wife.
“There’s your California Dollar at work,” I said.
As we drove on, my wife said, “It really is beautiful. This part of the state looks a little like the Sacramento Valley.” True, I thought. But I’m a committed Californian.
As we rolled through tiny Tetonia, I said to my wife, “Well, I’ll bet the California Dollar hasn’t made it this far. Not much going on here. This is old-style Idaho.” I texted a selfie-photo of my wife and I to my buddy Tom, who lives in Geyserville, California. “Tetonia, Idaho is beautiful!” I said. Tom texted back, “Just wait for the 9 feet of snow in the winter.” Tom is a committed Californian.
At the RV park, an energetic young guy, the new owner of the park as it turns out, after discovering we were from Chico, said, “I just met a guy from Chico a little while ago. He bought a piece of property over here.” He pointed vaguely to the south toward waving trees, creek banks, and big green fields. “It’s some land with a big red barn.”
“From Chico?” I said. I thought to myself, “What would land and a barn sell for around here, maybe $300,000? $400,000?
“Yeah, Chico, California,” said the young guy. “He got it for 1.2.”
“Million?” said my wife and I together.
“Yeah,” said the guy. “He snapped it up before anyone else knew it was for sale.”
We are here to report that the California Dollar is moving across the west like a wildfire.
Doug Love is Sales Manager at Century 21 in Chico. Email dougwlove@gmail.com. Call or text 530-680-0817. See an archive of columns at lovesrealstories.com.
There’s something about
Sherry LandiS
"Sherry has a wealth of knowledge of the area. After viewing a few “Sherry Landis is by far the best real estate agent in Chico. She is homes together, she knows the exact style and area we are desperately professional, positive, and has incredible follow through. She helped us trying to find, and she capitalizes on it. Her upbeat and professional navigate our way through the sale of two homes and the purchase of attitude makes the stressful process of finding a home fun and another—all at the same time! She never missed a beat. She made sure we enjoyable. She is quick in answering any questions we have during the understood the process, and stayed in constant contact with us. Even after all process, and outlines in detail what each step entails --- extremely three homes closed, she continued to call, email, and text just to make sure important for first time home buyers such as ourselves! We loved everything was going as planned. We could not have done it without her.” working with Sherry and would happily encourage those looking for a home, to call her immediately!" -Kaelin Daly — Doug anD CoLEttE RobERtS
This was the model home and only one owner! There have been many upgrades including travertine tiles, upgraded carpets, granite, oversized lot, built in desk in media room, special color paint throughout, draperies, landscaped beautifully with slate water fall, flowers galore and redwood trees. RV Access on both sides of the house and two master suites make this home a must see! Bed: 4.0 Bath: 4.0 SqFt: 3,166 Price: $429,000
Single Family Detached - Leased Solar. Fantastic location by the greenbelt area! The courtyard greets you with beautiful plants & flowers giving a very warm, welcoming feel!!! This immaculate home has just had a little mini facelift with newer water-proof vinyl flooring, fresh interior paint in some areas, and light design staging! It truly is a show A terrific Michael Galli floor plan updated and remodeled from head to toe about a year ago. Stainless steel appliances, granite counters, plush stopper with loads of storage, open concept living, and gorgeous kitchen metallic infused chocolate porcelain tile! carpets, decorator lighting, exterior and interior painting, lush park like yard, Designer window coverings, architecture, and fixtures!!!This location cannot be beat close to shopping, schools and sparkling in ground gunite pool, newer 10x10 outdoor shed, wood stove, the freeway! Hurry, this one simply won't last! Bed: 3.0 Bath: 2.5 SqFt: 1,942 Price: $549,000 shows truly like a model home. Open floor plan with so many upgrades! Bed: 4.0 Bath: 3.0 SqFt: 3,675 Price: $665,000
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Where’s the Yield? Can income investors still realistically “live off their interest and dividends”?
BY RENEE MICHEL, MBA, AND JOE SWEENEY, CFP® , FINANCIAL ADVISORS AT SWEENEY & MICHEL, LLC
Finding sustainable and reliable sources of income has become a challenge lately. Over the last decade, the landscape has changed dramatically; at one time, you could build a diversified portfolio yielding 4-5% a year. Over the last 10 years, stock, bond, and real estate yields have decreased 30-50%.
The idea of “living off the interest” is a tough one when most yields are 3% or less. During these low-income periods, investors who rely on 4% or more in annual income, are put in a position where they need to sell assets (i.e. principal) to meet their needs.
How did we get here? When uncertainty is highest, safety is the most expensive. The financial crisis of 2008 required a ton of federal stimulus, driving bond prices up and interest rates down. Things never really got back to normal over the ensuing decade before COVID hit, pushing bond prices higher, and interest rates further downwards.
What's the solution? Today’s investors who need income will need to be more flexible regarding their asset allocation:
1. Get comfortable with risk: savings accounts, CDs, and treasury bonds offer between 0-1%. To earn more, you can look towards high dividend stocks, real estate investments, or preferred stock, among other asset classes. As always, volatility is the cost of earning higher rates.
2. Try to maximize your fixed income: nobody wants to hear they should work longer or delay social security, but that may be the best way to protect your income stream down the road. It’s easier to work in your 60’s than your 80’s if you run out of money.
3. Limit investment expenses: commissions and fees can quietly eat up your principal, whether you’re investing in mutual funds or investment properties.
Renée Michel, MBA and Joe Sweeney, CFP® | 196 Cohasset Road, Suite 100, Chico CA 95926 (530) 487-1777 | renee@sweeneymichel.com | joe@sweeneymichel.com | www.sweeneymichel.com
Sources: www.irs.gov; www.ssa.gov; www.medicare.gov | Sweeney & Michel, LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser. This brochure is solely for informational purposes. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Sweeney & Michel, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Sweeney & Michel, LLC unless a client service agreement is in place.
Sports, Go Sports!
Our country and our community has a love for watching and playing sports. The love of the game, camaraderie, gettogethers, and everything that comes with athletics itself is very beloved. Even people who don’t follow sports will often take a bit of ownership over the team their community supports. Athletics are a wonderful way to bond and to enjoy life. However, there’s another side to this pastime, a side that puts pressure on athletes as well as everyday folks.
Who hasn’t heard the following: “where there’s a will, there’s a way” or “the best don’t rest”? It’s part of our common vernacular to make “the grind” a regular part of our worklife. But from what I understand, the grind is that last push-through when your body is nearly to failure, and your mental toughness pushes into your physical body, using that last bit of adrenaline to jumpstart your performance. It’s on the field in athletics, and in the days of hand-to-hand combat and war, it kept you safe in the throws of battle. The grind isn’t a place to live and rest.
And yet, we have expectations for our athletes, students, and ourselves to “grind it out.” When our professional athletes say, “I can’t do it anymore; I’m depleted. My mind needs a break from the push-through and my body needs my mind to run the
JESSICA DARLING WILKERSON, MA, LMFT 104464 LICENSED MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPIST EMDR CLINICIAN
show so I don’t get injured.” There are people in this world who shout, “You’re weak!” and “Don’t be lazy!” Then the rest of the world hears it.
And young people have growing concern that if they talk about their struggle with worry, despondency, stress, and balancing it all that they will be seen as weak, and young people want the world to see them as capable and mature. Then again, adults, who were once young athletes, remember their push-through and accolades and admonish themselves for losing their drive and vigor without acknowledging that years of grit took a toll on the body and mind. We need self-compassion and periods of rest to go along with a high drive to succeed.
Anxiety, depression, high stress, health issues, traumatic experiences—they all play a role in how we walk through our lives. Holding ourselves to these “motivational cliches” hurts a lot more than they help. It is okay to step back, take a breath, examine your goals and how you’re going about reaching them, and then reconfigure your gameplan. You matter. Your mental health matters. If you’re going to enjoy the goal when you reach it, you don’t want to reach it feeling depleted. Where’s the joy in that?
Jessica Wilkerson, MA, LMFT is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Chico, CA. She is an EMDR clinician as well as the owner/operator and clinical supervisor of Inspired Life Counseling. For more information, visit www.jessicawilkerson.com and www.inspiredlifechico.com. Jessica can also be reached via phone at (530) 809-1702
