Originally published in The Old Town Gazette, October, 2008

I knew there was a financial crisis coming down when my financial advisor called me to his office the day after the crash; explained everything, and then asked me if he could borrow 50 bucks.  I said, “But you haven’t paid me back for the money I loaned you after the last 2 recessions.  He said, “Did to.”  I said, ”No you didn’t.”  He said, “Did to, did to, did to.”  I just looked at him. After about 10 seconds, he said, “Look, it’s all cyclical.  Ok,  I borrowed money from you, but each time, over a period of time, the value of your portfolio  went up way more than the amount of money I borrowed from you.”  We just looked at each other. Then he said, “Look, you have to see the big picture.  Because of the plan I set up for you, you’ve put 2 children through college.”

I said, “yes, but those were your children.  I don’t have any kids.”