Jess Clawson, PhD

I am a creative and thoughtful writer who understands how to communicate complex ideas clearly. I have a record of high performance in readership numbers in nationally distributed media, along with publication in popular and academic journals. I am a respected and well-liked community member with a talent for building networks.

Finance

Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 12/17/21

It’s time once again for our weekly check-in. We hope you’re all making the most of the holiday season in whatever way you most enjoy. This week, we don’t have a lot of answers about the national debt, but we have many questions. So we’ll spend some time diving into the facts of the matter and what policymakers are thinking. Then, we’ll look at some of the best places to retire (retirement— one of our favorite subjects!). And you’ll definitely want to check out our How We Help segment this week
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 12/10/21

It’s starting to feel like winter now! With only two more weeks until Christmas and Hanukkah already behind us, the holiday season is in full swing. In economic news, we’ll talk about the jobs report that came out recently. Then, we want to congratulate one of our team members on hitting the 20-year mark with Obsidian! On with the show. The jobs report came out late last week to an interesting reception. At first, people were upset to see that the number of jobs fell, unemployment ticked down,
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 12/3/21

It’s officially the holiday season! We love this time of year and hope you’re able to enjoy it with loved ones. This week, we’ll be looking back at what happened with the stock markets leading up to the Thanksgiving weekend. Then, if the cold isn’t your thing, we’ll let you in on some of the best places to own a beach house in the US. While many of us were just enjoying the Thanksgiving feast, the holiday week proved to be a turbulent one for investors. Stocks jumped on Monday of last week aft
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 11/19/21

This week, we’re going to take a look at the variety of views economists have on inflation. Spoiler: there’s no real consensus. Then we’ll switch gears to discuss some important things everyone should keep in their car. One thing we’ve noticed, and you probably have to, is that we’ve got some inflation on our hands. The cost of goods is going up (up 0.9% last month alone) faster than wages are rising, which could put people in a precarious position. But why is it happening? There is no one answ
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 11/12/21

This week we’ll look at the news from the world of travel as well as great ways to find flight deals. Earlier this week, the United States opened up to nonessential international travel for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. A few stipulations are in place, including requiring visitors to be fully vaccinated by an FDA or WHO-approved vaccine and presenting a negative COVID test within 72 hours of departure. There are some exceptions, such as children too young to be vaccinated. Peo
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 11/5/21

We hope everyone had a spooktacular Halloween! This week, we’ll be spending a little more time on the supply chain issues, which is a continuously evolving situation with new insights from leading thinkers. Our focus this week will be on how supply chain issues are affecting the stock market. Then, we’ll take a look at some great cities to visit for a weekend away. We have some good news about the stock market: earnings are up. That’s what we want to see. Despite some recent volatility — thank
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 10/29/21

We hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall weather and has fun plans for Halloween. The Frederick area always has so many amazing lawn decorations that we love to see. This week, we’ll talk about what some top economists were saying at an economic conference that some of our team members attended. Then, we’ve got some tips for those of you who saved Halloween costume decisions until the last minute (relatable). Make sure to read our How We Help section for some important updates to tax laws
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 10/22/21

This week, we’ll take a look at two indicators for how the economy is going: the banks and international travel. Then, we’ll share some work-life balance tips. The six largest banks in the US released their summer quarter earnings, and things are looking surprisingly good for them. Goldman Sachs has even reached its best year ever in terms of revenue just three quarters into 2021. • Covid didn’t ruin the economy. In spring 2020, many banks stashed money away to prepare for a wave of loan defaul
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 10/15/21

This week, we’ll update you on the supply chain issues we’ve discussed in the past. Then, we’ll talk about listening to audiobooks to boost motivation. It’s only October, but companies like Nike and Costco are warning shoppers to buy winter holiday gifts now, as supply chain problems continue to disrupt product availability. Costco is struggling to find trucks, drivers, and shipping containers to get products like toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning supplies to the stores — meaning it’s re
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 10/8/21

Last week we talked about how the stock market often suffers in September. This week, we’ll look at what October and the fourth quarter historically brings. Then, we’ll share some uplifting information about how 6 in 10 Americans feel more financially confident than they were before the pandemic. The fourth quarter is usually positive, with gains four out of every five years since World War II. Most years, the S&P has gained at least 2%, with an average of 5% in the fourth quarter. Many strate
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 10/1/21

It’s officially Fall and we’re loving the break in hot weather — let’s hope it lasts. This week we’re taking a break from estate planning to look at September from a market perspective. Then we’ll share some news about the Pfizer COVID vaccine with regards to vaccinating children and booster shots for some adults. September is, for some reason, usually known as being a poor-performing month of the year — investors sometimes call this the September Effect. And in the last couple of weeks of the
Tributum Tax Solutions •

September 2021 Tax News

Since it’s already late September, and we’re closing in on this year’s October 15th tax deadline, we wanted to remind you of some key points for filing your 2020 taxes. After you’ve digested those important points, you can then go through a link roundup of some interesting articles we found over the past month. Finally, we’ll share some fun Fall adventures to enjoy throughout the area. Speaking of the fast-approaching tax filing deadline, it can be easy to put things off by just one more day. I
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 9/17/21

This week we’re going to continue our discussions of details to consider when addressing estate planning. Then, we’ll let you know about some fun fall activities coming up in the Frederick area. Last week, we talked about different kinds of trusts and how they work. In this week’s email, we’re going to talk about wills. Some people use trusts as alternatives to wills, so it’s important to understand both. At Obsidian, we talk about estate planning as the process by which an individual or famil
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 9/13/21

This week, we’re going to start breaking down some of the nuances of estate planning and talk about the wrap-up of the Tokyo Olympics, along with how we helped a client plan for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Before we get into that, this Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. We will never forget the people who lost their lives that day or in the long wars that followed or the heroism of our first responders. We get a lot of questions about estate plannin
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 9/3/21

We hope everyone is having a good week as we enter September and fall begins to feel more like a reality, and kids go back to school. Our thoughts are with the people of the Gulf Coast as Hurricane Ida has caused massive damage in Baton Rouge and Louisiana. The good news is that the levee system performed extremely well, according to Louisiana’s Governor John Bel Edwards. What’s also good is that while this is going to have a big effect on the residents of Louisiana, the national economy should
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 8/27/21

This week we’re going to fill you in a bit on the BEI conference Pat and Todd attended that kept them out of the office last week — we think you’ll find it interesting! Before we get to that, a quick word on the economy: The economy is performing well at the moment and the Pfizer vaccine has full FDA approval, which may make more unvaccinated people comfortable with receiving the vaccine. This could, in turn, improve the economy as people might be more willing and able to go places, do things,
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 8/20/21

This week we’re going to be talking with Renuka Kulkarni because Patrick and Todd are speaking at a conference in Denver. So we’ll leave economic news for another week and learn more about our newest team member! Renuka is joining us as a client success partner at Obsidian. Because our clients’ satisfaction is our benchmark for success, we want to become more regular with our check-ins and be sure we are always meeting or exceeding your expectations. We value your feedback, and delivering clie
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 8/6/21

With summer wrapping up, we want to focus this week on our summer interns — why we have them, who they are, and what they contribute to our team here at Obsidian. We heard from the three interns we have this year, as well as Todd Feldman and Cynthia Gill, who both spend a lot of time with them. For the past several years, we’ve had students from Virginia Tech (our very own Pat’s alma mater) or the University of Maryland. These students are usually majoring in certified financial planning, econo
Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions •

Obsidian Market Update 7/30/21

This week, we’ll take a look at what’s going on with Gen X and the unemployment crisis. Then, we’ll share a cool experience we had with helping a client make decisions about cars. Finally, it’s wedding season! If you or a loved one is involved in wedding planning, we’ve got a few useful websites for you to check out. We like to keep things positive around here, but we also have to be real when the situation calls for it — especially if we think we might be able to offer some help. The truth is,
Load More Articles