Can money buy happiness? More than a decade ago, Nobel Prize-winners Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton decided to tackle that question. They studied the results of a 2008-2009 survey of 450,000 Americans (i.e., the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index). Kahneman and Deaton observed that the more people earned, the more inclined they were to report being happy—up …
Did you know your family has a “wealth culture”? (By “culture,” I mean the collection of common beliefs, values, assumptions, customs, and behaviors that mark a group of people.) Every group of people displays a certain culture. Cities do. So do schools and churches, civic organizations and sports teams. Businesses also have distinct cultures. (I’m …
In my last column we looked at the difference between affluence and wealth. My simple definition of affluence is “your income relative to everyone else’s.” If you make $36,000, you qualify as an average Joe – you’re right in the middle of the income numbers for the rest of the country. However, someone making $36,000 …
In a celebrity culture like ours, the “rich and famous” get most of the attention. The freak athlete. The shrewd mogul. The talented entertainer. The mesmerizing author. The successful investor. The flamboyant reality star. Through some combination of genetic gifting, hard work, and dumb luck, these few lucky souls have managed to hit it big. …
I get questions all the time about saving for retirement. Clients ask: How much should I be setting aside each month? How big of a ‘nest egg’ do you think I’ll need in order to retire comfortably? Will Social Security run out of money before I’m 65? Should I even count on that? What mutual …
The 6 Questions to Ask When Saving for Retirement Read More »
$37 million. That’s how much the Los Angeles Lakers paid LeBron James to lead them to their 17th NBA championship. Along the way he earned the championship MVP title as the Lakers celebrated their title in front of…well, nobody. Weird year. Was it worth it for the Lakers? Having not won an NBA championship since …
Chris thought he had a stomachache. So, like most young men, he considered his options and did the only sensible thing. He ate more. Well, that didn’t help, so he bought the jumbo bottle of Pepto-Bismol. By the time the weekend was over, he was doubled over in pain and begging his wife to drive …
What causes the average Joe stress at work? Work, right? Or maybe something about work – a bad boss, poor working conditions, toxic co-workers or maybe just Facebook being blocked on their work computer (“dang IT guys!”). Each year international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) sponsors an Employee Financial Wellness Survey. Their 2020 survey asked employees, …
Workers Worry About Money Today, Not Retirement Tomorrow Read More »
What is financial freedom? If you’re thinking “being wealthy” or “becoming financially independent,” I disagree with you. I know many wealthy, financially independent people who are anything but financially free. For them, money and wealth are a ball and chain, a never-sleeping slave master that makes them do its bidding. Financial freedom is not a …
“Do you want to get well?” It’s a question that seems to have an obvious answer, especially if you’re sick. “Of course, I want to get well! What kind of question is that?” Next comes the follow-up question, and here’s where you separate the curious from the serious. “Are you willing to do what it …
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