We’ve all got them. People in our lives who live in a chronic state of financial mess. When it comes to money, they habitually make poor choices. There’s the friend who overspends. Despite his big salary, he’s got even bigger debt. There’s the parent who under-saves. The sibling who comes to you annually for “just […]
About that Financially Irresponsible Person in Your Life Read More »
Comedian Bob Hope once quipped, “A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove you don’t need it.” We chuckle, but it’s true. Lending institutions couldn’t stay in business long if they loaned money to folks who couldn’t repay them (with interest). So banks are careful. They consider the risks
Is Your Debt Destructive or Constructive? Read More »
In the Disney film Glory Road, a star basketball player at Texas Western University is on the verge of flunking out. In desperation, the coach summons the young man’s mother. She marches onto campus and proceeds to turns her son’s world upside down. She even attends class with him and “volunteers” him to recite all
3 Ways to Avoid Wrong Business Priorities Read More »
Why are so many of us bad at keeping the secrets we should keep, but good at keeping those we shouldn’t? Like the financial secrets you’ve been keeping from your spouse. Gulp. Oh, yeah. Those. I’m convinced this happens because some financial realities are painful to face. And yet the pain of dealing with those
When Keeping Secrets is a Problem Read More »
Here’s a shocker: Forbes estimates that nearly two out of three Americans do not have a will. No clear instructions for survivors. No written record of “Here’s how I want my property distributed.” Even the “rich and famous” are part of this will-less majority. The artist known as Prince died without a will. So did
Stop Assuming and Start (Estate) Planning Read More »
An old joke says that if you keep one foot on a hot stove and your other foot in an ice bucket, on average you should be comfortable. That line always makes me smile. It underscores a reality in the world of markets and investing—averages can be both mathematically accurate and experientially awful. Case in
The Problem with Those “Average Returns” Read More »
Bernie Madoff died this week. Madoff was the architect behind the biggest Wall Street fraud in history. The former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market index, Madoff positioned himself as a self-made financial genius. He claimed to know how to avoid market fluctuations and deliver steady, handsome returns. Famous clients like movie director Steven Spielberg,
Is Your Financial Advisor Trustworthy? Read More »
“One one-thousandth of a dollar.” I said. “That’s not much is it?” I handed his phone back to him. He’d handed it to me to show me how low the expense ratio of his indexed mutual fund was. He pressed his lips together, holding back a smile. “I guess it’s my engineering training coming out,”
Pay Attention to Your Costs … All of Them Read More »
“How wrong can you be!” It was a message scribbled on a blue post-it note, stuck to a worn and folded newspaper clipping. The clipping was of a column I’d written for the local paper about 15 months prior to the note being written. I came across this old bit of correspondence just this week
When a preacher tells you that your treasure should be in heaven, you might want to listen. But if one of them starts telling you that at least some of your treasure might be found in recently discovered Confederate government bonds, foreign exchange currency schemes, timber contracts, off-shore certificates of deposit or high yield hospital
Of Scams, God, and Good ‘Ol Boys Read More »
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