Is Life a Game of Chess or Poker?
In her excellent book Thinking in Bets, author Annie Duke describes how most of us downplay the role of chance or luck in our lives. We want to believe that the quality of our choices…
The Market and the Jelly Bean Jar
Everyone is interested in the direction of the stock market. Can the 9-year long bull market continue? Or do recent down days portend a coming bear market? The answer, of course, is no one knows…
Fake Advisors and Real Investors
With more than 310,000 “financial advisors” in the U.S., using a very broad definition, why is it so hard to find good advice? Mostly because the grand majority (about 85%) of these “advisors” are actually…
Do You Know Your Biggest Risk?
Everyday life is full of a myriad of risks. From the moment that we get out of bed in the morning until we go to sleep at night, risk is a close companion. To go…
You Can’t Out Invest a Bad Spending Habit
Most people realize that no matter how much you exercise, you can’t out exercise a bad diet. The same principle applies to investing; you can’t out invest poor spending habits. The grand majority of emphasis,…
This is Why Americans are Losing Sleep
I ran across a study recently that detailed the top anxieties that keep Americans awake at night. GfK Custom Research polled 1,000 American adults about sleep issues on behalf of Bankrate (a leading personal finance…
Costly Promises
All of us are human and we are, at least in some way, attracted to promises that appear to be “good deals.” The grand majority of the machinations by investors each day amount to searching…
Taking Care of Yourself; Taking Care of Your Money
Is there a relationship between physical and financial wellness? Are your waist and your wallet connected? A colleague posed this query recently and I have been thinking about it ever since. On one hand there…
Some Things Matter; A Lot of Things Don’t
The constant grind from all forms of media clamor for our attention. Political punditry, religious rants, and financial forecasts dominate discussions each day. If you believe or support one side, then by inference you must…
Top 10 Money Maxims with Modern Twists
There are thousands of classic quotes about money and investing that contain morsels of truth. The problem is applying these to modern life can be difficult. Here are my Top 10 money maxims along with…