The Presumption of Importance
Most of us presume events of the day, particularly those within the political or financial realms, are of vital importance and will remain so in the future. When something happens on the world stage today,…
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…
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…
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…
What Is Behavioral Guidance? Why Is It Important?
I write a lot about behavioral guidance, but what does this mean? Why is it important? Simply put, behavioral economics studies how real people act in real situations. How you act and react to both…
The Crystal Ball Racket
The NYT recently ran an article titled Recession Chances Rise: Time for a Gut Check by columnist Jeff Sommer. The online edition carried a somewhat different title “Vanguard Warns of Worsening Odds for the Economy…