Looking back on my own life, and the decades of research and professional experiences I've had, I have distilled a few very simple things that can stack the odds in your favor. (If you know someone who has recently graduated from college, I hope you will share this with them.)
If Abraham Maslow taught a class in personal finance, he would have described earning and saving as the foundation of any personal financial success program. Earning allows us our physiological needs – food, shelter, clothing – and saving is the bedrock of security. Earning and saving would be the bottom two levels of his famous pyramid.
Investing leads to improved outcomes across the many spheres of our lives. Financial investing leads to better financial outcomes. You absolutely must invest. But, before you invest, you should know the answer to these three questions.
There is a lot of ink spilled on the how's and wherefore's of deferring our gratification. But, with so many choices in front of us in every moment… why should we bother? Why not live in the moment? The answer is Love.
There is a handful of additional investment knowledge that will help you earn better returns and keep more of your returns. These are portfolio optimizers. When correctly put into action, they can increase the probability of achieving your goals – and sooner.
When someone chooses to hire an advisor, they are delegating some or all of the responsibility for their financial future. But, they know that only their families will experience the outcomes of the work. Only the client will know success or failure. Only the client will be accountable. This is a huge decision.
All successful long-term investors are continuously acting on a plan that is founded on their deeply personal values and goals. They are appropriately allocated, they are broadly diversified, and they rebalance regularly. They are patient and remain mindful of their limitations. No one knows what is coming next.
About 40,000 people visit Mt. Everest’s southern base camp every year. Only 800 make the summit. Our brief step-by-step guide to personal finance that started in early January has brought us comfortably to the financial equivalent of base camp.
Most investors get this wrong - they mistakenly believe that market risk is the issue they have to overcome. And, in the attempt to manage for market risk, they worry about the wrong things. Recession is one of those things that, while potentially painful in the short run, resolves itself to become a minor issue in the long run.
Even if you love working, financial independence – the ability to live comfortably on your own terms (working or not) – is probably your ultimate financial goal. This used to be called “retirement”...
Your financial road, like the rest of your life, is multi-dimensional. The path must traverse the many switchbacks of a steep and relentless climb. In financial terms, the difficulty of the climb is all about debt.
As we all know, life comes with a fair amount of challenges. Your car breaks down. A tree falls on your house. You lose your job. The proverbial s#!t happens. But none of it has to get in your way – not when you have an emergency fund.
Inequality Might Be Going Down Now | The Mindset That Brings Unlimited Willpower | Seven Ways To Make the Most Of Your Time | Two Lifestyles Table (from Huberman Article) | How Dividends Juice Your Returns in the Stock Market
There is NO secret to building wealth. Contrary to popular opinion, the steps to growing wealth are not sexy or tricky or speculative. Nor do they require personal brilliance or constant hands-on management. What it takes to build wealth is within your power right now.
Financial security is not a commodity; it can’t be found in a product. It isn’t available for sale in any way. Financial security is a journey. It is a path of trade-offs, acceptance, self-reflection, and hope. Getting there will require some effort and no small amount of luck.
If you look hard enough, you can find stories that tell a contrasting and enduring narrative for what we truly need for a successful and meaningful life. Your story can do the same - but first, you have to know your heart. You must define what is worth seeking for you.
As I wrote this in the run-up to the holiday season, markets seemed to be on the mend from the bear that started January 3rd, the air was coming out of the inflation balloon, and talk of recession probabilities was the new crisis du jour (it ALWAYS has to be something). The biggest surprise to me is always that anyone is surprised by these things...
Doc G of the Earn & Invest Podcasts talks with Jonathan DeYoe of Mindful Money about how to be thoughtful about what our financial framework is meant to support. Jonathan takes us through his pillars of happiness and how to use them to create a financial plan that serves our unique goals in life.
To borrow from Churchill, “The balanced (stock/bond) portfolio is the worst form of investing known to man, except for all the other forms.” Those people who are suggesting – based on its immediate past 1-year performance – that the 60/40 portfolio is dead are probably trying to sell something that isn’t a balanced stock/bond portfolio.
For me, worrying isn’t just a sense of anxiety. It is a push to learn more. After I did some research and learned a little bit about how earthquakes work, I wasn’t worried about them anymore (or, at least, I worried less). Earthquakes and the fear of earthquakes are a pretty good stand-in for “market volatility.”