Ask a friend. That’s what we typically do when we’re trying to make decisions in life. Need a new doctor? Ask a friend. Better accountant? Ask a friend. Romantic vacation spot? Ask a friend. New school for the kids? Ask a friend. Why do we do this? Do we honestly think our assorted friends are …
All the financial whizzes like to say, “You need to be saving money!” Maybe you’d like to, but you don’t know how. (If so, how’s this for a hook: You will by the time you finish this column!) First things first: Saving is a habit. Like all habits, it requires motivation and momentum. If you’ve …
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 …
When the iconic Mission Impossible music starts blaring, we all know what’s coming. A fuse has just been lit! The clock is ticking! It’s up to Ethan Hunt (played perfectly by Tom Cruise) and his talented team of spies to save the day again (they’ve done it six times so far). They’ve got two hours, …
Some see “debt” as the foulest of all four-letter words. “All it does is reveal a lack of discipline,” they insist. “All it does is cause major stress.” I agree it’s a bad idea to use debt to buy items that decrease in value over time. And, yes, indiscriminate borrowing often stems from a failure …
In my column last week I introduced the idea that the wealthy know a “secret” the rest of us don’t. It’s the idea that success—financial or otherwise—doesn’t come because of a single grand action. Rather, it’s the result of a thousand small steps and smart habits. Perhaps you remember the nineties business book Built to …
Most folks are convinced the wealthy know some big financial “Secret” the rest of us don’t. Like, they went to “the right” school and met “the right” people. Or they heard about Tesla before anyone else did, or got in on the ground floor of Amazon. Or somehow, they cracked the code on those free …
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 …
When it comes to money, are you: (a) a financial wiz; (b) your own worst enemy; or (c) somewhere in between? In my 30+ years as a financial advisor, I’ve observed that by adulthood most people have developed a “financial self-image.” Maybe you’re one of those few souls who see yourself as good with money, …
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, …
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