What’s the first rule in personal finance? To answer this question, let’s look at the financial lives of two notable individuals, starting with musician MC Hammer. When Hammer gained fame in the 1980s, he made millions. But unfortunately, his spending quickly outpaced his income. Hammer bought 19 [...]
A thousand words
A picture, as the saying goes, is worth a thousand words. Over the years, I’ve found certain images and illustrations to be immensely helpful in discussing investment concepts. These are the ones I’ve relied on most: Only in Australia. A key challenge for investors—if not the key challenge—is [...]
The long and the short of it
Back in the 1980s, Michael Milken earned celebrity as “the junk bond king.” With his swagger—and his toupee—Milken was an outsized personality in a normally staid industry. But that was 40 years ago, and that may have been the last time that bonds were truly interesting. On most days, bonds are [...]
Estate tax strategies
A while back, I outlined 10 reasons why I think everyone should have an estate plan. That’s especially true for those whose assets will likely be subject to estate taxes. Under today’s rules, the Federal estate tax applies to individuals with assets over $12.9 million. That might sound like a high [...]
Strengthening your financial defenses
“Your checking account balance is low.” It’s an alert no one would ever want to receive—especially if you’d just been paid. But such was the message that a friend—let’s call him Ron—received recently. A hacker had gained control of his account and had started to bleed its balance toward [...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- …
- 75
- Next Page »