In personal finance, there are usually two answers to every question: There’s what the calculator says. And then there’s how you feel about it. What does that mean in practice? Let’s look at an example. Suppose you’re considering when to claim Social Security. Many struggle with this question. On [...]
How to tame regret
Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote that it is “better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.” When it comes to matters of the heart, maybe Tennyson was right. But when it comes to personal finance, I’m not sure that’s the case. If you’ve ever seen a gain slip through your fingers, you know [...]
The storyteller’s toolbox
In the past, I’ve talked about Robert Shiller’s book Narrative Economics. Shiller argues that stories can be a powerful force in moving markets—more so even than facts or data. Recently, I gained a better understanding of why that’s the case. I was speaking with a fellow who, it seemed, I [...]
The four horsemen of financial success
A few weeks back, I discussed the notion of “the four horsemen of the investor apocalypse.” A concept proposed by former Morningstar CEO Don Phillips, these are factors that, in his experience, tend to lead investors off course. But what about success—what are the factors that contribute to success [...]
Five numbers to beware of
Last week, I described investing as a task that can be maddening. It’s not just investing, though. Many other questions in personal finance can also drive us crazy. Why is that? One reason is that often the stakes are high. Mistakes can be costly. A second reason is that all data, by definition, [...]
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