Recently, Wall Street Journal personal finance columnist Jason Zweig made this observation: Getting rich isn’t the hard part, he said. “Staying rich is the hard part.” On the surface, staying rich might actually seem like the easy part. After all, you simply need to build a balanced portfolio [...]
The seven dimensions of money
In recent weeks, I’ve discussed the election and cautioned against timing the market. But if market timing isn't recommended, then what is? Last week, I suggested one answer: that you review your finances through the lenses of leverage, liquidity and cash flow. This week I’d like to share another [...]
The most useful tool
A dozen years ago, on my first day of business school, the professor stood at the board and illustrated a concept called “present value.” Truth be told, over my remaining time in school, I don’t think I learned anything more important than I learned in that first hour. It is, in my view, the single [...]
The Spotlight Effect
When it comes to your financial life, should you care what other people think? I’ve always found this a tricky question. On one hand, it’s easy to fall into the trap of keeping up with the Joneses. If you care too much about what other people think, life can become very expensive. And that can be [...]
A tribute
This week I have something a little different: a tribute to one of my personal finance mentors. My father-in-law—known to his family as Papa—passed away last week. After 96 years, he had developed a number of money habits that were unconventional but quite effective. I’d like to share three of those [...]
