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 [...]
Picture perfect
Pablo Picasso was one of the most influential, prolific and financially successful artists of the twentieth century. Yet, if you had visited his studio at the peak of his career, you might have guessed otherwise. In short, it was a mess, and his work schedule was, at best, leisurely. On a normal [...]
Financial tipping points
In the field of epidemiology, researchers have long used the term “tipping point” to describe how epidemics occur: At first, an ordinary disease moves slowly, not gaining much attention. But then, at a certain point, seemingly overnight, it snowballs into something much larger. Within the world of [...]
Ebenezer Hazard
In the summer of 1789, George Washington got into a dispute with his Postmaster General — a fellow named Ebenezer Hazard — and removed him from office. Looking for a new profession, Hazard decided to start an insurance company. He called his new firm the Insurance Company of North America and [...]
Ronald Read
Perhaps you have heard the story of Ronald Read. A lifelong resident of Brattleboro, Vermont, Read was a quiet man. He preferred flannel shirts and spent much of his career as an attendant at a local gas station. Yet, when he died in 2014, even his closest friends were surprised to learn that Read [...]
