I met with a family a few weeks ago for an introductory conversation. I’m always interested to learn about people’s history with money. It’s an open-ended question that allows for a multitude of interesting answers. This family explained that ~20 years ago, they received a significant lump sum payment. They reached out to a financial […]
‘Twas the night before Christmas, etc. etc., and you’re jazzed. Christmas is great! Morning comes, you let the dog out to pee and fix yourself some coffee. Fresh cinnamon buns! Soon it’ll be time to open presents. You bend down low by the Christmas tree, and there, behind the nicely wrapped boxes and doo-dads, you […]
I started a great dialogue with “Carl” in August and immediately felt a kindred lifestyle connection. Carl and his wife, “Colleen,” are about my age, with young children, and they earn a healthy-but-not-astronomical income ($160,000 pre-tax, which puts their family in the ~75th percentile). Carl reached out to share some exciting news: Their family surpassed […]
It can be fun to ponder the details of your specific portfolio allocation. Should it be 70% stocks? 75%? Maybe even 80%?! We had a terrific question from reader “Vince” about just this idea: Winning the Game: Retiring at 57 with $4.2M Those conversations move the needle and are essential to an overall financial plan. […]
Friend-of-the-blog Anthony is a personal friend who read my very first articles when I shared them on Facebook. He’s seen The Best Interest grow over time. A couple of years ago, I told him that The Best Interest wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I felt directionless at the time, and was considering hanging up […]
One of Charlie Munger’s famous speeches is “How to Live a Life of Misery.” Rather than tell graduates how to live happily, he delivered the opposite message. Because if you avoid life’s surefire miseries, what’s left but happiness? Right!? Munger was famous for quoting famous mathematician Carl Gustav Jacobi (as in, “Jacobians” in vector calculus) […]
If you told and asked the average American, “The former President and current presidential candidate was shot in the ear on Saturday in an attempt on his life. What will the stock market do on Monday?“ Doug Mills, The New York Times I doubt many people would answer, “Ehhh – basically nothing. The market won’t care.” […]
It’s breakfast time, you’re hungry, and I’m offering you two options: A healthy, adult hen Two dozen eggs Your first thought is probably: “Seriously? It’s just breakfast. I don’t want a live chicken running around my house.” Forget that thought for now. If you’re like me, your mind next asks, “If I do choose the […]
I was recently listening to Michael Kitces and Carl Richards on their podcast, and they posed an amazing question: “What’s one thing that you do regularly that you’d like to stop doing?” What would you stop doing? Each of our answers will vary. It could be a destructive habit, a bad behavior, or the simple […]
My friend Rocco works for a high-end tailor. A big part of their business model is the idea that a nice-fitting shirt, perfectly tailored pants, or an Italian silk suit will not only look good, but will objectively improve your life. But how? The engineer and humanist in me would balk at the idea. I […]
