John C. (Jack) Bogle died January 18, 2019 at the age of 89. Bogle created the first widely available index fund and relentlessly worked to lower investment costs, eventually forcing other mutual fund companies to follow his lead. It is not an exaggeration to say that Bogle did more for individual investors than anyone…
Money skills are truly 21st century survival skills. – Richard B. Wagner Wagner goes on to say, “…money skills access the stuff of survival. For first world ‘us’ money is our key for food, shelter, and clothing.” This is undoubtedly true, and since every parent’s goal is for their children to one day leave the…
In 2005 David Foster Wallace told the following short parable in a graduation speech at Kenyon College: “There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, Morning boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on…
I have enjoyed Dilbert comics since they first started showing up in my Sunday paper in the early 1990s. I found creator Scott Adams’ brilliant insights into business culture hilarious but I didn’t know anything about Adams himself other than that he could make me laugh. Unknown to me Adams was also an investing expert. Of…
We have been told our whole lives that “money can’t buy happiness” but few of us believe it. Indeed, if you are ever a contestant on Family Feud and the question is “What would make you happier?” you can bet the top response will be “more money.” Richard Wiseman, in his great book 59 Seconds:…
Inflation is defined as “a…rise in the general level of prices related to an increase in the volume of money and resulting loss of value in currency.” We have been living through a period of extremely low inflation but this won’t last forever, and even a low rate of inflation can significantly erode purchasing power…
Insurance is defined as “A financial risk management tool in which the insured transfers the risk of potential financial loss to the insurance company…in exchange for monetary compensation known as the premium.” Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman sums up the purpose of insurance by stating that it can be thought of as “a choice between…
The revelation that Donald Trump declared a nearly $1 billion loss on his 1995 tax return has led to taxes being in the news a lot the past week. The biased reporting and false outrage associated with Trump’s declared loss has been something to behold. The fact that The New York Times (who broke the story) The…
“Place a substantial premium on the future.” That 7-word answer was given by Natalie Gochnour, associate dean of business at the University of Utah, in response to a question by the Deseret News about the most important financial advice she had ever received. Gochnour received this advice from her father, physician Merrit H. Egan. In…
Debt is a huge problem in the United States. A recent survey revealed that, of households carrying debt, the average amount owed was $132,000. More specific data shows that for households holding the following types of debt, the average balances were: Mortgage Debt: $171,775 Credit Cards: $15,310 Auto Loans: $27,188 Student Loans: $48,986 So to help…
