“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” –Progressive rock band Rush in the song “Freewill” The Economist Magazine reports that a study was done at an upscale California supermarket. A table was set up in the supermarket with a choice of 24 gourmet jams that shoppers could sample. Shoppers who…
“The great paradox of this remarkable age is that the more complex the world around us becomes, the more simplicity we must seek in order to realize our financial goals. Never underrate either the majesty of simplicity or its proven effectiveness as a long-term strategy for productive investing. Simplicity, indeed, is the master key to…
The other day I saw a cartoon of a turkey jogging on a treadmill. Hanging on the wall behind the turkey was a calendar turned to the month of November with a Thursday late in the month circled in red. By getting fit the turkey was hoping to make himself unfit for Thanksgiving dinner. The…
I grew up before computers, video games, the internet, i-Pods, i-Tunes, i-Phones, i-Pads, Facebook, and Twitter. Back then people had to entertain themselves and one way this was done was through sing-a-longs. When I was a kid many community and church gatherings had sing-a-longs and one song that was often sung was a silly old…
My father, Kent Esplin, was an entrepreneur. The word wasn’t much in style in his day, and I never heard him refer to himself as an entrepreneur, or even say the word. Nevertheless, my father was an entrepreneur. He grew up in Southern Utah during the Great Depression. His family lost their sheep ranch near…
Understanding the importance of investment costs requires understanding the difference between a percentage point and the percent that something is to a whole. My wonderful wife Alice and I learned this lesson in an unforgettable way recently when dealing with something far more important than investing. In July Alice was diagnosed with breast cancer. It…
