In Edinburgh, Scotland, in a section of the city known as the Royal Mile, there is a wonderfully restored medieval dwelling known as the John Knox house. The house was originally built in the late 1400s. In the mid-1500s the house was occupied by James Mossman, a well-known and wealthy goldsmith. Mossman was hired to…
Last week here in Utah we celebrated Pioneer Day, a commemoration of Brigham Young leading the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley. On July 24, 1847, after a journey of more than 1,000 miles over the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, the pioneer company paused on the foothills overlooking the valley. …
Greyhounds are beautiful creatures. Tall, and sleek; powerful yet graceful. They are built for speed and born to run. For this reason greyhound racing is a popular sport in many places. To ensure that racing greyhounds are motivated to run a lure of some kind must be used. At one time live rabbits were released…
“‘Save’ – the sum of all financial planning wisdom in one word.” – Phil DeMuth In a recent survey the Federal Reserve board asked Americans how they would pay for a $400 emergency. 47% responded that they would either have to borrow the money, sell something, or they didn’t know what they would do. …
“Most of what we call ‘human nature’ becomes a deadly quicksand of maladaptive behavior when allowed to roam free in the investment arena.” –William Bernstein Harvard psychology professor Dan Gilbert jokes in his book, Stumbling on Happiness, that all psychologists vow, sometime in their career, to finish the sentence “The human being is the only…
Do you ever wish you could do more to help extended family, neighbors, and acquaintances who are struggling? Alice and I do. Having enough to help others is one of our motivations for getting our own finances in order. But how do you start? Who should you help? What is the best way to go…
“The best way to spot investment fraud is the promise of safety and very high returns. If someone offers you this, turn 180 degrees and do not walk – run.” – William Bernstein In his book Think Twice, Michael J. Mauboussin writes about Stephen Greenspan, a psychology professor who spent a good portion of his…
You know a picture is worth a thousand words, but could it also be worth a million dollars? If so, what does a million dollar picture look like? My daughter Savannah and I found out last summer when we wandered into famous nature photographer Peter Lik’s gallery in Las Vegas. I love the outdoors and…
“The essence of finance is time travel. Saving is about moving resources from the present into the future. Financing is about moving resources from the future into the present.” – Matt Levine, Financial Journalist One of my favorite movies is Back to the Future. The movie is about Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), an average American…
It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others. – John Andrew Holmes, US congressman and senator in the early 1800s Managing our money wisely is a necessary ingredient to a happy life, but certainly not the most important ingredient. I was reminded of this again last month…
