JLCollinsnh

The Simple Path to Wealth

  • Stock Series
  • Homeownership
  • Case Studies
  • Stuff I recommend
  • Books
  • Interviews
  • About
You are here: Home / business / Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat

Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat

by jlcollinsnh 9 Comments

Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat

In 1999 I took a new job as a Group Publisher.  They moved me to New Hampshire. The company had just acquired some new technology magazines located in Chicago.  Upon sealing the deal they promptly fired a bunch of people and moved most of the operations to New Hampshire.  The people remaining were pissed off. 

The people in New Hampshire now had new work they didn’t want and weren’t getting paid extra for dumped in their laps.  They were pissed off. 

The biggest issue of the year was in production during this transition.  It came off the press just as I came on board.  My phone was ringing off the hook. Virtually every ad was wrong.  The customers were pissed off. 

Mistakes had been made.

Twice in my career I’ve taken over decimated sales territories.  One had been empty for six months.  Over the prior three years there had been three sales people who had come and gone.  Customers had been ignored and abandoned.

In the other, the previous guy had developed the habit of un-zipping his fly and setting his genitals on the receptionists’ desks.  Customers wanted to be ignored and abandoned.

Mistakes had been made.

The first several months of these jobs consisted mostly of people screaming at me.  They were pissed off.  They were right to be pissed off.  I was thrilled.  What wonderful opportunities these were.   Like my boss said after we heard about the last guy exposing himself: 

“Jim, if you can just keep your fly zipped you’re gonna be a hero.”

“This I can do,” I said.

Somewhere along the line we have become terrified of mistakes.  Few things generate more energy than people trying to avoid blame when they happen.  Few things make a person look worse than trying to dodge responsibility.

Frequently the mistake itself is not so irritating as the refusal to admit and address it.  The seemingly endless scandals infuriate the public all the more when our politicians dive for cover and assert “My twitter account was hacked.”  “I did not have sex with that woman.” “It’s not my fault.”

From childhood we learn to avoid accepting responsibility for fear of punishment.  Yet what parent has not been more horrified to find their child lying to them than by the transgression itself?  How much more impressed would we be with the child who said “Yes, I did it.”  But that’s not what we teach them.

We all make mistakes. 

We all at times are called on to clean up the mistakes of others.  The only people who never make mistakes are those who never do anything.  If you are actively engaged in life you’ll make your share.  If you’re lucky you’ll be called on to deal with those made by others.  There is no better chance to shine, no better chance to win friends, no better chance to be a hero.

What we need is a positive, effective way to address the situation when it happens.  Here is a simple plan to survive, repair and even benefit from mistakes; yours and those around you.  It’s what worked for me.

     1)  Identify it.  Mistakes usually make themselves obvious at some point, but it is critical that you clearly understand what happened, how it happened and what the impact will be.  The earlier the better.  

     2)  Admit it.  If it is all or part your fault take responsibility.  Take more than your share.  People will respect you for it and the truth may well be obvious.  Don’t waste time trying to cover up and deflect blame.  It only delays the solution and un-corrected mistakes get worse with time.  It increases the anger and hostility.  Don’t make excuses.  Don’t get mired in self-justification. 

     3)  Listen.   The opposite of love isn’t hate.  It’s disinterest.  Anger isn’t the problem; it is the opening for the solution.  If people are angry they are still engaged.  They still want things to be better.  Hope is lost only when they no longer care.  Anger is a cry to be heard.  To have their complaints acknowledged.  To have the wrong made right.  To do this you must listen.  If the person doesn’t feel heard you can correct the mistake and still lose the relationship.  Spend lots of time here. 

    4)  Apologize sincerely.  Maybe repeatedly.   People will need to vent their frustrations.  Listen.  Maintain your professionalism.  Apologize again and move on to solving the problem.  Never let yourself get defensive.  It only increases tensions, damages relationships and trust, and delays finding solutions. Repeat step #3 as necessary.

     5)  Damage Control.  Take all the energy you saved by taking prompt responsibility and focus it here.  Correct the mistake and repair the damage.  

     6)  Analyze it.  Anybody can make a mistake.  That’s OK.  It is not OK to make the same one twice.  You must carefully analyze the mistake to understand what caused it. Walk through the events that led up to it.  Consider what actions could have prevented it, or made it worse.  To avoid the same mistake in the future you must clearly see the problem.  

    7)     Take corrective measures.  Once you fully understand what happened and why, you can make the necessary operational, procedural or behavioral changes needed to prevent a reoccurrence. There is a famous story of an executive whose mistake cost his company 10 million dollars. Called into the boss’ office he fully expected to be fired. 

“Fire you?” his boss said, “I just invested $10,000,000 in your education!” 

 One beautiful spring afternoon in Arlington, VA a few years back I was sitting on the patio of a Starbucks nursing a coffee and going over some notes.  My cell phone rang.  It was Tom Jackson.  Tom is one of the nicest men I’ve ever met.  He was a customer then and remains a friend today. 

But I cringed.  We had made mistakes with Tom’s account.  Multiple mistakes.  We made mistakes on the corrective measures.  And on the measures to correct those.  We were relentlessly jamming a stick in his eye. 

He was exasperated.  I was exasperated.  Nothing seemed to work.

“You guys did it again,” he said.  He told me all about it.  It was very bad.  We talked a long time.

“Tom,” I said “I don’t know what to say.”

“If we had done this to one of our customers they would have stopped speaking to us a long time ago,” he said.

“I know.  You’re right.  I’m surprised you are still willing to talk to me,” I said. I didn’t know what else to say.   Sometimes you just have to be brutally honest.

“So am I,” he said.

After we rang off I called my boss and left him a detailed voice mail.  I ended by saying:  “If we really can’t get this right just tell me.  I’ll let Tom know we are simply too incompetent to handle his business.  I can stop wasting his time and mine.”  Maybe I was hoping he’d fire me. 

He didn’t and I don’t know what he finally did, but it worked.  Sometimes you just have to be brutally honest.

Admitting, correcting and apologizing for a mistake is never easy.  Mistakes are inevitable.  But properly handled you will never make the same one twice.  You will learn from experience and increase your stature as a person willing to accept responsibility and committed to finding solutions. 

Those are rare and valuable qualities indeed.

One last thing.  Want to know the foolproof key to a successful relationship?  Memorize this phrase:

“You are absolutely right.  You were right all along.  You are absolutely right and I’m wrong.” 

Use it often.  You’ll choke on the words, at least the first few times.  I know I did and do.  But the results are stunning. 

 Care to comment?  Just click on the circle on the top right of the post.

Related

Important Resources

  • Talent Stacker is a resource that I learned about through my work with Jonathan and Brad at ChooseFI, and first heard about Salesforce as a career option in an episode where we featured Bradley Rice on the Podcast. In that episode, Bradley shared how he reached FI quickly thanks to his huge paychecks and discipline in keeping his expenses low. Jonathan teamed up with Bradley to build Talent Stacker, and they have helped more than 1,000 students from all walks of life complete the program and land jobs like clockwork, earning double or even triple their old salaries using a Salesforce certification to break into a no-code tech career.
  • Credit Cards are like chain saws. Incredibly useful. Incredibly dangerous. Resolve to pay in full each month and never carry a balance. Do that and they can be great tools. Here are some of the very best for travel hacking, cash back and small business rewards.
  • Personal Capital is a free tool to manage and evaluate your investments. With great visuals you can track your net worth, asset allocation, and portfolio performance, including costs. At a glance you'll see what's working and what you might want to change. Here's my full review.
  • Betterment is my recommendation for hands-off investors who prefer a DIFM (Do It For Me) approach. It is also a great tool for reaching short-term savings goals. Here is my Betterment Review
  • NewRetirement offers cool tools to help guide you in answering the question: Do I have enough money to retire? And getting started is free. Sign up and you will be offered two paths into their retirement planner. I was also on their podcast and you can check that out here:Video version, Podcast version.
  • Tuft & Needle (T&N) helps me sleep at night. They are a very cool company with a great product. Here’s my review of what we are currently sleeping on: Our Walnut Frame and Mint Mattress.
  • Vanguard.com

Filed Under: business

« The. Worst. Used. Car. Ever.
Stuff I’ve failed at: the early years »

Comments

  1. Trish Rempen says

    June 24, 2011 at 8:01 pm

    You’re so right!
    It works in traffic, too!

    Reply
  2. hvaccontrols says

    June 25, 2011 at 9:05 am

    Jim, I could not agree more.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      June 25, 2011 at 10:25 am

      Thanks Tom!

      Note to all: this is the Tom from my story above. See?? He is still talking to me!

      Reply
  3. EZFL says

    June 25, 2011 at 10:23 am

    Hi,
    Just found your blog while researching the Arch of Nagasaki. I really like your insight. We had a saying at my last job: “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough. Just don’t make the same one twice and own it when you make it.”

    One way we approached limiting mistakes was by encouraging folks to speak their mind, but to do so responsibly. When putting forth a statement, I told them there were really only 3 ways to present it. 1) You know it for a fact and will own the consequences, 2) You think it and whoever acts on it must own the consequences, and 3) Someone else told you the fact and they will own the consequences.

    Good Luck with your blog.

    EZ

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      June 25, 2011 at 10:31 am

      Thanks EZ,

      Glad you found the blog and hope you stick around!

      Reply
  4. Mike says

    July 11, 2011 at 10:57 am

    But do you still have a stick in your eye?

    Reply
  5. spaarolifantje says

    May 28, 2012 at 9:23 am

    I work with people who volunteer their time with us. Sometimes we (often not me, but someone at planning or at the phone) mess up and then I have to tell them we can’t use their help that day, and I apologize for wasting their time. I find it extremely hard to make that apology, when it wasn’t me messing up. And also I’m the lowest ranked person, and I can’t change the situation at planning or at the phone center, no matter how often I complain or tell them what happened. It’s frustrating, and I know it will happen again and again. (And then of course, some people take it calmly and others are ally mad at me). Any advice?

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      May 28, 2012 at 2:49 pm

      Hi spaarolifantje…

      …that’s tough and as you may have gathered from my stories above I’ve been there.

      The good news is that most of the people you have to tell understand that you are not personally to blame. But, you are there and they are angry. So the venting seems to come at you.

      Faced with those situations what has worked for me is internally cultivating some emotional distance. What I mean is understanding that the anger is not about me personally. It is about me happening to be the one there. Visualize yourself as separate from the negative confrontation. It is not about you.

      It’s a bit like what I describe here:

      https://jlcollinsnh.com/2011/06/16/how-not-to-drown-in-the-sea-of-jerks/

      Not to say your upset volunteers are assholes, but since you already know this is going to happen occasionally and they will have a predictably negative reaction, there is no need for you to be surprised, angry or upset when it does.

      This and deploying the steps above should help.

      I’d also use this emotional distance in reporting the problem up the chain of command. Just report the simple facts without complaint. It will be easier on you.

      Hope this helps!

      Reply
  6. financialblogger23 says

    March 20, 2014 at 3:23 pm

    Brilliant post! Thanks. I thought I had read all of your posts!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Simple Path to Wealth Book by JL Collins

Important Resources

  • Talent Stacker or My Review
  • Recommended Credit Cards
  • Personal Capital or My Review
  • Betterment or My Review
  • NewRetirement
  • Tuft & Needle or My Review
  • Vanguard.com

More Helpful Links

  • My Manifesto
  • Financial Calculators
  • Ask Jlcollinsnh

Subscribe to New Posts

Follow JLCollinsNH on TwitterJLCollinsNH On Twitter

  • Latest
  • Popular
  • Comments
  • When Your Country Becomes a Global Outcast When Your Country Becomes a Global Outcast
  • Staying the Course in War-Time Staying the Course in War-Time
  • Pathfinders update from Hh Pathfinders update from Hh
  • A New Chapter for Chautauqua A New Chapter for Chautauqua
  • Season’s Greetings!! Season’s Greetings!!
  • Fun with numbers: Historic Stock Market Returns Fun with numbers: Historic Stock Market Returns
  • Let’s talk about what’s up with Bonds, and what ever else you’d like to ask me Let’s talk about what’s up with Bonds, and what ever else you’d like to ask me
  • Today Week Month All
  • Stocks — Part 1:  There’s a major market crash coming!!!!  and Dr. Lo can’t save you. Stocks -- Part 1: There's a major market crash coming!!!! and Dr. Lo can't save you.
  • Why your house is a terrible investment Why your house is a terrible investment
  • How I failed my daughter and a simple path to wealth How I failed my daughter and a simple path to wealth
  • Stocks — Part VI:  Portfolio ideas to build and keep your wealth Stocks -- Part VI: Portfolio ideas to build and keep your wealth
  • Stocks — Part II:  The Market Always Goes Up Stocks -- Part II: The Market Always Goes Up
  • Why you need F-you money Why you need F-you money
  • Stocks — Part V:    Keeping it simple, considerations and tools Stocks -- Part V: Keeping it simple, considerations and tools
  • Today Week Month All
  • When Your Country Becomes a Global Outcast When Your Country Becomes a Global Outcast
  • Staying the Course in War-Time Staying the Course in War-Time
Ajax spinner
Categories
  • Annual Louis Rukeyser Memorial Market Prediction Contest
  • Business
  • The Book: The Simple Path To Wealth
  • Cars and Motorcycles
  • Case Studies
  • Chautauqua
  • Education
  • Guest Posts
  • Homeownership
  • How I Lost Money in Real Estate before it was Fashionable
  • Life
  • Money
  • Q/A Posts
  • Random cool things that catch my eye
  • Stock Investing Series
  • Stuff I Recommend
  • Travels

Archives

  • ► 2023 (3)
    • ► January (3)
      • When Your Country Becomes a Global Outcast
      • Staying the Course in War-Time
      • Pathfinders update from Hh
  • ► 2022 (12)
    • ► December (3)
      • A New Chapter for Chautauqua
      • Season's Greetings!!
      • Fun with numbers: Historic Stock Market Returns
    • ► October (1)
      • Let’s talk about what’s up with Bonds, and what ever else you’d like to ask me
    • ► August (1)
      • The Price of Security
    • ► July (1)
      • Case Study #17: Buying into the market right before a Bear
    • ► June (1)
      • Case Study #16: Helping dad with an inheritance
    • ► May (1)
      • Just inked a contract for my next book, and I want you to be a part of it!
    • ► April (1)
      • The Dinky Diner
    • ► March (1)
      • Chautauqua: A terrible business model
    • ► February (2)
      • Chautauqua is back for 2022!
      • JLCollinsnh.com Enters New Era
  • ► 2021 (14)
    • ► December (1)
      • Season's Greetings!!
    • ► November (2)
      • The new book is out!
      • Are bonds done?
    • ► October (1)
      • Guess what I just finally read for the first time...
    • ► September (1)
      • The negligence that led me to DIY investing
    • ► August (3)
      • Chainsaws and Credit Cards
      • Part XXXVI: Estate Planning 101 -- The Simple Path to an Estate Plan
      • The Simple Path to a Lucrative Career
    • ► July (1)
      • Help Wanted: a new book
    • ► June (1)
      • The Top 9 (Bad) Arguments Against Bitcoin
    • ► May (2)
      • Collins on Crypto
      • The Alfred Hitchcock Path to FI
    • ► April (1)
      • Time to sell?
    • ► February (1)
      • Mariah International: All that glitters…
  • ► 2020 (11)
    • ► December (1)
      • Season's Greetings!!
    • ► June (1)
      • How to give when you have a business
    • ► April (4)
      • Investing with Vanguard for Europeans: 2020 update
      • Part XVII-B: ETF vs. Mutual Fund -- What's the difference?
      • Reviewing the comments on my post of April 1st
      • Why I will no longer be writing this blog
    • ► March (4)
      • My move from VMMXX to VBTLX
      • COVID-19: The unvarnished truth from Doc G.
      • Chautauqua sits out 2020
      • Taking advantage of Mr. Bear
    • ► February (1)
      • Mr. Bear, Podcasts, a good book and why I should be in 100% stocks
  • ► 2019 (11)
    • ► November (4)
      • How we bought our new car
      • The House Hacking Strategy
      • What does buying a new car really cost over the years?
      • Why we bought a brand new car
    • ► August (1)
      • A Guided Meditation for When the Stock Market Is Dropping
    • ► June (2)
      • 7 Days in Heaven: or Why Slowing Down Will Get You There Sooner
      • Quit Like a Millionaire
    • ► March (1)
      • Stocks -- Part XXXV: Investing for Seven Generations
    • ► February (1)
      • Chautauqua 2019 - UK & Portugal - Tickets Now Available
    • ► January (2)
      • Mr. Bogle passes
      • "I wanted the unreasonable"
  • ► 2018 (16)
    • ► December (1)
      • Happy Holidays! and a bit on Mr. Market
    • ► November (3)
      • Truly Passive Real Estate Investing
      • Car Talk: An update on Steve and looking at Leafs
      • Chautauqua 2018 Greece: A week for the gods!
    • ► October (1)
      • On Twitter, gone for Chautauqua and dark on comments till November
    • ► September (2)
      • What we own and why we own it: 2018
      • Tuft & Needle: Our Walnut Frame and Mint Mattress
    • ► August (1)
      • Kibanda Part 5: Pretty, and pretty much done
    • ► June (3)
      • Stocks--Part XXXIV: How to unload your unwanted stocks and funds
      • Tracking your holdings
      • Stocks -- Part XXXIII: Optimism
    • ► May (2)
      • Kibanda Part 4: Quicksand!
      • My Talk at Google, Playing with FIRE and other Chautauqua connections
    • ► March (1)
      • Stocks -- Part XXXII: Why you should not be in the stock market
    • ► February (1)
      • Chautauqua 2018: Mt. Olympus, Greece
    • ► January (1)
      • An International Portfolio from The Escape Artist
  • ► 2017 (15)
    • ► December (2)
      • The Bond Experiment: Return to VBTLX
      • How to Invest in Bitcoin like Benjamin Graham
    • ► October (1)
      • Kibanda Part 3: Running the numbers
    • ► September (1)
      • Sleeping soundly thru a market crash: The Wasting Asset Retirement Model
    • ► August (2)
      • Stocks -- Part XXXI: Too hot. Too cold. Not pure enough.
      • Kibanda, Part 2: Negotiating the deal
    • ► July (2)
      • Time Machine and the future returns for stocks
      • Kibanda: Mr. Anti-house buys his dream house
    • ► June (2)
      • Is there an interior designer in the house?
      • The Simple Path to Wealth goes Audio!
    • ► May (1)
      • Life on the Beach
    • ► April (1)
      • Sell! Sell!! Sell!!! Sell?
    • ► March (1)
      • Vicki comes to Chautauqua: United Kingdom
    • ► January (2)
      • Chautauqua - Ecuador 2017 open for reservations
      • Chautauqua - United Kingdom: August 2017
  • ► 2016 (22)
    • ► December (3)
      • Season's Greetings and other cool stuff
      • Angel Investing, or Angel Philanthropy?
      • Mr. Bogle and me
    • ► November (1)
      • Where did you learn about money?
    • ► October (2)
      • Buy Your Freedom; Rent the Rest
      • So, what do you drive?
    • ► September (2)
      • Stocks -- Part XXX: jlcollinsnh vs. Vanguard
      • A visit to the Frugalwoods
    • ► August (1)
      • What the naysayers are missing
    • ► July (1)
      • Reviews of The Simple Path to Wealth; gone for summer
    • ► June (2)
      • The Simple Path to Wealth is now Published!
      • A peek into The Simple Path to Wealth
    • ► May (1)
      • It's better in the wind. Still.
    • ► April (3)
      • Cool things to check out while I'm gone
      • Stocks — Part XXIX: How to save money for college. Or not.
      • Help Wanted: The Book
    • ► March (1)
      • F-You Money: John Goodman v. jlcollinsnh
    • ► February (2)
      • Q&A - V: The Women of Amphissa
      • jlcollinsnh gets a new suit
    • ► January (3)
      • Chautauqua 2015 Reviews, 2016 registration open
      • Case Study #15: The Scavenger Life -- Freedom first, then Financial Independence
      • 3rd Annual (2015) Louis Rukeyser Memorial Market Prediction Contest results, and my forecast for 2016
  • ► 2015 (18)
    • ► December (2)
      • Q&A - IV: Strawberry Patch
      • Seasons Greetings! and other cool stuff
    • ► October (2)
      • Personal Capital; and how to unload your unwanted stocks and funds
      • Stockchoker: A look back at what your investment might have been
    • ► September (2)
      • Case Study #14: To Dream the Impossible Dream (and then realize it)
      • Hotel Living
    • ► August (1)
      • Mr. Market's Wild Ride
    • ► June (4)
      • Gone for Summer, an important note on comments and random cool stuff that caught my eye
      • Around the world with an Aussie Biker
      • Case Study #13: The Power of Flexibility
      • Stocks — Part VIII: The 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA & Roth Buckets
    • ► March (2)
      • Stocks -- Part XXVIII: Debt - The Unacceptable Burden
      • Chautauqua October 2015: Times Two!
    • ► February (2)
      • YNAB: Best Place to Work Ever?
      • Case Study #12: Escaping a soul-crushing job before you're 70
    • ► January (3)
      • Case Study #11: John, a small business owner in transition
      • Trish and Stan take an Intrepid Sailing Voyage
      • 2014 Annual Louis Rukeyser Memorial Market Prediction Contest results, and my forecast for 2015
  • ► 2014 (29)
    • ► December (2)
      • Diamonds and Happy Holidays!
      • Micro-Lending with Kiva
    • ► November (3)
      • Chautauqua February 7-14, 2015: Escape from Winter
      • Stocks -- Part XXVII: Why I Don’t Like Dollar Cost Averaging
      • Jack Bogle and the Presidential Medal of Freedom
    • ► October (3)
      • Tuft & Needle: A better path to sleep
      • Nightmare on Wall Street: Will the Blood Bath Continue?
      • Help Wanted
    • ► September (1)
      • Chautauqua 2014: Lightning strikes again!
    • ► August (2)
      • Stocks -- Part XXVI: Pulling the 4%
      • Stocks -- Part XXV: HSAs, more than just a way to pay your medical bills.
    • ► July (3)
      • Stocks -- Part XXIV: RMDs, the ugly surprise at the end of the tax-deferred rainbow
      • Summer travels, writing, reading and other amusements
      • Moto X, my new Republic Wireless Phone
    • ► June (1)
      • Stocks -- Part XXIII: Selecting your asset allocation
    • ► May (1)
      • Stocks -- Part XXII: Stepping away from REITs
    • ► April (3)
      • Q&A III: Vamos
      • Q&A II: Salamat
      • Q&A I: Gaijin Shogun
    • ► March (2)
      • Top 10 posts
      • Cafe No Se
    • ► February (4)
      • Chautauqua 2014 preview, closing up for travel and other random cool things that caught my eye of late.
      • Case Study #10: Should Josiah buy his parents a house?
      • Case Study #9: Lars -- maximizing some good fortune and considering "dollar cost averaging"
      • Case Study #8: Ron's mother - she's doin' all right!
    • ► January (4)
      • roundup: Some random cool things
      • Stocks — Part XXI: Investing with Vanguard for Europeans
      • Case Study #7: What it looks like when everything financial goes wrong
      • 1st Annual Louis Rukeyser Memorial Market Prediction Contest 2013 results, and my forecast for 2014
  • ► 2013 (41)
    • ► December (4)
      • Closing up for the Holidays, see you in 2014
      • Betterment: a simpler path to wealth
      • Case Study 6: Helping an ill and elderly parent
      • Stocks -- Part XX: Early Retirement Withdrawal Strategies and Roth Conversion Ladders from a Mad Fientist
    • ► November (3)
      • Death, Taxes, Estate Plans, Probate and Prob8
      • Case Study #5: Zero to 2.6 million in 25 years
      • Case Study #4: Using the 4% rule and asset allocations.
    • ► October (3)
      • Republic Wireless and my $19 per month phone plan
      • Case Study #3: Let's get Tom to Latin America!
      • The Stock Series gets its own page
    • ► September (2)
      • Case Study #2: Joe -- off to a fast start!
      • Chautauqua 2013: A Week of Dreams
    • ► August (1)
      • Closing up shop plus an opening at Chautauqua, my new podcast, phone, book and other random cool stuff
    • ► July (1)
      • They Will Kill You For Your Shoes!
    • ► June (4)
      • Stocks -- Part VIII-b: Should you avoid your company's 401k?
      • Shilpan's Seven Habits to Live More with Less
      • Stocks -- Part XIX: How to think about money
      • My path for my kid -- the first 10 years
    • ► May (5)
      • Why your house is a terrible investment
      • Stocks — Part XVIII: Investing in a raging bull
      • Dining with the Ghosts of Sarah Bernhardt and Alfons Mucha
      • How we finally got the house sold
      • Stocks — Part XVII: What if you can't buy VTSAX? Or even Vanguard?
    • ► April (4)
      • Greetings from Prague & a computer question
      • Swimming with Tigers, a 2nd chance on the Chautauqua, a financial article gets it wrong and I'm off to Prague
      • Storage, Moving and Movers
      • Homeless, and a bit on the strategy of dollar cost averaging
    • ► March (4)
      • Wild Turkeys, Motorcycles, Dining Room Sets & Greed
      • Roots v. Wings: considering home ownership
      • How about that stock market?!
      • The Blog has New Clothes
    • ► February (5)
      • Meet Mr. Money Mustache, JD Roth, Cheryl Reed & me for a Chautauqua in Ecuador
      • High School Poetry, Carnival, cool ads and random pictures that caught my eye
      • Consignment Shops: Best business model ever?
      • Cafes
      • Stocks -- Part XVI: Index Funds are really just for lazy people, right?
    • ► January (5)
      • Social Security: How secure and when to take it
      • Fighting giraffes, surreal landscapes, dancing with unicorns and restoring a Vanagon
      • My plan for 2013
      • VITA, income taxes and the IRS
      • How to be a stock market guru and get on MSNBC
  • ► 2012 (53)
    • ► December (6)
      • See you next year....until then: The Origin of Life, Life on Other Worlds, Mechanical Graveyards, Great Art, Alternative Lifestyles and Finding Freedom
      • Stocks -- Part XV: Target Retirement Funds, the simplest path to wealth of all
      • Stocks -- Part XIV: Deflation, the ugly escort of Depressions.
      • Stocks Part XIV: Deflation, the ugly escort of Depressions.
      • Stocks -- Part XIII: The 4% rule, withdrawal rates and how much can I spend anyway?
      • How I learned to stop worrying about the Fiscal Cliff and you can too.
    • ► November (2)
      • Rent v. owning: A couple of case studies in Ecuador
      • So, what does a month in Ecuador cost anyway?
    • ► October (4)
      • See you in December....
      • Meet me in Ecuador?
      • The Podcast: You can hear me now.
      • Stocks -- Part XII: Bonds
    • ► September (6)
      • Stocks -- Part XI: International Funds
      • The Smoother Path to Wealth
      • Case Study #I: Putting the Simple Path to Wealth into Action
      • Tales of Bolivia: Calle de las Brujas
      • Stocks -- Part X: What if Vanguard gets Nuked?
      • Travels in South America: It was the best of times....
    • ► August (1)
      • Home again
    • ► June (4)
      • Yellow Fever, closing up shop for the summer and heading to Peru y Bolivia
      • I could not have said it better myself...
      • Stocks -- Part IX: Why I don't like investment advisors
      • Happy Birthday, jlcollinsnh; and thanks for the gift Mr. MM!
    • ► May (6)
      • Stocks -- Part VIII: The 401K, 403b, TSP, IRA & Roth Buckets
      • Mr. Money Mustache
      • The College Conundrum
      • Stocks -- Part VII: Can everyone really retire a millionaire?
      • Stocks -- Part VI: Portfolio ideas to build and keep your wealth
      • Stocks -- Part V: Keeping it simple, considerations and tools
    • ► April (6)
      • Stocks -- Part IV: The Big Ugly Event, Deflation and a bit on Inflation
      • Stocks -- Part III: Most people lose money in the market.
      • Stocks -- Part II: The Market Always Goes Up
      • Stocks -- Part 1: There's a major market crash coming!!!! and Dr. Lo can't save you.
      • You can eat my Vindaloo, mega lottery, Blondie, Noa, Israel Kamakawiwo 'Ole, art, film and a ride on the Space Shuttle
      • Where in the world are you?
    • ► March (7)
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part V: Sold! and the taxman cometh.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part IV: I become a Landlord.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part III: The Battle is Joined.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part II: The Limits of the Law.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part I: Impossibly Naive.
      • You, too, can be conned
      • Armageddon and the value of practical skills
    • ► February (6)
      • Rent v. Owning Your Home, opportunity cost and running some numbers
      • The Casanova Kid, a Shit Knife, a Good Book, Having No Regrets, Dark Matter and a bit of Magic
      • What Poker, Basketball and Mike Whitaker taught me about Luck
      • How to Give like a Billionaire
      • Go ahead, make my day
      • Muk Finds Success in Tahiti
    • ► January (5)
      • Travels with "Esperando un Camino"
      • Beanie Babies, Naked Barbie, American Pickers and Old Coots
      • Selling the House and Adventures in Staging
      • The bashing of Index Funds, Jack Bogle and a Jedi dog trick
      • Magic Beans
  • ► 2011 (22)
    • ► December (1)
      • Dividend Growth Investing
    • ► November (2)
      • The Mummy's head, Particle Physics and "Knocking on Heaven's Door"
      • "It's Better in the Wind" or why I ride a motorcycle
    • ► October (1)
      • Lazy Days and School Days
    • ► July (2)
      • The road to Zanzibar sometimes goes thru Ecuador...
      • Johnny wins the lotto and heads to Paris
    • ► June (16)
      • Chainsaws, Elm Trees and paying for College
      • Stuff I’ve failed at: the early years
      • Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat
      • The. Worst. Used. Car. Ever.
      • Top Ten reasons your future is so bright it hurts my eyes to look at it
      • The Most Dangerous Words Your Customer Can Say
      • How not to drown in The Sea of Assholes
      • What we own and why we own it
      • The Ten Sales Commandments
      • My ever so formal and oh so dry CV
      • How I failed my daughter and a simple path to wealth
      • The Myth of Motivation
      • Why you need F-you money
      • My short attention span
      • Why I can’t pick winning stocks, and you can’t either
      • The Monk and the Minister

© Copyright 2022 jlcollinsnh.com Privacy Policy Disclaimers