“If you reach for a star, you might not get one. But you won’t come up with a hand full of mud either” — Leo Burnett “Never be haughty to the humble. Never be humble to the haughty.” — Jefferson Davis “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying… [Continue Reading]
Archives for 2012
Stocks — Part IX: Why I Don’t Like Investment Advisors
During a recent trip to Ohio I caught up with RMak, a fellow member of a motorcycle forum I frequent. Later he posted a report on our meeting and in describing me said: “Out stepped a mountain of a man…this guy looked to be a cross between John Wayne, Justin Bieber and Bigfoot.” Kinder than… [Continue Reading]
Happy Birthday, jlcollinsnh; and thanks for the gift Mr. MM!
In 1974 my dad died. I was 23. (Didn’t expect the Happy Birthday post to begin there, I’ll bet!) He never had much interest in kids so our relationship didn’t really begin to develop until I was in college and could relate to him as an adult. Of course, by then I had my own… [Continue Reading]
Stocks — Part VIII: The 401K, 403b, TSP, IRA & Roth Buckets
In Part IV we looked at some sample portfolios built from the three key Index Funds I favor, plus cash. Those four are what we call investments. But in our complex world we must next consider where to hold these investments. That is, in which bucket should which investment go? There are two types of… [Continue Reading]
Mr. Money Mustache
A few weeks ago I received a private email from Mr. Money Mustache. He runs one of my very favorite blogs. Indeed, I have often thought that if I had had access to such wisdom at the start of my financial journey I’d have gotten far further far faster. But, alas, when I started the… [Continue Reading]
Is College Worth the Cost?
my alma mater Back in the day, I put myself through the University of Illinois taking down diseased Elm Trees. I was paid $20 a day, @6 days $120 per week. I saved $100 and kept $20 for pocket money. I sponged off my parents for the summer’s room and board. Over the 12 weeks… [Continue Reading]
Stocks — Part VII: Can Everyone Really Retire a Millionaire?
“I wonder if it would actually be possible for every single person to retire a millionaire?” That very provocative question was posed in the comments by reader mmrempen a few posts back. It’s been rattling around in my brain ever since. The short answer is a qualified “Yes!” It is possible for every middle class wage… [Continue Reading]
Stocks — Part VI: Portfolio Ideas to Build and Keep Your Wealth
Today we’re gonna look at the fun stuff. What, exactly, can we use to build and keep our wealth. I’m going to give you three portfolios each using the tools (funds) we discussed last time. First will be exactly what I tell my 20-year-old to do. She couldn’t care less about investing. With this simple… [Continue Reading]
Stocks — Part V: Keeping It Simple, Considerations and Tools
Simple is good. Simple is easier. Simple is more profitable. What I’m going to share with you in these next couple of articles is the soul of simplicity. With it you’ll learn all you need to know to produce better investment results than 80% of the professionals and active amateurs out there. It will take… [Continue Reading]
Stocks — Part IV: The Big Ugly Event, Deflation and a Bit on Inflation
So far we’ve seen that the stock market is a wonderful wealth building tool that goes relentlessly up. Vanguard’s Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX) is the only tool we need to access it. But it is extremely volatile, crashes routinely and most people lose money due to their psychological tendencies. Still, if we toughen up,… [Continue Reading]
