A couple of years after I was out of college, I got my first credit card. They were tougher to come by in those days. Not like now when my unemployed pet poodle has his own line of credit. The first month I racked up about $300 or so. When the bill came, there was… [Continue Reading]
Archives for 2015
Chautauqua October 2015: Times Two!
Mi Lindo Ecuador If you have read this blog for long, or any of my Chautauqua posts, you know that for the last couple of years we have taken small groups to Ecuador for a week of adventure and conversation surrounding life, freedom, happiness and investing. We call it a Chautauqua, an old Native American word… [Continue Reading]
YNAB: Best Place to Work Ever?
You want this: Not this: Trust me. The second hand made its agonizingly deliberate sweep. All eyes were locked to it. Ever so slowly it erased first the seconds, and then the minutes, on the plodding march to 4:45. The workers sat, bundled in their winter hats and coats, their belongings at their feet, with… [Continue Reading]
Case Study #12: How to Escape a Soul-Crushing Job Before You’re 70
When Tom’s comment/question showed up February 5, 2015 in Ask jlcollinsnh it immediately captured my imagination as a potential Case Study, mostly because it offered something different. He has arrived at a crossroad. On the surface it was just a couple of simple questions. What retirement accounts to use? Can they be accessed before age 59.5?… [Continue Reading]
Case Study #11: John, a small business owner in transition
Each year I have the privilege of joining ~25 readers for a week in Ecuador at our now annual Chautauqua event. During the week I get to meet one-on-one with several of these folks to privately discuss their situations and to answer their questions. Cheryl, the owner of Above the Clouds Retreats, once said to… [Continue Reading]
Trish and Stan take an Intrepid Sailing Voyage
January 10, 2015 Trish’s Caribbean Report Part I: This is island life. I’m sitting under a couple of coconut palms, in a rattan chair, a view of the ocean in the distance. There are black and yellow butterflies on the red hibiscus flowers, and a lizard is watching me. In the tree beyond the terrace,… [Continue Reading]
2014 Annual Louis Rukeyser Memorial Market Prediction Contest results, and my forecast for 2015
Just about this time two years ago I published a bit of satire titled How to be a Stock Market Guru and get on MSNBC. In it I mocked the idea that anyone can predict the short-term market and laughed at those who claim they can. Just as one of my financial heroes, Louis Rukeyser, used… [Continue Reading]
