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You are here: Home / Money / Fun with numbers: Historic Stock Market Returns

Fun with numbers: Historic Stock Market Returns

by jlcollinsnh 31 Comments

I’ve just finished writing the foreword for Akaisha & Billy Kaderli’s new upcoming book The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement, A New Perspective. To help, they sent me a draft copy for review. It is a great read full of humor, wisdom and practical advice.

In it they share this cool calculator… 

Historic Stock Market Returns

…and, figuring it was part of my due diligence, I got distracted playing with it.

It’s simple to use. Plug in a dollar amount, a start year, an end year and hit “calculate.” It spits out what that money would have grown to and what percentages that represents.

Let’s look at the 100 years of the 20th Century, 1900-1999, and plug in an investment of $1000. Hit calculate and…

“If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1900, you would have about $21,848,606.87 at the end of 1999, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 2,184,760.69%, or 10.51% per year.

“This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 110,061.04% cumulatively, or 7.26% per year.”

Just shy of 22 million dollars from a onetime $1000 investment? That’s the power of compounding right there and and it represents 10.51%/7.26% average annual returns for what has been called the bloodiest century in history. You know, the one with the two world wars and the Great Depression? Not to mention all the other wars and economic upheavals. That century? Yep.

Ok, how about this century’s 22 years so far? Let’s look. 21st Century, 2000-2022, plug in our investment of $1000 and hit calculate…

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 2000, you would have about $4,025.06 at the end of 2022, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 302.51%, or 6.29% per year.

This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 132.81% cumulatively, or 3.77% per year.

Mmmm. Not so great. But not bad given the decade’s multiple stock crashes — 2000-01, 2008-09, 2020 and this year’s bear market. Plus we’ve got another 78 years to pull up those numbers.

Our friends, Akaisha & Billy retired in 1991. How have they done?

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1991, you would have about $21,663.32 at the end of 2022, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 2,066.33%, or 10.14% per year.

This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 891.08% cumulatively, or 7.47% per year.

Pretty impressive 31 year run, especially given all the turmoil over those years.

I’ve been investing since 1975. How were those 47 years?

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1975, you would have about $191,228.81 at the end of 2022, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 19,022.88%, or 11.61% per year.

This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 3,355.74% cumulatively, or 7.69% per year.

Not bad, especially given all the turmoil in the world during the first 40 years of my investing career:

Time Machine and the future returns for stocks

Let’s look at a really bad decade, the worst of my life: 2000-2009.

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 2000, you would have about $943.26 at the end of 2009, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of -5.67%, or -0.58% per year.

This lump-sum investment does not beat inflation during this period, for an inflation-adjusted return of -24.29% cumulatively, or -2.74% per year.

Ouch. Never fun to be in the negative, but for the worst decade? I’ll take it. 

How about the inflationary 1970s?

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1970, you would have about $1,829.88 at the end of 1979, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 82.99%, or 6.23% per year.

This lump-sum investment does not beat inflation during this period, for an inflation-adjusted return of -2.20% cumulatively, or -0.22% per year.

This surprised me. I expected the 70s to be the worst of my lifetime, but they have to settle for second.

What about the 1930s, the decade of The Great Depression? 

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1930, you would have about $987.97 at the end of 1939, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of -1.20%, or -0.12% per year.

This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 18.70% cumulatively, or 1.73% per year.

Yeah, I was surprised too. 2000-09 remains the worst. That was a humdinger of a crash in 2008-09. Congrats to those of you who held tight and rode it out. You’ve earned your stripes.

But how about if I tilt the board a bit and start that decade in 1929? Let’s capture The Big Ugly Event in all its misery.

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1929, you would have about $894.52 at the end of 1939, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of -10.55%, or -1.01% per year.

This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 10.04% cumulatively, or 0.87% per year.

That worked. Now we have something worst than 2000-09. But just barely, and only for the average annual return. Adjust for inflation and 2000-09 — at -2.74% — remains king.

Here’s how the rest of my seven decades shake out…

1950s:

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1950, you would have about $5,570.45 at the end of 1959, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 457.05%, or 18.74% per year.

This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 361.33% cumulatively, or 16.52% per year.

1960s:

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1960, you would have about $2,130.99 at the end of 1969, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 113.10%, or 7.86% per year.

This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 71.87% cumulatively, or 5.57% per year.

1980s:

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1980, you would have about $4,645.07 at the end of 1989, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 364.51%, or 16.60% per year.

This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 208.67% cumulatively, or 11.93% per year.

1990s:

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1990, you would have about $5,336.29 at the end of 1999, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 433.63%, or 18.23% per year.

This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 318.64% cumulatively, or 15.39% per year.

20-teens:

If you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 2010, you would have about $3,551.95 at the end of 2019, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 255.20%, or 13.51% per year.

This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 202.95% cumulatively, or 11.72% per year.

Anther piece of data this tool provides is whether lump sum or dollar-cost-averaging worked best. Care to guess?

I’m on record as preferring lump sum…

Why I don’t like Dollar Cost Averaging

…and for the last 70 years I’ve been right.

Only in one decade did DCA prevail — The single worst performing decade — 2000-09. Which, if you read my post, makes perfect sense.

Plug in your own timespans and have fun. Let us know in the comments what you uncover.

 

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.
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  • 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

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Comments

  1. ken says

    December 14, 2022 at 5:21 pm

    Thanks and great info

    Reply
  2. Sarah says

    December 14, 2022 at 5:30 pm

    Wow… Is it just me or these returns aren’t impressive at all…..

    Reply
    • Jackson says

      December 15, 2022 at 10:39 am

      $1000 turning into $21,000,000 in 100 years isn’t impressive to you?

      Sure that is an unrealistic timeline, but these decades are averaging about 7% returns after inflation which is typically expected. What returns did you expect?

      Reply
      • Ralph says

        December 17, 2022 at 3:52 pm

        100yrs? Gotta be kidding me. If you can get 30yrs of investing lifetime is a record.
        7% is not impressive. It’s less the my current mortgage rate.

        Reply
        • Steve says

          December 18, 2022 at 7:21 am

          By the rule of 72. This doubles your invested about every 10 years! That’s impressive! I’m impressed and take THE SIMPLE PATH TO WEALTH.

          Reply
  3. Jordan says

    December 14, 2022 at 5:41 pm

    Thanks JL. Great info as always! Also, you were featured in a Wealth Letter over at TheWealthLetters.com from The Wealthy Window Washer.

    Wanting to make sure how you were represented matches your beliefs. If you want anything changed, that can be done if needed (although, I think you were represented very well).

    Reply
  4. Mickey says

    December 14, 2022 at 5:46 pm

    But looking realistically if you were alive in 1900 or 1920 or 1930, and you see all those stock markets open in all those countries, what are the chances you would put all your money in just one market and that just that one stock market becomes an outlier like the US stock market?

    Many other stock markets did worse, some even much worse. Let’s be honest here.

    Reply
    • Johan says

      December 21, 2022 at 4:34 am

      Also, a 1000 $ was a fortune back then

      Reply
  5. Rakesh Mishra says

    December 14, 2022 at 5:46 pm

    Thank you JL. Such a fun read. Thank you for summarizing last 122 years. I love numbers. So this is great. I am hoping we will have a better run than last century.

    Reply
  6. Christina says

    December 14, 2022 at 6:02 pm

    Thank you!

    Reply
  7. Ben says

    December 14, 2022 at 7:44 pm

    Projecting forward for the next decade, according to Vanguard’s most recent article on 12/12/2022 (reference: https://investor.vanguard.com/investor-resources-education/news/vanguard-economic-and-market-outlook-for-2023-beating-back-inflation):

    “From a U.S. investor’s perspective, our Vanguard Capital Markets Model® projects higher 10-year annualized returns for non-U.S. developed markets (7.2%–9.2%) and emerging markets (7%–9%) than for U.S. markets (4.7%–6.7%).”

    Projected future returns for U.S. markets, per Vanguard’s model, seem a bit weak, but nobody knows what the future holds.

    Reply
  8. Josh Mason says

    December 14, 2022 at 9:24 pm

    It’s really misleading to say “if you invested $1000 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1900″… because S&P500 simply did not exist until 1957.

    At least that’s what the folks at S&P say, but hey, they might be wrong.

    https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/documents/additional-material/sp-500-brochure.pdf

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      December 18, 2022 at 11:30 am

      From the calculator website, here is the methodology:

      Data Sources
      The information on this page is derived from Robert Shiller’s book, Irrational Exuberance and the accompanying dataset, as well as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly CPI logs.

      “Stock market data used in my book, Irrational Exuberance [Princeton University Press 2000, Broadway Books 2001, 2nd ed., 2005] are available for download, U.S. Stock Markets 1871-Present and CAPE Ratio. This data set consists of monthly stock price, dividends, and earnings data and the consumer price index (to allow conversion to real values), all starting January 1871. The price, dividend, and earnings series are from the same sources as described in Chapter 26 of my earlier book (Market Volatility [Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1989]), although now I use monthly data, rather than annual data. Monthly dividend and earnings data are computed from the S&P four-quarter totals for the quarter since 1926, with linear interpolation to monthly figures. Dividend and earnings data before 1926 are from Cowles and associates (Common Stock Indexes, 2nd ed. [Bloomington, Ind.: Principia Press, 1939]), interpolated from annual data. Stock price data are monthly averages of daily closing prices through January 2000, the last month available as this book goes to press. The CPI-U (Consumer Price Index-All Urban Consumers) published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics begins in 1913; for years before 1913 1 spliced to the CPI Warren and Pearson’s price index, by multiplying it by the ratio of the indexes in January 1913. December 1999 and January 2000 values for the CPI-Uare extrapolated. See George F. Warren and Frank A. Pearson, Gold and Prices (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1935). Data are from their Table 1, pp. 11–14. “

      Reply
  9. Stephen Schullo says

    December 14, 2022 at 9:55 pm

    Perhaps I missed it, but comparing the returns for 100 years to the returns for 22 years is not an apple-to-apple comparison. What was the average return from 1900 to 1922?

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      December 18, 2022 at 11:03 am

      Hi Stephen…

      Wasn’t meant to be direct comparison, just an interesting observation. As the post title says, “fun with numbers.”

      If you are interested in the results for 1900-2022, go to the calculator and plug in those years.

      Let us know!

      Reply
  10. Eileen Chu says

    December 15, 2022 at 1:35 pm

    GREAT fun post. Love it. really put things in perspective at times like now.

    Reply
  11. Inversor Novel says

    December 15, 2022 at 3:13 pm

    A very interesting article on the historic stock market returns. It shows us how volatile it was and how long-time investing is key.
    Thank you!

    Reply
  12. Kevin Torrence says

    December 15, 2022 at 10:14 pm

    These narrow minded authors who boast about their nonstop travels all over the world. They proudly state they have traveled to many countries and all continents, except for one continent. A massive continent with 54 countries. Yet, in over 30 years of nonstop travel they obviously see no value or desire to visit any of the countries in this one continent. As they calmly and matter of factly tell the host who’s interviewing them. The correct title of their book should be ‘The Bigots Guide To Early Retirement, A Wrong Perspective’.

    Reply
    • Cole archer says

      December 17, 2022 at 12:37 am

      Why so hostile? Where they travel is their business. Why is it you carping little liberals always feel the need to control everyone’s lives? There are a litany of reasons to avoid Africa. If you disagree, move there. All best buddy. See if they have your favorite Starbucks latte in Uganda.

      Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      December 18, 2022 at 11:18 am

      I’m going to disagree with both of you here.

      Kevin,

      I know Akaisha and Billy fairly well and have never seen anything that suggests a trace of bigotry from them. I don’t know if their travels have taken them to Africa yet, but it is a big world. If not, I suspect they’d jump at the chance.

      I have yet to make it to Australia or New Zealand, or most of Africa for that matter. I hope no one thinks that’s because I harbor bigoted feelings for the folks there.

      Cole…

      I see no reason for travelers to avoid Africa.

      It is a big place and I have only been to Tanzania, but there I encountered some of the most beautiful scenery and some of the warmest, most friendly and most welcoming people in all my travels. I’d happily go back.

      I also have numerous friends who have traveled to other African countries and report the same. I’d love to see more of the continent.

      We’ve also had people from Africa attend Chautauqua and listening to them describe their homelands you can’t help but want to visit.

      Reply
  13. Alex says

    December 17, 2022 at 7:54 am

    That 2000-2022 is scary because I started putting a lot of money into the market this year because I started to blindly believe in “10% return over a 20 year period and 7% w/inflation.” Yes I know it’s 22 years, but it makes me wonder what a portfolio balance would look like today with a 4% withdrawal rate during this period and how much longer it could potentially last if that return continues.

    Reply
    • Enda says

      December 17, 2022 at 10:06 am

      Hi Alex,
      I’m in a similar boat… just this year came around to the idea of simply investing in a broad US index. However I have been dollar-cost-averaging in since May and plan to be fully invested by the middle of next year. I know that nobody knows the future, but that approach just seemed less risky to me (versus investing a lump sum) given the historically high valuation measures of US stocks (e.g. Buffett Indicator and Shiller PE Ratio).

      Reply
  14. Nora Sullivan says

    December 17, 2022 at 2:08 pm

    Mr. Collins, another interesting post! I had to stop playing with the calculator when I saw how much the inheritance I received from my late uncle in 2015 would have been worth by now if I hadn’t waited three years to invest it. Ouch.
    Happy holidays to you and your family!

    Reply
  15. mike says

    December 18, 2022 at 1:05 pm

    The article shows that when inflstion is high the market does not do well.

    I would like to see a similar comparison with real estate and its returns (as opposed to the S&P/Dow returns).
    But of course real estate has to be in a particular city (so I would like to see that comparison for single family homes and condos in san francisco). Is this possible?

    In particular I would like to see how housing prices do when inflation is high.

    Reply
  16. David says

    December 19, 2022 at 5:38 am

    I was looking at 25-year periods, and found it how interesting how almost always, if you found yourself looking at poor relative returns, adding a couple more years made a big difference.

    Reply
  17. Tony says

    December 22, 2022 at 10:26 am

    What are your thoughts on the Japanese stock market? The US market is interesting where the return over a long period has resulted in returns, but if you look at the Japanese stock market, they still haven’t recovered from the high’s from the past 100 years. Interested to hear your thoughts!

    Reply
  18. Carl says

    December 28, 2022 at 8:51 am

    What I hate about indexing is what’s happing with Tesla. Everyone knew the company’s valuation was absurd and they added to the S&P500 at the TOP. Now it’s coming down like a rock bringing the index down with it.
    JL says, oh you’ll own less as companies decline..but it seems he fails to think you’ll own less because you lost money on it and it’s hidden in the index number. You gotta open that can of worms eventually JL, can’t hide behind this simplistic view which is a little naïve if I may say

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      December 28, 2022 at 3:15 pm

      Hi Carl…

      What you are describing is a process I call “self-cleansing” and have discussed at length here and in interviews. It is one of the key benefits that makes indexing so powerful.

      If you don’t see the advantage in it, my approach and indexing are not going to resonate with you.

      Good luck with whatever path you chose.

      Reply
  19. Enda says

    December 28, 2022 at 9:53 am

    Hey Carl,

    good point, but I don’t think JL ever said that buying a broad index is perfect. It’s just better than any other approach (for 99% of people).

    Also, the maximum that can be lost on any one company in the index is 100% of that company’s value, whereas there is unlimited upside potential gains for the successful companies, 1000%, 10000%, whatever. Thus there is asymmetry to the upside.

    While I accept your point, it should be noted that Tesla joined the s&p in Dec 2020, and it’s price didn’t peak until Nov 2021.

    Reply
  20. David Hervol says

    December 30, 2022 at 4:34 pm

    Mr. Collins,
    I used to index invest in the S&P 500. I started indexing after I realized I had no talent for buying individual stocks (in addition, stock picking is exhausting). But your arguments on indexing using VTSAX made more sense. So for the past several years, that’s what I’ve done. Overall, I’ve been well rewarded for staying the course as I’ve never sold any of my VTSAX holdings and have converted most of my other stuff into more shares. There are no guarantees in this life and I have a cash cushion that will likely carry me through most market downturns, except those involving the end of the world… 🙂 Life is too short to obsess about money and finances.

    I guess I want to say thank you for the clear, concise explanations and for reminding me that reversion to the mean is what has driven much of my life experience. Good times don’t last forever, but neither do bad times. I sleep well at night (except when I eat or drink too much before bed…).

    Happy New Year!

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      December 31, 2022 at 7:22 pm

      Thank you David…

      …for the kind words. Glad this has resonated with you.

      Have a wonderful 2023!!

      Reply

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      • 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

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