Your happiness hinges on what you focus on. So why focus on your neighbor’s greater wealth, instead of your own good fortune?
THE NOTED PHYSICIST Lord Kelvin reportedly declared in 1900, “There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now.” In the annals of inaccurate proclamations, this one stands out. Just a few years later, Einstein published his Theory of Relativity and, in the following years, proceeded to upend many of the scientific world’s longest standing and most deeply held beliefs.
The world of personal finance witnessed a similarly inaccurate prediction 76 years later. When the newly formed Vanguard Group launched its first index fund,
WHAT WILL IT TAKE to achieve a better financial life? It all starts with asking the right questions, as I explain in HumbleDollar’s latest newsletter. Some examples: If money were no object, what would you change about your life? If you were out of work, how long could you cover expenses before having to take drastic financial steps? In late 2008 and early 2009, did you buy stocks, sell or sit tight?
In all,
A FINANCIAL PLANNER called Archie Nickel is stealing entire articles from HumbleDollar and posting them to his own site—without permission. In the online world, it’s fine to link to interesting articles elsewhere on the web. But it’s a no-no to swipe entire articles. I’ve endeavored to contact the nefarious Nickel, by posting comments on his site and via Twitter, but he’s ignored my requests to stop purloining this site’s blogs and and to remove the blogs he’s previously stolen.
THE NOTED PHYSICIST Lord Kelvin reportedly declared in 1900, “There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now.” In the annals of inaccurate proclamations, this one stands out. Just a few years later, Einstein published his Theory of Relativity and, in the following years, proceeded to upend many of the scientific world’s longest standing and most deeply held beliefs.
The world of personal finance witnessed a similarly inaccurate prediction 76 years later. When the newly formed Vanguard Group launched its first index fund,
WHAT WILL IT TAKE to achieve a better financial life? It all starts with asking the right questions, as I explain in HumbleDollar’s latest newsletter. Some examples: If money were no object, what would you change about your life? If you were out of work, how long could you cover expenses before having to take drastic financial steps? In late 2008 and early 2009, did you buy stocks, sell or sit tight?
In all,
A FINANCIAL PLANNER called Archie Nickel is stealing entire articles from HumbleDollar and posting them to his own site—without permission. In the online world, it’s fine to link to interesting articles elsewhere on the web. But it’s a no-no to swipe entire articles. I’ve endeavored to contact the nefarious Nickel, by posting comments on his site and via Twitter, but he’s ignored my requests to stop purloining this site’s blogs and and to remove the blogs he’s previously stolen.
WHAT KEEPS AMERICANS up at night? According to a Bankrate survey, 69% of us report losing sleep because of our worries. The top reason is fretting over relationships, followed by money, work and health.
NO. 79: PAYING ZERO TAXES is a terrible waste. If you lose your job, or you just retired and aren’t yet tapping your retirement accounts, you may have a year with little or no taxable income. To take advantage of your low tax bracket, consider selling winning taxable-account investments or converting part of your IRA to a Roth.
NO. 79: PAYING ZERO TAXES is a terrible waste. If you lose your job, or you just retired and aren’t yet tapping your retirement accounts, you may have a year with little or no taxable income. To take advantage of your low tax bracket, consider selling winning taxable-account investments or converting part of your IRA to a Roth.
SAVE SOME FOR YOUR FUTURE SELF. Looking to lose weight? At restaurants, transfer half your serving to a second plate and ask the waiter to box it up. If the food will make good leftovers, it’s easy to do, because you know you’ll have a treat tomorrow. Want to save more? Think about it the same way—and set aside some of today’s spending money for tomorrow.
INTRINSIC VALUE. It’s easy to get caught up in the stock market’s wild price swings. Feeling unnerved? Never forget that behind those price swings are companies of great value. While you can’t put a precise figure on their intrinsic value, you can get a sense by examining the profits they earn, the dividends they pay and the value of the assets they own.
YOU’RE UNLIKELY to get the right answers—unless you ask the right questions.
That’s especially true when it comes to managing money. We have answers thrust in our faces all the time, as marketers and salespeople exhort us to buy this mutual fund, that car, this stock, that home and this insurance policy.
But are these really what we want or need? It’s hard to know unless we ask the right questions. There’s ample evidence that many folks end up with financial products they don’t need and spend money in ways that bring little or no happiness.
Jonathan Clements is the founder and editor of HumbleDollar. He spent almost two decades at The Wall Street Journal, where he was the personal finance columnist. His new book is now available: From Here to Financial Happiness.
Jonathan Clements is the founder and editor of HumbleDollar. He spent almost two decades at The Wall Street Journal, where he was the personal finance columnist. His new book is now available: From Here to Financial Happiness.
YOU’RE UNLIKELY to get the right answers—unless you ask the right questions.
That’s especially true when it comes to managing money. We have answers thrust in our faces all the time, as marketers and salespeople exhort us to buy this mutual fund, that car, this stock, that home and this insurance policy.
But are these really what we want or need? It’s hard to know unless we ask the right questions. There’s ample evidence that many folks end up with financial products they don’t need and spend money in ways that bring little or no happiness.