If a purchase weighs on your credit card, it’ll weigh on your mind.
STOCKS MARCH ever higher, portfolios get ever fatter and yet the conundrum facing investors remains the same. We have no idea what will happen next to share prices—and no reliable way of figuring it out. Consider:
Valuations are rich, but they have been for much of the past three decades. Indeed, if above-average valuations were your signal to sell, you likely would have dumped stocks long ago and missed out on substantial gains. The reality: Valuations don’t predict short-term returns,
OUR WEALTH is usually measured by net worth, which is total assets minus all debt. But there’s an alternative measure—which is to assign our wealth to the purposes it serves. What purposes? Two come to mind: physical and social.
Let’s start with physical wealth. We’re talking here about a family’s ability to maintain basic physical comforts, such as enjoying decent food, a comfortable home, a reliable car and access to good health care.
You don’t have to be rich to afford these.
IN THE PAST, we’ve always bought certified preowned cars. We know new cars lose a big chunk of their value when you drive them off the lot, so we had our eye on a used car when we started our search earlier this year.
Our goal was a Mercedes Benz GLC 300 AWD 4MATIC. My husband enjoys the negotiating and drama that comes with buying a car, so he investigated choices, checked out prices at dealerships and was ready to start his usual two-to-three-month car hunt.
THE MOST WIDELY read book of all time, the Bible, has a lot to say about money. According to biblical scholars, money and wealth are mentioned more than 2,000 times. Out of the roughly 40 parables Jesus told, nearly half speak of money.
Why does the Bible make such a big deal about money? The answer belongs in a Sunday sermon, not here. Still, I believe there’s a great deal to be learned from what the Bible says about money.
INCOME ANNUITIES are a simple, cost-efficient way to generate guaranteed retirement income, and yet they account for just 5% of overall annuity sales. My contention: They can play a unique role in a portfolio—and deserve serious consideration by anyone planning for retirement.
Full disclosure: I’m co-founder of Saturday Insurance, an online company that offers income annuities and other insurance products directly to consumers. I also know that, when most people hear the word “annuity,” they cringe,
THE FINANCIAL site MarketWatch has been running a series about the lives and budgets of Americans who retire abroad. My wife Jiab and I—who moved from Texas to Spain—were one of the first couples featured, along with a husband and wife who now live in Chile. Both articles made clear there were plusses and minuses to such a move—experiencing new things, but also being away from family—and that we weren’t advocating this for everyone.
WHAT INVESTMENT would you favor if you had a 10-year time horizon? A Bankrate survey found 31% chose real estate, 20% stocks, 19% cash investments, 11% gold and other precious metals, and 7% bonds.
NO. 3: WE SHOULD focus relentlessly on what we want from our financial life. That’ll motivate us to save, drive our investment strategy—and help ensure we pursue the goals we care about most.
NO. 105: IN INEFFICIENT markets—such as those for microcap stocks and emerging market companies—skilled investors have a better shot at earning market-beating returns. But after investment costs, most investors will trail the market averages and the shortfall is often large, because the cost of active management is so high.
CHECK YOUR portfolio percentages. In 2019, stocks have outpaced bonds, U.S. growth companies are ahead of bargain-priced value shares, real estate stocks have sparkled and foreign stock markets have fallen behind. All this may have pushed your portfolio away from your target asset allocation—and it could be time to rebalance.
HYPERBOLIC discounting. Suppose we’re choosing between a smaller reward today and a larger reward at some future date. To get us to wait, the later reward typically has to be far larger, perhaps giving us a 100% return for delaying just a few days or weeks. Such hyperbolic discounting highlights how we favor today and shortchange our future selves.
STOCKS MARCH ever higher, portfolios get ever fatter and yet the conundrum facing investors remains the same. We have no idea what will happen next to share prices—and no reliable way of figuring it out. Consider:
Valuations are rich, but they have been for much of the past three decades. Indeed, if above-average valuations were your signal to sell, you likely would have dumped stocks long ago and missed out on substantial gains. The reality: Valuations don’t predict short-term returns,
OUR WEALTH is usually measured by net worth, which is total assets minus all debt. But there’s an alternative measure—which is to assign our wealth to the purposes it serves. What purposes? Two come to mind: physical and social.
Let’s start with physical wealth. We’re talking here about a family’s ability to maintain basic physical comforts, such as enjoying decent food, a comfortable home, a reliable car and access to good health care.
You don’t have to be rich to afford these.
IN THE PAST, we’ve always bought certified preowned cars. We know new cars lose a big chunk of their value when you drive them off the lot, so we had our eye on a used car when we started our search earlier this year.
Our goal was a Mercedes Benz GLC 300 AWD 4MATIC. My husband enjoys the negotiating and drama that comes with buying a car, so he investigated choices, checked out prices at dealerships and was ready to start his usual two-to-three-month car hunt.
THE MOST WIDELY read book of all time, the Bible, has a lot to say about money. According to biblical scholars, money and wealth are mentioned more than 2,000 times. Out of the roughly 40 parables Jesus told, nearly half speak of money.
Why does the Bible make such a big deal about money? The answer belongs in a Sunday sermon, not here. Still, I believe there’s a great deal to be learned from what the Bible says about money.
INCOME ANNUITIES are a simple, cost-efficient way to generate guaranteed retirement income, and yet they account for just 5% of overall annuity sales. My contention: They can play a unique role in a portfolio—and deserve serious consideration by anyone planning for retirement.
Full disclosure: I’m co-founder of Saturday Insurance, an online company that offers income annuities and other insurance products directly to consumers. I also know that, when most people hear the word “annuity,” they cringe,
THE FINANCIAL site MarketWatch has been running a series about the lives and budgets of Americans who retire abroad. My wife Jiab and I—who moved from Texas to Spain—were one of the first couples featured, along with a husband and wife who now live in Chile. Both articles made clear there were plusses and minuses to such a move—experiencing new things, but also being away from family—and that we weren’t advocating this for everyone.
WHAT INVESTMENT would you favor if you had a 10-year time horizon? A Bankrate survey found 31% chose real estate, 20% stocks, 19% cash investments, 11% gold and other precious metals, and 7% bonds.
NO. 3: WE SHOULD focus relentlessly on what we want from our financial life. That’ll motivate us to save, drive our investment strategy—and help ensure we pursue the goals we care about most.
CHECK YOUR portfolio percentages. In 2019, stocks have outpaced bonds, U.S. growth companies are ahead of bargain-priced value shares, real estate stocks have sparkled and foreign stock markets have fallen behind. All this may have pushed your portfolio away from your target asset allocation—and it could be time to rebalance.
NO. 105: IN INEFFICIENT markets—such as those for microcap stocks and emerging market companies—skilled investors have a better shot at earning market-beating returns. But after investment costs, most investors will trail the market averages and the shortfall is often large, because the cost of active management is so high.
HYPERBOLIC discounting. Suppose we’re choosing between a smaller reward today and a larger reward at some future date. To get us to wait, the later reward typically has to be far larger, perhaps giving us a 100% return for delaying just a few days or weeks. Such hyperbolic discounting highlights how we favor today and shortchange our future selves.