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WHEN I STARTED writing about personal finance in the late 1980s, my focus was on giving “actionable” money advice. Here, at the end of my career, I’m more interested in offering thoughts that’ll help folks with all areas of their life, financial and otherwise.
I’m not sure how many articles I have left in me. Fingers crossed, it’ll be many more than my current diagnosis suggests. But whatever the case, here are four thoughts that I’d like readers to remember:
1. Worry less. As I eye the exit, my mind keeps coming back to the same notion: I hope folks can find a way to spend less time fretting, and not just about their finances.
We are, alas, hardwired to worry. That’s how our hunter-gatherer ancestors were able to survive countless dangers and reproduce, thus ensuring we’re here today. But constant worry isn’t necessary for survival anymore. Instead, it’s often a waste of time, one that mostly serves to make us unhappy.
Want to fret less? Start by pondering what stresses you out. Is there a way to address your fears? Often, when it comes to money, the path to less worrying involves simplifying our finances, keeping a healthy cash reserve, settling on the right stock-bond mix, making sure we diversify broadly, limiting debt, buying the right insurance, getting our financial affairs organized and listening less to market pundits.
Sometimes, our anxiety is the result of our own procrastination. We might dillydally over buying life insurance or getting a will drawn up. Sometimes, we’re worrying about issues over which we have no control, and what we need is some level of acceptance.
The unfortunate reality is, we’ll never stop worrying. But perhaps we can at least deal with our big fears, so our stress level isn’t quite so high, and sweat less over the small stuff. No, it doesn’t much matter whether we rebalance every year or every two years, or whether we have 75% in stocks rather than 70%, or whether our credit card pays 2% cash back on restaurant spending instead of 1.5%.
2. Talk it through. So much nonsense could be avoided by discussing the issues that estrange us from others, rather than assuming we know what they’re thinking. We might imagine that folks are out to cause us harm. But often, the reason for their apparently unkind behavior has nothing to do with us and everything to do with some misfortune in their life about which we have no clue.
Similarly, we can save a lot of time by asking about the matters that puzzle us, rather than worrying that our questions will lead others to view us as ignorant. I’ve sat through countless meetings where someone finally confesses, “Sorry, I don’t understand….” At that point, a majority of participants then admit that they too are confused.
3. Think for yourself. When folks raise their voice and pound the table, we sit up and take notice. Perhaps we shouldn’t. I’ve found that the loudest folks often least understand the issue at hand. Instead, they’re noisily trying to justify their own choices, about which they aren’t all that confident.
We also shouldn’t allow ourselves to be bullied into action by popular opinion, whether it’s reflected in the words of neighbors, colleagues or market pundits. In addition, we shouldn’t let ourselves be swayed by stock and bond prices, believing the pattern we see in market prices offers some message about the future. Got a sensible, low-cost, diversified portfolio? It’s important to stand our ground, even as those around us flit from one investment to another.
When folks offer seemingly sensible advice, keep in mind that there’s more than one way up the mountain. Personal finance is indeed personal. What makes sense for others may not make sense for you—because you have a different financial situation and different emotional makeup. Yes, we can learn a lot from others, but we shouldn’t necessarily mimic their actions. My advice: Listen when others tell you what they themselves have done. But don’t listen when they tell you what you ought to be doing.
4. Understand what’s influencing you. We aren’t just swayed by those around us, by the media, by advertising and by recent market returns. We’re also influenced by the past—the good and bad experiences that shape our fears and values.
What are the situations we seek to avoid? How do we like to spend our time? Why do we use our money in the way that we do? Events in our past—perhaps involving our parents or our schooling—likely bear heavily on our behavior today, even if we no longer remember many of those incidents.
Still, it’s worth getting a good handle on our values and fears. For instance, I hate the sense that I’m under attack, I loathe pretense and boasting, and it can ruin my day if I know a bad meal awaits me. All this I can trace to my time at English boarding school.
Perhaps nothing is more important in managing money, and in how we conduct ourselves more generally, than knowing ourselves. No, you’ll never totally get there. I know I haven’t. But the more we understand about ourselves, the better we can cope with our fears—and the more we can create a life where we’re truly happy.
This is my final week writing the lead Saturday newsletter article. In future weeks, you’ll be treated to Adam Grossman’s wisdom, with my wife Elaine overseeing the newsletter. Meanwhile, I plan to continue contributing articles and Forum posts for as long as I’m able.
Jonathan Clements is the founder and editor of HumbleDollar. Follow him on X @ClementsMoney and on Facebook, and check out his earlier articles.
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Jonathon, Thank you so much for everything. You have been a great source of excellent advice over the years. You have helped your readers focus on what is truly important.
Your honesty and wisdom in dealing with cancer have touched my heart. I wish you and your family the best as you go forward.
With gratitude, Carolyn
Thank you, Jonathan! You have been a great inspiration and help. Your words of wisdom made a difference for me. I wish you and your family all the best. Luigi
Wonderful article, Jonathan.
Jonathan – You’ve been a tremendous inspiration and have been a force for good in this world. Wishing you and your family all the best.
Jonathan, thank you so much for all the kind wisdom that you have shared over so many years. We are truly fortunate for your shared knowledge, generosity and grace.
Jonathan, after reading your articles for a very long time (I’m thinking 1997), I found an article I saved from the WSJ. As usual, it was full of practical advice. Reading your articles made me realize I didn’t need to get another degree; just follow practical wisdom like yours. You’ve been a guiding force in my husband and my financial life, helping us navigate not only the terminology but the people.
Writing for someone I admire so much has been an incredible honor.
Thank you for all of your wisdom, always shared with grace and humility. Wishing you courage and strength
Johnathan, I love your work and look forward to receiving your emails. You are knowledgeable, supportive and provide advice that can be immediately incorporated into our financial lives. Thank you! May every positive comment give you daily energy to keep going.
Just writing to share tremendous gratitude for all you’ve created and contributed for the betterment of those fortunate enough to participate in this wise community.
Dear Jonathan, Thanks for everything you have done. You have touched many lives and made a huge difference. I am extremely lucky to come across HD and you by chance and will cherish what I have learned. Interestingly, life lessons were as important as financial lessons. Best wishes to you and family!
Thank you, Jonathan, for the many years of sound advice and true service to your readers. I have followed you since your WSJ days and you have helped guide me to a more secure and thoughtful approach to money and life. You have truly made a difference. Thank you for your wisdom, perspective and steady voice through the years. With gratitude, Jan
Thank you agin Jonathan for a wise and lovely article, with words of wisdom.
I have benefited from your sage advice ever since I found you in the WSJ and hope that you will continue to be very involved.
We are praying for you and your family.
Your advice is straightforward but not too basic, relatable, and useful. It’s as though you know what I need to hear. So grateful that I have known you through your writing. Thank you!!! I wish you many comfortable years ahead.
I have not been on this site long. Found it only recently. Jonathan, you are the most calmative voice in the sea of financial discourse that I have heard. Thank you for your wisdom and grace, your cogent insights into human behavior, your kindly, supportive expression of concern for your readers’ financial and emotional well being and your example of living life with fortitude and quiet valor in the face of the unknown. Your articles have given me the best night’s sleep I have had in a long time.
Dear Jonathan,
Thanks again for your insightful, and even now, evolving thoughts about this big crazy life.
“Worry less” “Ignore the pundits”
You are leaving a great legacy to so many of us.
Wishing you well, Brian
Jonathan, you have been blazing the trail I have been following for decades. That path has led me to the point where I can provide for my family beyond what I had ever hoped to be able to do. Your direction has been critical in this journey. I just pulled out a notebook I having been keeping for over 30 years with clippings I thought would provide important guidance. The first full article stabled to those pages is quite yellowed now, but even after decades I can recall the illustration that accompanies it – a baker thinly slicing a large loaf of bread with a long bread knife – each slice 4.1% of the loaf. With this article, you introduced me to a financial planner from El Cajon, Calif. – Bill Bengen. That was the first time I could really put a target on the wall for my saving plan. As I near retirement, I think I must reread an article stapled just a few pages later, again with a memorable illustration – a woman with an empty bowl about to select one of 3 different sized ladles to use to draw soup from a crock shaped like a piggy bank: After Scrimping to Build a Nest Egg Brace Yourself for Withdrawal Angst. You are now cautioning about worry. I will have less angst and worry because I have tried to follow the course that you so faithfully kept mapping out article after article, post after post, podcast after podcast. You are a wonder and a wonderful companion, my friend!
Jonathan, thank you for sharing your knowledge, wisdom, and passion.
Thank you, Jonathan! Keeping you and your family in our prayers.
Jonathan, reading and thinking about your writing, whether the money articles or the philosophical pieces, has greatly furthered my understanding of my relationship to money and helped a bit with the other parts of my life. Your work continues to be important. For creating and nurturing a way for us all to be a part of it, and for finding a path for it to continue–many thanks! I look forward to your next piece.
Thank you, Sir Jonathan. I am new to your site. Besides your four thoughts, may I add that gratefulness must be at the top of anyone’s list of remembrance or as I read somewhere long time ago, “gratefulness is the beginning of wisdom” or gratefulness is the panacea of all troubles/worries.
I read where time is like money–we can spend it, waste it, hoard it, or invest it. Thank you, Jonathan, for investing time in your readers with weekly doses of wisdom about life and money. Further, thank you for creating HD and allowing it to serve as a funnel to share your years of experience and wisdom. I’m confident your investment of time will produce dividends in the lives of many for years to come. May God bless you!
Jonathan… Thanks for being one of the few honest voices in the financial news business. We have been kindred spirits for decades (I even wrote a review blurb for “Funding Your Future” back in ’93 when I worked for Business Radio Network). I hate that you are nearing a premature ending, but you will be leaving a powerful legacy. This was a particularly valuable piece. We discussed on today’s radio show (a podcast on Tuesday). Thanks again for everything you’ve done for all us! All the best, Don McDonald, Talking Real Money
Thank you, Jonathan, for the wisdom, knowledge and insight that you share with your HD community. I “found” you and HD about a year ago and only wish it had been much, much sooner. Along with all of your other fans, I hope to read much more of your thoughts and perspective.
Jonathan, thank you for this and for all the many articles you’ve shared with us. I’ve learned so much from them I feel like I’m back in school—in a way above average class with a best-of-the-best professor.
Thank you especially for the careful planning you have done to allow HD to evolve and continue for many years to come. That may be your ultimate gift.
Thank you for your effort and commitment to educating me. You are appreciated.
Thank you Jonathan. I will continue to refer these four things as time goes by. As my last Saturday comment to your last Saturday article, I leave you with this Stephen King Quote, who I feel captures my feelings best -“The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are things you get ashamed of, because words make them smaller. When they were in your head they were limitless; but when they come out they seem to be no bigger than normal things. But that’s not all. The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried; they are clues that could guide your enemies to a prize they would love to steal. It’s hard and painful for you to talk about these things … and then people just look at you strangely. They haven’t understood what you’ve said at all, or why you almost cried while you were saying it”
Thank you for years of writing & helping us all become better financial stewards of our monies. Be proud of the positive impact on so many people, including me.
May God Bless you and your family.
Again, much appreciation for the impact you’ve made in many lives with your writing.
Jonathan, your wisdom is overwhelming. I value your insights into our behavior. Thank you.
Thanks for helping us all to get real on the inside.
Thank you for many articles. They have helped me.
Jonathan. I’m a newer subscriber after seeing you on Consuelo Mack several months ago. I wish I had discovered you years ago. I can personally identify with many the points you mention. I keep working on worry and procrastination. Thanks for your insight.
Thank you, Jonathan, for sharing so much of yourself over the years. I have benefited mightily from your books and articles. Your Saturday posts are frequent conversation fodder in our home. I suspect there are many hundreds of others like me – folks who appreciate and admire you and your work but have never said “thank you.” You mean so much to so many. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, especially during the last year. God bless you and your family.
Jonathan. Thank you for being my therapist for all of these years. I’m still a work in progress, but you have helped me in so many ways. I am one of so many people who owe you so much.
I have a lump in my throat but my fingers can speak for me. Thank you, Jonathan, for your humility and for sharing your gift of writing over the years. These are words to live by – not only with regards to personal finance, but to life in general!
Jonathan, thank you for the positive financial as well as life impact you have had on so many people, including me. I will miss your articles, but will continue to follow so many other excellent writers of this column.
Thank you, Jonathan, for this wise article and all the others before it. Worrying less about things beyond our control is one of life’s greatest challenges. Acceptance and grace can seem impossible at times, but are so worth the effort. That energy can be used in much more productive and fulfilling ways.
Boarding school! Certainly it was impactful for me, too, in so many ways. Not controlling food was definitely one of them. All the best, Jonathan, as you take each day as it comes–and no more boarding school for you!
Thank you. I’ll keep it short. You are the best!
Thank you for this very thoughtful final Saturday article.
I do take the perspective that managing my/our money is a personal journey. Having goals is so very important. I know precisely why I am doing what I am doing. I have over the years developed a range of outcomes. I discuss all of this with my spouse and have been doing so since 1999. It has been difficult for her, but over the years she has become more aware and financially resilient. She worries less and is far more confident that it will all turn out okay.
She has even constructed a list for giving and a list of recipients at her passing. She now does think that we have “enough”. That change in mindset has made it far easier for her to make decisions and yes, her past did interfere with her present for a long time. We do frequently discuss “living in the now”, how to do that and what it really means to do so.
One of my overarching goals is to take care of certain others in my life; I also strive to leave things, whatever they are, in better condition than I found them. This is akin to applying “no trace camping” to one’s entire life. It is a useful challenge.
G is 10 years younger than I am and I’ve always assumed she would live longer than I would, so I stretched our end-of-life horizon for planning purposes to 40 years, then as we aged, I reduced this to 30. Today, it is unlikely she’ll live another 22 years and as for me, my illness means I will not be here in five years, perhaps not even in one or two. It has given me a lot of peace of mind knowing that I have accomplished my financial task.
I can’t stress enough that having good tools is so very, very helpful. This website is one of them, and my Quicken has automated so much of my financial work and planning. That is before incorporation of AI which should further improve this.
Uncertainty can lead to indecision unless we know ourselves and our goals. It took me years to get a grip on all of this. Emotions are not always helpful but are a part of the human condition. It has taken many years to learn about what makes me tick and move beyond automaticity driven by emotions. I can and do keep my emotions in check. “Knowing oneself” has been an important part of this. I’m very aware of my wants, needs and desires as well as what it is that will push my buttons. However, as time goes on these things change as do I. It truly is a journey.
Very eloquent, may your journey be blessed and fruitful.
I have been following your writing since your WSJ days. I can’t tell you how much I have appreciated your thoughtful, timely guidance over so many years. Heartfelt thanks for all you have done, for me personally and as an educator overall.
Great stuff, all around. Thank you, Jonathan. A couple of points:
I think one of the things that we are grateful for as a family is that we are still close and we talk to each other, maybe not as often as we would like, but we do talk!!! We lost our Dad very suddenly and I think we all wish we had that last chat just a day or two from his sudden passing but alas for me it was two weeks.
Read you great article in the AARP Magazine this month. You know your Number 1 advice on worry less is also my number one problem. I worry so much about my children on things I can’t control in their lives while my own life, as I wind down, seems to be pretty well set. I always thought that if everything in my personal life was set then I would not have anything to worry about. Not in my nature unfortunately. Sort of takes a lot of enjoyment out of retirement even though most of my worries never happen. It’s like paying interest on debts you don’t owe.
“Worries are like paying interest on debts you don’t owe.”
Love this, Ken.
Thank you for all of your great articles, posts, and blogs! You have positively impacted so many folks over the years.
What a great article to end to your Saturday tradition. I have greatly enjoyed your holistic approach to the way thinking about money can effect ones overall happiness. I’m certain that I will continue to glean insights from your future articles and forum submissions. Thank you Jonathan.
When I saw your title, Four Thoughts, my first reaction was “Oh no!”
Relieved to discover you again under-promised and over-delivered, packing a life’s worth of wisdom into few words. A task that we know is more challenging for you of late and yet you continue…
For instance, this one sentence on how to WORRY LESS:
“Often, when it comes to money, the path to less worrying involves
simplifying our finances, keeping a healthy cash reserve, settling on the right stock-bond mix, making sure we diversify broadly,limiting debt, buying the right insurance, getting our financial affairs organized and listening less to market pundits.”If there were such a thing as a personal finance poet, that’s you. There’s like a hundred and four thoughts here.
“…perhaps we can at least deal with our big fears…” I’ll bookmark today’s column to remember this point in the life of HumbleDollar.com
Heck, better, I’ll print it out today’s column and put it on my refrigerator next to the shopping list, where it can inspire mindful effort to address procrastination and tamp down fear over things I can’t control.
Thanks for being here today, Jonathan. I’m grateful for each word, personal or financial, that you have shared in this part of your life with us.
I am a worrier. I have taken to heart many of the items you list in item #1 to help me reduce my worries about financial matters. Let me offer a big thank for your lifetime of writings that have helped me improve my life.
Best, Bill
Looks like you’ve saved the best for last. Wishing you peace and comfort going forward…
Thank you for this and every article. Sometimes it seems like I spend entire days fretting about things over which I have little or no control (yesterday was one of them), so I especially appreciate #1. We sometimes just have to get out of our own heads and work on the things over which we do have some control. Sending prayers and good wishes your way.
I have learned so much from you since I stumble upon Humble Dollar a few years ago, and will miss your Saturday article. As always, there are gems in this one that will give me plenty to reflect on this week. Thank you.
Thank you, dear Jonathan, for every word with which you’ve brightened our world. Godspeed.
As a regular reader since your WSJ days, I have always found your advice to be helpful and pragmatic. Your perspective today provides extraordinary example that I hope I can continue to follow.
Jonathon, Thank you for sharing your wisdom, financial and otherwise. I’m sure that you have helped many in their lives. All the best to you!
Thank you so much for all of your help over the years. I started reading your columns when I was in grad school at Penn, living very close to where you are based now. I have followed your advice carefully and now, almost 30 years later, I have reaped the benefits. These four points in today’s column seem familiar because they are values which have always permeated your writing. You have left a positive impact in your wake, you and your principles will not be forgotten, indeed, they are timeless.
Jonathan, thanks for another Saturday dose of wisdom. The second point in #2 really hit home. Frequently in my career and life I’ve been reminded of the need to admit what I don’t know. There can be a flip side to the fear of appearing ignorant. If you respectfully and humbly ask for an explanation, it can build a stronger relationship.
All the best my friend.
I am sad to hear this is your last Saturday newletter. My family has benefitted from your sound advice both financially and otherwise. Thank You! I can only imagine what you, your family, and this community are going through. I am thinking good thoughts for you as you continue to show strength in the face of uncertainty. Cheers!
Simple but profound and on point. These thoughts align with what I have learned in my 60+ years, but don’t act on enough. So a big Thank You Jonathan. Thanks for helping me, and so many others. Onward.
First, Jonathan, we will miss your Saturday newsletter. We have gotten used to our week-end double treats—your article on Saturday and Adam Grossman’s on Sunday; speaking of whom, we are delighted with your choice.
Adam blends financial wisdom with great anecdotes, historical references and common sense in his interesting and informative articles.
As they say, however, you can’t keep a good man down. We look forward to your future excellent articles and forum posts.
Thank you, Jonathan, for this and for all your writings.
I wish you, and your family, peace and ease and comfort.
When the end draws near for me (not that far away), I’ll be happy if I have contributed a small fraction of the quantity and quality of benefit to others that you have accomplished.
Jonathan, thanks for another thoughtful article about how to make ourselves happier and improve our lives and those of the people around us. I wish I could get my family and close friends to read your excellent article such as this one but so many people think they “know it all” and poo poo any insightful advice.
These are all good thoughts to keep in mind and try to improve. I am focusing on number 4, which I call self-awareness to make a difference in my life and those around me. It’s not easy, as it’s a lifetime of experiences that is influencing us and impacting our behavior but it’s a worthwhile goal to strive for.
All the best, Jonathan!
Jonathan, my friend, thank you for this and so many other columns over the years.
Regarding “Worry Less:” In the past year I have recognized that my mind often goes quickly to worst-case scenarios–and that type of thinking is often not only unrealistic, but also harmful to myself and my loved ones. Remembering that worst-case scenarios are a habit of mind but not necessarily the truth about the situation–in fact, they’re usually not the truth about the situation–has been helpful for me.
All the best to you.
I remember in high school reading a book by Dale Carnegie entitled How to stop Worrying and Start Living. His basic concept is to think of the worst outcome of the situation, and then get to a point where you can accept that, and any other outcome will seem better.
Great in theory, I’m not sure how well I have incorporated it.
Thank you.
Jonathan,
This column of yours today is incredibly helpful to me personally at this very moment in my life. I’ve given the past decade of my work life to an important federal agency that has what I think is a critical mission for the nation. You and everyone else reading this can imagine the upheaval and uncertainty for me and thousands of other talented and dedicated staff like me.
Reading this morning what you chose as your #1 point, as you navigate an unexpected health crisis and face the end of life with time to reflect, was very impactful to me at this very moment in my life. Having been a reader of yours since the early 1990s, I am struck by how many times you have written a heart-felt column or a column of practical advice that came straight like an arrow into my life to help with a situation I was facing. This has happened many times with your writings.
Amy, thank you for your service to the nation. I truly hope all this craziness settles down and you’re able to continue in your chosen line of work.
Keep the faith, Amy. Thank you for caring and serving our country.
Nevertheless, it is difficult to simply decide to “worry less” about events that impact our lives. Best of luck as you navigate the upheaval being imposed.
I have enjoyed and learned a lot from you. Thank you.
I pray you are an outlier and outlive your illness. All the best
You’ve never steered me wrong, thank you for everything!
Great wisdom you have shared with us. Thank you!