AUTHOR: Amy Reed on 6/22/2024 FIRST: R Quinn on 6/22/2024 | RECENT: David Powell on 6/23/2024
Comments
Jonathan,
I go back periodically and reread these comunns of yours. They are a great help to me, not just for my investments but also for helping me answer questions from my 20-something year old children.
I would add to this discussion that for young folks in their 20s looking to get started
with investing, Vanguard’s Target Retirement funds offer a chance to invest in Vanguard’s index funds with just a $1,000 opening investment. A person could add $50 to a $100 a month to get started (most budgets can adapt to decrease spending by $50 a month) and then once the fund grows to $3,000, the person can transfer the $3,000 to the exact index fund desired. Vanguard remains the best place to go for index funds due to their low annual expenses and their history of being a pioneering leader in creating index funds.
I would love to read a book wrangled from HumbleDollar content. Somehow, reading on a laptop or tablet just does not compare to holding a physical book in hand. The cohesiveness of a book, compared to a jumble of columns, comes across as deeper and more effective, to me. I still have many of your past books, Jonathan, on my bookshelves, where each spot is in competition. Yet we all see clearly and understand that your other time commitments that you mention here are priorities.
Jonathan, what a fabulous column to start off my weekend. Thank you especially for point #3. One of my children is getting ready to open a Roth IRA at Vanguard, and I will share your thoughts on the Vanguard fund you recommend. Overall I want to let you know that you often aim columns like this at the younger generation, but your columns along this vein over the years have encouraged me at every stage of my life to stay on track and to be aware of how easy it is to get derailed by the external and internal forces you highlight here in these 13 reminders.
Thank you for this column, Richard. As retirement nears for me, I have been wrestling with how much to have set aside for an emergency fund and how much to allot for monthly additions to that fund in retirement. Your article has been incredibly helpful at helping me to be realistic.
Having been a Getting Going reader for well over a decade (in fact, I think it was two decades -- I began reading your column in the WSJ in 1992), from the day I first learned you had taken that job on Wall Street, my immediate thought was this: That Jonathan Clements is so clever. He has this life purpose of helping ordinary people invest wisely and helping them avoid financial myths, misconceptions, and questionable sales/marketing tactics. Now he is using his reputation to get a job on Wall Street and make a super income. I bet he will do this new job for a few years, and save up money for a personal publishing venture, and then go back to his true calling (basically, carrying on his Getting Going writings, but in self publishing). All of that came true. I also noted that your Wall Street job focused on customer education, if I remember correctly.
Mr. Quinn, I just wanted to write to you and say that I enjoy your Humble Dollar posts so very much. Thank you for sharing with us all that you have learned from your reading and contemplating.
This article is incredibly helpful to me in considering the allocation mix of my retirement investment funds. Between my husband and I, we will have a pension in the mix of our retirement income -- knowing that this should be looked at as part of a "bond" allocation is a whole new insight for me. I tend to lean very conservatively toward safer investments (or should I say, investments that "feel" safer to me personally). This is another good reason to push myself to allocate more of my retirement investment into broad-market stock index funds.
Comments
Jonathan, I go back periodically and reread these comunns of yours. They are a great help to me, not just for my investments but also for helping me answer questions from my 20-something year old children.
Post: Totally Your Choice
Link to comment from January 11, 2025
I would add to this discussion that for young folks in their 20s looking to get started with investing, Vanguard’s Target Retirement funds offer a chance to invest in Vanguard’s index funds with just a $1,000 opening investment. A person could add $50 to a $100 a month to get started (most budgets can adapt to decrease spending by $50 a month) and then once the fund grows to $3,000, the person can transfer the $3,000 to the exact index fund desired. Vanguard remains the best place to go for index funds due to their low annual expenses and their history of being a pioneering leader in creating index funds.
Post: No Barriers to Entry by Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from December 27, 2024
I would love to read a book wrangled from HumbleDollar content. Somehow, reading on a laptop or tablet just does not compare to holding a physical book in hand. The cohesiveness of a book, compared to a jumble of columns, comes across as deeper and more effective, to me. I still have many of your past books, Jonathan, on my bookshelves, where each spot is in competition. Yet we all see clearly and understand that your other time commitments that you mention here are priorities.
Post: Model Behavior
Link to comment from December 21, 2024
I cherish each one of these articles you write, Jonathan. For so many years (decades!) I just took them for granted.
Post: Model Behavior
Link to comment from December 21, 2024
Jonathan, what a fabulous column to start off my weekend. Thank you especially for point #3. One of my children is getting ready to open a Roth IRA at Vanguard, and I will share your thoughts on the Vanguard fund you recommend. Overall I want to let you know that you often aim columns like this at the younger generation, but your columns along this vein over the years have encouraged me at every stage of my life to stay on track and to be aware of how easy it is to get derailed by the external and internal forces you highlight here in these 13 reminders.
Post: Advice for the Kids
Link to comment from November 9, 2024
Denise, your thoughts and details on Medicare decisions in your articles are always a big help to me.
Post: Second Guessing
Link to comment from November 2, 2024
Thank you for this column, Richard. As retirement nears for me, I have been wrestling with how much to have set aside for an emergency fund and how much to allot for monthly additions to that fund in retirement. Your article has been incredibly helpful at helping me to be realistic.
Post: Never Stops Raining
Link to comment from September 15, 2024
Having been a Getting Going reader for well over a decade (in fact, I think it was two decades -- I began reading your column in the WSJ in 1992), from the day I first learned you had taken that job on Wall Street, my immediate thought was this: That Jonathan Clements is so clever. He has this life purpose of helping ordinary people invest wisely and helping them avoid financial myths, misconceptions, and questionable sales/marketing tactics. Now he is using his reputation to get a job on Wall Street and make a super income. I bet he will do this new job for a few years, and save up money for a personal publishing venture, and then go back to his true calling (basically, carrying on his Getting Going writings, but in self publishing). All of that came true. I also noted that your Wall Street job focused on customer education, if I remember correctly.
Post: What do you consider your greatest financial achievement?
Link to comment from June 23, 2024
Mr. Quinn, I just wanted to write to you and say that I enjoy your Humble Dollar posts so very much. Thank you for sharing with us all that you have learned from your reading and contemplating.
Post: The longevity risk. Life is one long journey, not two
Link to comment from June 23, 2024
This article is incredibly helpful to me in considering the allocation mix of my retirement investment funds. Between my husband and I, we will have a pension in the mix of our retirement income -- knowing that this should be looked at as part of a "bond" allocation is a whole new insight for me. I tend to lean very conservatively toward safer investments (or should I say, investments that "feel" safer to me personally). This is another good reason to push myself to allocate more of my retirement investment into broad-market stock index funds.
Post: Price on Your Head
Link to comment from June 23, 2024