Carl C Trovall

Comments

• Thank you, Mark. I feel better knowing I am not alone. You described my own situation very well, and this individual share holding (Microsoft), the only non-index shares I own, has taken up my headspace for the two weeks. Why can I not just leave it alone or sell it? Do I want to pay capital gains on it, or should I save it to allow a higher Roth Conversion? Another question for me also follows: Should I re-invest the proceeds in an index fund, or keep it in a money market as part of my cash reserve? Which then makes me wonder: How much cash do I really need? Some advise five years to help avoid any sequence of returns risk, others three years, and even others one year. That said, I still sleep well. No rush on this. I am having fun doing the research!

  Post: A Very Sensible Conclusion

  Link to comment from February 18, 2026

• I used to teach a class for first-year college students at my university. We covered many basic life and study skills, since students were away from home for the first time. One area we were required to cover was personal finance (budgeting, financial aid, etc.). At some point, I decided to include some basics of saving, compounding, and investing—not because the students had much disposable income, but because I figured at least they would hear it early and could follow up later when they got their first job. After a number of semesters, I wondered if the extra time was really worth it. Lo and behold, to my surprise, one semester I had a veteran who came up to thank me on the last day of class. She told me that she had saved up a good amount of money while serving and that, based on the information from class, she had invested it in a low-cost index fund.

  Post: I got the call

  Link to comment from February 7, 2026

• I inherited a couple of ounces in gold from my parents. I was going to give them to the kids, but now wonder if it might be better to sell. Sell high, right?

  Post: The Playground Indicator

  Link to comment from January 31, 2026

• Thank you for stating this, Chris. The old aphorism about the golden rule: Those who have the gold make the rules. Structural injustice gives certain people advantages over those of us further down the ladder. Making the rules is a big one.

  Post: I think billionaires are under appreciated

  Link to comment from November 19, 2025

• He is, he is. While I could never emulate his wealth, I do my best to emulate his character.

  Post: I think billionaires are under appreciated

  Link to comment from November 17, 2025

• This is a wonderfully thought-provoking post! Yet one aspect of it is bugging me. I just don't buy the 'self-made' argument. While I never deny the importance of hard work and good decision-making, it seems we underestimate the role of moral luck in financial success—or in any of our successes. I suspect Warren Buffett's recent message to his shareholders is shaping my reaction this morning. He put it this way: ...Lady Luck is fickle and – no other term fits – wildly unfair. In many cases, our leaders and the rich have received far more than their share of luck – which, too often, the recipients prefer not to acknowledge. Dynastic inheritors have achieved lifetime financial independence the moment they emerged from the womb, while others have arrived, facing a hell-hole during their early life or, worse, disabling physical or mental infirmities that rob them of what I have taken for granted. In many heavily-populated parts of the world, I would likely have had a miserable life and my sisters would have had one even worse. I was born in 1930 healthy, reasonably intelligent, white, male and in America. Wow! Thank you, Lady Luck. My sisters had equal intelligence and better personalities than I but faced a much different outlook. Lady Luck continued to drop by during much of my life, but she has better things to do than work with those in their 90s. Luck has its limits. I am always amazed to think that we were born by no choice of our own. We did not choose our parents, their wealth, their social status, our race, our gender, our genetics, or the nation (including its political or economic system) we were born into. We were born with certain opportunities that were presented to us, but we were not free to choose the presence of those opportunities. We were born able-bodied in a way that allowed us to work. We were born within reach of schools that could give us a basic education. The question I ask of myself: How can we bring about a society in which the most privileged and lucky among us can use that power to create more, not less, fairness—to mitigate the terrible traps of Lady Luck?

  Post: I think billionaires are under appreciated

  Link to comment from November 17, 2025

• Glad you could make a career out of avoiding certainty addiction. And, I couldn't agree with you more about how we can over-simplify. Reminds me of the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead's aphorism: Seek simplicity, and distrust it.

  Post: Certainty addiction in financial decision-making

  Link to comment from November 17, 2025

• I completely agree! Great connection.

  Post: Certainty addiction in financial decision-making

  Link to comment from November 17, 2025

• "Luxury is not about how much you have, but how much you don't need." -Pico Eyre

  Post: Frugality, Minimalism, and Aligning Values

  Link to comment from November 13, 2025

• Hi Jack, I would second your recommendation of that book. I sometimes used the ideas in the book to help my class discuss difficult ethical and religious issues. When it comes to discussion financial matters with friends, I struggle with the proper balance between privacy and learning from others so that I can be a better steward.

  Post: Discussing money matters with friends- a slippery slope

  Link to comment from November 7, 2025