IN AUGUST 2004, venture capitalist Peter Thiel sat down to listen to a pitch from a 20-year-old entrepreneur named Mark Zuckerberg. It didn’t take long for Thiel to make up his mind. According to most accounts, they met in the morning and, after a short break for lunch, Thiel committed to buying 10% of Zuckerberg’s new company, Facebook.
In hindsight, this was clearly a smart move, making Thiel a billionaire. But while it was certainly a great investment,

IN THE NEARLY 30 years we’ve been married, Donna and I have used fewer than a handful of insurers for home, auto and umbrella liability coverage. The occasional changes we have made have been due to either the recommendations of an insurance agent or, in one case, an especially disagreeable claim experience. Fortunately, even though three of our four daughters are skilled at dispatching cars with stunning efficiency, claims have been few.
Indeed, my biggest insurance complaint has nothing to do with how a claim was handled.

IF THERE’S ONE financial website I visit more than any other, it’s The Wall Street Journal’s market data site. Before the stock market opens, I’ll look to see whether the S&P 500 futures indicate shares are headed higher or lower. During the trading day, I’ll check occasionally to see where things stand with stocks—and, if there’s been a big move, I’ll scour news sites to see what might be driving it.
But the Journal’s market data site doesn’t just offer a snapshot of the financial markets.

MANY OF MY CLIENTS are freelancers who are legally required to make estimated tax payments. I remind them that the IRS takes a dim view of freelancers, self-employed individuals and others who miss deadlines for making those quarterly payments. Miss just one, says the IRS, and it might exact a sizable, nondeductible penalty.
Who are in the IRS’s crosshairs? Individuals who receive income from sources not subject to withholding and whose tax liability exceeds $1,000,

ARE YOU GETTING RICH off your neighbors—or are they mooching off you? You might imagine your financial success, or lack thereof, rests squarely on your own shoulders. But much also hinges on the behavior of your fellow citizens.
In numerous financial situations, one group in society effectively subsidizes another. Much of the time, you want to be the recipient of the subsidy—but not always. Consider seven examples:

Spenders subsidize those who save prodigious amounts.

MY INTEREST IN personal finance began during a road trip five years ago. Driving alone, in a desolate part of the state, my choice of radio stations was limited. Desperate to find something other than static to listen to, I punched the “seek” button and came across Dave Ramsey’s radio show.
As someone who has always tried to live within or below my means, I appreciated his “beans and rice, rice and beans” philosophy.

I LOVE THE QUESTIONS that kids ask. This week, my first grader told me he had heard the word “caricature” and wanted to know what it meant. I explained it and then we went online to see some examples. In our highly politicized culture, we didn’t have to look far to see some exaggerated cartoon depictions of various political leaders.
It occurred to me, though, that our posture toward investments isn’t all that different.

WHEN I FIRST BEGAN investing 16 years ago, I threw a bunch of investments at a wall to see what would stick. Someone I respected encouraged me to invest in master limited partnerships, so I purchased a few companies. I had no real idea what an MLP was or did. Sure, I spent some time surfing the net. But that was about it.
Fast forward one year to tax time. I had lost money and had no idea I had to file with the IRS for an extension,

THE MARKET IS ALWAYS right. It may have a different opinion tomorrow—perhaps radically different—but that doesn’t mean current prices aren’t the right ones.
Holler all you want that the stock market ought to be far lower. I do a fair amount of that myself (though the shouting is more akin to grumpy mumbling). But whether we like today’s share prices or not, they reflect the collective wisdom of all investors—and, if we want to buy or sell,

IF THIS TURNS OUT to be a major bear market, there will be a slew of articles to be written. It’s the negative correlation enjoyed by every financial writer: Even as our portfolios shrink, our potential for pontification soars.
But what if the market bounces back? It’s almost too painful to contemplate. Think of all the articles that won’t get written. If the past week’s rally continues, here are 10 stories that will have to wait for the next market downturn:
1.

CAR BUYING CAN BE overwhelming, which partly explains why we held onto our 2002 Toyota RAV for as long as we did. When the time came to part ways, we needed to decide whether the replacement would be new or used, how much we were prepared to pay, the features we wanted and what vehicle would meet all our criteria.
These were relatively easy tasks. While I realized that purchasing a used vehicle made more sense financially,

AS AN ATTORNEY and author who has written and lectured extensively on the tax aspects of marriage and divorce, I frequently receive questions from couples contemplating marriage. Generally, they come from similar backgrounds: They’re both affluent. They’re both getting married later in life. They’re both aware of trends in divorce rates.
I urge couples considering marriage to ponder the tax consequences beforehand, especially when one or both of them are remarrying. To illustrate how I’d advise them,

WARREN BUFFETT ONCE quipped that, “You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”
I’ve been thinking about this idea over the past two weeks, as markets around the world have given up all their year-to-date gains and then some. Since peaking on Jan. 26, the U.S. market, as measured by the S&P 500, has lost 8.8% of its value.
When the tide goes out like this, the emotional impact can be powerful—and the headlines just make it worse.

AFTER THE WILD RIDE of the past two weeks, stock investors are in search of reassurance. Will this movie have a happy ending?
If we’re venturing into the stock market, we should ideally have at least a 15-year time horizon. That gives us 10 years to make money and another five years to look for the exit. Those final five years may prove crucial if the first 10 years don’t turn out so well.

SO WE’RE ALL POORER, right? The S&P 500-stock index has fallen 10.2% over the past nine trading days. Yet all we’ve done is give back a sliver of the huge gains notched since 2009. My contention: Not only is much of the handwringing unjustified, but arguably it’s also wrongheaded.

Seasoned investors don’t get nervous when the market declines. Rather, they get excited by the prospect of buying shares at much cheaper prices. So far,