WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER the most important financial ideas? No doubt we’d all come up with a different list—sometimes radically different—and what we deem important likely says a lot about how we handle our money.
For my own list, I think less about practical financial concepts—things like indexing and asset location—and more about the big ideas that should guide our financial decision-making. Here are seven of those ideas, all of which heavily influence how I manage my own money:
1.

THE GENDER PAY GAP is quantifiable. But there are also other, subtler forms of workplace discrimination that are harder to quantify, but which women face every day.
When I was part of a five-person analyst team, my manager invited everyone on the team to a poker night at his house—except me, the only female. When I asked why I was left out, he said the absence of women would make the guys feel freer to relax.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE musicians is singer and songwriter Neil Young, who has sold millions of records since the 1960s. Young was rated No. 17 by Rolling Stone on its list of 100 greatest guitarists. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: once as a solo artist in 1995 and as a member of Buffalo Springfield in 1997.
When I was in college in the early 1970s, I would often hear students strumming their guitars to his songs as I walked across campus.

YOUR INVESTMENT holdings might include an asset that’s dropped in value since you bought it. Still, you have great hopes for the investment: While you’d like to sell and get the tax loss, you really hate to part with your old friend. Should you instead sell it to your spouse or your child?
You can usually claim losses on investments when you sell them. But IRS code section 267 generally disallows deductions for losses on sales to certain family members and other related parties.

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT said on Aug. 14, 1935, that the new Social Security program would provide “some measure of protection to the average citizen… against poverty-ridden old age.”
Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works and chair of the Strengthen Social Security coalition, opined this year that “after a lifetime of work Americans should have enough guaranteed Social Security to maintain their standard of living.”
Make no mistake: There’s a vast gap between Roosevelt’s notion of protecting against poverty and Altman’s goal of guaranteeing one’s standard of living.

PABLO PICASSO WAS ONE of the most influential, prolific and financially successful artists of the 20th century. Yet, if you had visited his studio at the peak of his career, you might have guessed otherwise: It was a mess and his work schedule was, at best, leisurely.
On a normal day, Picasso would stay in bed all morning and only get to work around 2 p.m. When he did work, according to a biographer,

A YEAR AGO, I WAS worried about the stock market. Today, I’m concerned about the job market.
In December 2017, I penned an article entitled Best Investment 2018, which turned out to be surprisingly prescient. That wasn’t really my goal. At the time, I was simply pondering rich stock market valuations, tiny bond yields and the new tax law, with its higher standard deduction and limits on itemized deductions. Putting it all together, it struck me that paying down debt—even mortgage debt—seemed like an awfully smart move.

I BEGAN WORKING for my father at age 12. He and his brothers run a sign manufacturing business that was co-founded in 1947 by my grandfather. The first few years, I cleaned pickup trucks, swept floors and took out the trash. When I got my driver’s license in high school, I started running errands for the business—better known as a gopher. As a finance major in college, I was able to work my way into the office,

BACK IN 2002, I WAS part of a three-person financial analysis team at a major mortgage lender. I was better qualified than my two male colleagues, thanks to my master’s degree and greater years of experience. Imagine my surprise, then, when I compared my performance review with one of my colleagues. I discovered that, while we both received the same rating, he got a year-end bonus and I didn’t.
Like many women, I was aware of the gender pay gap,

WE HUMANS CAN BE a bit irrational. We’ll struggle to the bitter end over potential losses of property, whether it’s fretting over investment losers, trying to recover money we’ve lent or wrangling over our parents’ estate. But strangely, when it comes to what may be our most valuable resource—time—we collectively shrug off losses as a mere nothing. That “mere nothing” can often have significant financial implications for future monies earned or lost.
Time has specific properties.

WITH MY OFFER OF $375,000 accepted, I was faced with coming up with $80,000 to cover my 20% down payment and other closing costs. I had additional expenses as well: There was a home inspection, radon test and sewer assessment that all had to be paid for. And because I’d be breaking the lease on my apartment, I would also need an additional $1,800 for that.
Coming up with the first $50,000 was easy.

A LITTLE WHILE BACK, a friend—let’s call him Paul—recommended a book with an unusual title: How Not to Die. As you might guess, it’s about health, nutrition and longevity. Since Paul is a cardiologist and knows a thing or two about what can land people in hospital, I took his recommendation seriously and immediately ordered a copy.
When the book arrived, I learned that the prescription for not dying isn’t so simple.

DO CHILDREN BRING happiness? As someone who has invested heavily in small people over the years—I have two children and two stepchildren—I want to believe the answer is “yes.” But the evidence suggests otherwise.
This, I realize, is a touchy subject, so let me offer a few crucial caveats before you fire off that fiery email. The studies cited here offer conclusions based on broad averages. Your experience could be entirely different. Moreover, it may be that children give special meaning to our lives,

WANT TO CUT YOUR tax bill for this year and next? The main thing is to act—or not act—before Dec. 31, while there’s still time to take advantage of tax angles that can generate dramatic savings.
Once we’re beyond Dec. 31, it’s generally too late to do anything but file Form 1040 on the basis of what took place the preceding year. There are a few exceptions. For instance, early in the year, you can still make deductible contribu­tions to some tax-deferred retirement accounts,

FINANCIAL SECURITY is within your reach. Don’t believe me? Here’s a roadmap that demonstrates it’s possible for most Americans.
Sam is a 22-year-old college graduate. He begins working right after college, earning $50,000 a year. He saves 20% of his income the first year, equal to $10,000. Each year, he gets a 2% raise. This raise is over and above inflation, which we’ll assume is zero to keep things simple. In addition to saving $10,000 a year,