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While there are thousands who have been following Jonathan’s columns and articles for decades, I started reading his articles only about a year and a half ago.
His articles influenced me to change my investing behavior. Now I am focused only on broad market ETFs and not reacting to frequent market gyrations. I am sure many of you have learned much from him and made changes to how you think about investing.
This goes beyond financial lessons. I have also learned a lot about how to cope with adversity from his recent articles after terminal diagnosis. He certainly has made a huge difference.
I have read quite a few of his articles in HumbleDollar. It will be great to hear from those following him for many years to benefit from their perspectives.
What lessons (financial and about life in general) have you learned and implemented from Jonathan’s writings?
– Sundar Mohan Rao
I’ve learned SO MUCH from JC articles, mostly giving me the confidence to simplify my finances (less FOMO). That said, the stand out has to be how to think about where and how much to put in safe securities. In the past, the general approach was to invest some percentage of my total investment assets (based on age) in maybe a core bond fund. This approach never sat well with me, it seemed arbitrary and also moved too much with equities. I now hold 5+ years of needed cash flow in short term treasury ETF. This approach makes sense to me and the swings on my equity holdings don’t bother me knowing I have enough ready access to $ that have less price volatility.
I’ve invested a big portion of my assets in so-called “XX” funds that are short-term money market funds. I’m very happy with the 4+% return they have yield over the last 3 years or so. Core Bond funds are typically a waste of time.
Besides his life lessons of being gracious and compassionate, a major financial lesson I’ve learned is to be comfortable with asset allocation, and the inherent risk with setting that allocation. Also, that it is okay to be content with average returns. No need to always swing for the fences.
Like you say, “Keep it simple”. It works!
The major things that come to mind from WSJ days are 1. Invest in index funds instead of individual stocks. Not only is this a wise financial move, but it has saved me a ton of time by reducing the need to research each stock and market, and greatly reducing anxiety by not worrying about if I chose wisely. 2. Automating savings outside of my 401K. This move alone accounts a major chunk of my net worth. Thank you so much Jonathan!
Since Humble Dollar came along, I have learned about the huge benefit of doing Roth conversions, and of giving to charity from my 401K. I also like being reminded that time is our most precious asset.
Great question. Financial lessons? Too many to count.
Life lessons? The clear eyed and pragmatic way Jonathan is dealing with his diagnosis is an example I hope to follow.
Amen!
One thing that comes to mind immediately is his discussion of debt being like negative bonds. It helped me make the decision to pay off my mortgage early (which I wanted to do anyway). The amount I paid off was equal to my interest rate plus taxes that I could have made in bonds. Bonds weren’t paying that high at the time, making it a good deal.
Also, his advocacy of an all-world equity portfolio is extremely thought provoking. Even though I haven’t moved fully to all-world, his logic is difficult to argue with.
I’ve read Jonathan’s writings for many years, beginning with the print version of the Wall Street Journal. His common sense approach to financial planning appealed to me as a beginning investor. For one thing I really didn’t want to put my savings into anything I didn’t understand. I became acutely aware that the big bad wolf was inflation. Jonathan’s explanations and approach are always very understandable for me. I grew as a saver/investor. For another, I was and remain somewhat lazy and so I saw an advantage in the mutuel fund/index approach he wrote about and the keeping of expenses low. I got an appreciation for looking into allocation, too. ETFs have replaced mutual funds and I branched out from bond ETFs into individual bonds. Over the years I have purchased individual stocks and a few sector funds but today my “core” investments remain ETFs and indexes. One of the benefits is that my savings and investments are largely on auto pilot. Reading Jonathan I became aware of my blind spots, too and that was an indicator of things to do to expand my education, and I did. Some of the things that changed included 1) My saving approach, 2) The value of investing, 3) Acquiring Long term insurance, 4) Overall investment approach, 5) Approach to taking social security, 6) A better understanding of RMD withdrawal approaches, 7) Controlling my emotions with regard to finances, 8) Taking on debt is mortgaging one’s future. Etc. Thank you, Jonathan!
It takes considerable knowledge and skill to know how to simplify financial management without inadvertently omitting something important. Jonathan has helped me in this matter. And I too urge anyone interested to peruse his Guide, which is comprehensive and up to date.
I think there’s a cumulative benefit to following Jonathan. Obviously the mechanics of personal finance, but also the way we let money affect our lives.
The articles since Jonathan’s diagnosis lay out things we should all be doing for our beneficiaries. Arguably more important is observing Jonathan’s mindset through his journey.
Finally, as I’ve noted in the past, I don’t know the difference between a pronoun and a participle. Working with Jonathan has teached me to be a way gooder writer.
Jonathan is a great teacher and editor. My writing journey started with his encouragement.
Dan – I’ve thought about better ways to provide for our beneficiaries, too. Thanks for mentioning this.
There are many financial things I’ve learned from reading Jonathan’s articles, books, and HumbleDollar contributions. This includes the many, often complicated, aspects of financial planning that I learn every day. Moreover, I think about the generosity Jonathan demonstrates by running this site, and allowing amateurs like me to participate, and treating all of us with respect. When I reflect on my involvement with HD the most important lesson is encompassed in the web site’s title – stay humble.
Yes, the book, “My Money Journey” by Jonathan was so good and the way it was written I felt like I was having lunch with my HD friends. Chris.
Not sure where to begin. I started reading something like 2 years ago, a year before retirement and had not really been focusing much on investments beyond maxing 401k contributions and letting my (AUM) broker try to pick “winners”.
In general, the last few years have been an education in everything from index funds, to social security claiming, to Medicare, to asset allocation, to IRMMA, to ACA credits, et cetera
Aside from the specifics (spelled out very well in articles, guide, forum) probably the most valuable take away for me was the realization that it is possible to DIY on many of these areas and the confidence to move ahead
knowing that I’m on a sensible path.
Thanks to Jonathan everyone who shared their experiences.
I have used the guide through the years to learn about different things. The most recent thing I researched was when Spouse retired and we were trying to decide whether to take their (small) pensions or roll the lump sums into a tIRA. This was just last year. And we took the pensions. Chris.
I think anyone who has yet to read through Jonathan’s Guide–or hasn’t done so recently–should read it at the first opportunity. It’s packed with information, and masterfully written.
Glad you mentioned that. It’s a treasure trove, and I’ll bet there are lots of HD regulars who haven’t read it or maybe even noticed it.
I missed it. Thanks for bringing this up. Quite useful
I think it was Jonathan who got me to switch my portfolio from active funds to index funds. (Thanks, Jonathan!)