Last month our spring break travels took us, among other places, to New Mexico. We visited Las Cruces and had fun sledding on the dunes at the White Sands National Monument. We also saw a roadrunner statue made out of garbage. It was cool. Travel can be a pleasant break from your your normal routine. […]
The Value of Respect Read More »
The first quarter of 2018 saw many discover a shocking truth heretofore unknown except to the most wizened elder sages: it is possible for the stock market to go down as well as up. And that terrible fate struck throughout our 2018 stock picking entries. While the market was down a little more than 1%,
2018 Stock Picking Contest: 1Q Results Read More »
Investing in individual stocks is risky. “Both large and small investors should stick with low-cost index funds.”1 Never get involved in a land war in Asia. You don’t need to convince me of these truths – I am a big fan of what index funds represent. I don’t have much of an “edge” to beat
The Case for Individual Stocks Read More »
Conventional wisdom says that index funds are the place to be, at least for most individual investors. Markets are (mostly) efficient. Little guys have almost no chance of beating the pros at picking stocks. So why not just stay away from individual stocks altogether and put everything in an index fund? What’s In An Index
The Shocking Truth About Index Funds Read More »
Last month I changed some tires on my car. It did not go well. But when life gives you lemons, turn it into a quick and easy blog post. What Happened? My car needed three new tires. The fourth tire – and this is important – was almost new, thanks to another fascinating chapter of
Lessons From A Tire Change Gone Bad Read More »
Last month, Jeff Bezos became the world’s richest person. His current net worth of over $110 billion is a shockingly large figure and beats me by a sizable margin. But is Mr. Bezos really the richest person ever? In nominal dollars, sure (at least for the next 10 minutes), but what about when you adjust
My Rank Among the Richest People in History Read More »
I don’t always gamble, but when I do, I prefer to play craps. It’s the most exciting and entertaining game in a casino, and it typically offers the best odds*. However, many folks are a bit intimidated by the rules and protocol, and they risk missing out on all of the fun. That’s where I
Investing Lessons from Playing Craps Read More »
When the joys of home ownership have you down and you need some expert help, the most wonderful words a trusted neighbor can say are, “I have a guy.” While I’m all for do-it-yourself projects and continue to expand my skills, I still have my limits. They include: Anything involving a blowtorch Plumbing projects with
Last month, just before Christmas, I went to Las Vegas with my 7 y.o. son. It was awesome. You might think going to Vegas with a 7 y.o. is a bit of a contrarian play, and you’d be right. But my son has decided he wants to be a magician (so much for the ol’
Why I Took My Son to Vegas Read More »
When I was very young, one of my co-workers (who had already tagged me as a finance nerd) asked me for advice on investing his 401K. This guy was contributing ~5% of his meager salary into a wee little account, but he was still really worried about his investment options. He wanted to choose good
The Limits of Diversification Read More »