FIRE Extinguished?: Avoiding Burnout on the Path to Financial Independence
As a financial advisor, the FIRE movement is attractive. It's built on the foundation of delayed gratification, the most critical attribute to overall happiness, in my opinion.
Extreme savings and investing define the movement. And while attaining financial independence is a worthy goal, one shouldn't pursue it so ferociously that they sacrifice the present.
The Insights of the Planning Process: More Than Just a Financial Plan
Financial planning is important, but don't get too caught up in the resulting plan, it's going to change. Embrace the process of thinking about your future but don't expect it to stay on script. Be optimistic and steady, and finances can be empowering not anxiety-inducing.
Inflation: The Scary Headlines and the Real Story
The spooky season may be over, but scary headlines about inflation are still frightening investors. There's always something to "worry" about regarding the markets and investing, and inflation is the trendy topic today. But should we worry about inflation? Is it coming? And will it last?
Learn from My Mistakes: Avoid These 4 Investing Pitfalls
I recently wrote an article about mistakes. In it, I briefly mentioned a few early investing mistakes I made. Since writing that post, I've talked to friends who are making many of the same mistakes. Whether due to human nature, nurture, or a combination, making simple investing decisions is not easy. I hope you can learn from the mistakes I've made as an investor.
Believing in Your Worth: The Key to Financial Abundance
Money alone doesn't lead to happiness. But does happiness lead to money? I recently had the opportunity to talk to psychotherapist Joyce Marter, author of The Financial Mindset Fix, and her observations from years of clinical work were fascinating.
The Long Game: Mastering Delayed Gratification for Lasting Happiness and Wealth
The habitat of the modern human living in the first world is one where nearly everything is available in short order, if not on-demand. Cell phones are gateways to instant information, entertainment, and communication. At our fingertips, we can immerse ourselves in bingeable television shows, enter the endless rabbit holes of social media, and risk money in high-stakes poker or meme stocks. This environment makes delayed gratification a tricky skill to master.
Investing Lessons from Ted Lasso: Sound Decisions with a Sense of Humor
You can learn from everyone, even a goofy, fun-loving television show character. The American football turned European soccer coach is full of wisdom (usually in the form of one-liners) that extends from the pitch to life at large, including investing.
Investing Lessons from the Unsung Legend: Will Danoff's Secrets to Success
If you don't recognize the name Will Danoff right away, don't worry, you're not alone. While he's not as notorious as Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, or John Templeton, Will Danoff is a legend in his own right. While he's content flying under the radar and letting his numbers do the talking, there's a lot to learn from his impressive investing career.
Revving Up the Electric Era: Investing Opportunities in the EV Battle
The battle was on once it became clear that the car would be a staple of American life. Carmakers raced to build bigger, faster, and more powerful machines. Automakers are at it again, this time racing to win the electric vehicle war. But it isn't a battle everyone was eager to join. Legacy automakers remained largely on the sidelines, calling the shift to EVs overblown.
From Remote Work to Reinvented Homes: The Changing Face of Housing
The house is transitioning from a recovery facility to a condensed town, complete with office space, entertainment facilities, shopping, and more. This shift will likely cause a change in dollar allocation, with less going to traditional office space and more towards living spaces. Housing prices may not have needed more reasons to continue rising, but innovation might still provide them.
Embracing the SaaS Revolution: Unlocking the Power of Cloud-Based Software
The following ten years could well be the Golden Era for software 2.0. As more developers leverage the ever-expanding public cloud, SaaS companies will serve more clients with innovative software solutions. The digital transformation is well underway, and I expect SaaS to grow in tandem with other industries enabled by technological advances.
Crypto Assets and Financial Planning: Listen, Learn, and Lead
I recognize crypto assets to be the first entirely new asset class in a long time. Thus, a healthy dose of skepticism is understandable and advisable. That said, it's lazy to dismiss an entire asset class without attempting to understand it, consider its uses, and ponder its potential impact on the future. Remember, Bitcoin is only 12 years old, not even a teenager, and many other cryptocurrencies are in their infancy.
What I’ve Learned By Writing About Wealth and Investing
Writing about money and investing isn't easy. How do you take a sometimes dull topic and make it enjoyable? How do you tackle issues that are written about daily and provide fresh, compelling takes? It's so tricky that many advisors don't do it and opt instead to purchase white-labeled articles and publish them as their own.
Do As I Say, Not as I Do: The Truth About Financial Experts and Their Own Advice
It happens a lot— an“expert” passionately lectures, declaring a better way and planting seeds of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). Later, it’s exposed that they weren’t following their own advice. When alone, without their pulpit, these authorities ignored their own ideas, or worse, did the opposite.
Redefining Risk: Why Playing It Too Safe Might Be Riskier Than You Think
A down-trodden gambler throws back a shot of whiskey at the poker table and wagers his last buck. That's the image that many see when thinking about risk. It can be a scary concept. But what if there's another alarming risk that's often ignored?
There is. It's the risk of not taking enough risk. According to a Wells Fargo study, approximately 60% of Americans invest too conservatively by focusing more on loss avoidance than growth potential.
Creating Value and Leaving a Mark: Insights from Jeff Bezos' Final Shareholder Letter
The Amazon epic may just be beginning but a significant chapter is coming to an end. Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and has since grown it into the e-commerce and cloud computing monster it is today. What began as an online bookstore is now a company that impacts many lives, every day. That growth doesn't happen without a visionary leader.
The Privacy Showdown: Tim Cook vs. Mark Zuckerberg
Three billion dollars is the combined value of Apple and Facebook, which is more than the GDP of 37 countries according to the United Nations (2019). And if you haven't heard, Apple brought user privacy to the forefront in their latest iOS update. The update prompts iPhone users to choose whether to allow tracking for advertising on an app-by-app basis.
Beyond the Rat Race: Achieving Financial Success on Your Own Terms
Step 1: Make a lot of money. Step 2: Go live the life you dream of.
That's been the prevailing advice for as long as I can remember. I sense this is changing though as younger Americans increasingly choose to forgo the "money now, life later" approach for a more balanced one.
The Digital Wallet Revolution: Seizing the $4.6 Trillion Opportunity
Digital wallets are software and applications that enable electronic financial transactions. CashApp and Venmo are two well-known companies that are disrupting banking but digital wallets are quickly invading insurance, lending, brokerage, real estate, and more.
The Psychology of Fear: How Loss Aversion Impacts Investor Behavior
I take far more calls when the markets are down than up. Investors are more fearful during a drop than they are optimistic during a climb. Positive returns feel good but negative returns are outright painful. These feelings can be attributed to the loss aversion bias, a human tendency that has been impacting investment returns since the beginning.