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The Story of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews
There is a painting from 1750 by artist Thomas Gainsborough called Mr. and Mrs. Andrews. The original hangs in the National Gallery in London, England, where it has been held in collection for more than 50 years. I have a reproduction hanging in my own home because I love the story behind … [Read More...]
A Life Lesson from The Girl Next Door
Last night, I was working late and watching the most recent episode of House, M.D. on Hulu Plus. There is a scene where an Amy Grant song plays and one of the doctors goes, “Amy Grant? Really?”. That response mirrored the response of some music critics when she burst onto the music scene decades ago, [...]
The Dangerous Trap of Bread and Circuses
There is an old latin phrase, panem et circenses, made famous by Juvenal of Ancient Rome. “Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and [...]
When Is The Best Age to Get Married?
This mail bag question has to do with marriage and figuring out the answer to the oft-posed question, “When is the best age to get married?” … Dear Mr. Kennon, Your writing has helped me so much since I first found it. My question isn’t exactly related to money or investing but I want to [...]
Mail Bag: Did You Decide Against Launching a Mutual Fund?
Today’s question comes from someone named Aran. (Is that pronounced like Erin or Aaron?) Anyway, it involves launching a mutual fund. Hi - Why did you decide against launching a mutual fund? Were there any specific operational barriers that you didn’t realize existed? What did you estimate the cost of establishing the SEC-registered vehicle would [...]
Honey Lemon Cake in a Bee Hive Cake Pan Mold for Family Movie Night
A few nights ago, I saw a bee hive cake pan mold on Pinterest one of my family members posted that looked awesome. I finally found it here, and bought it. The recipe for the honey lemon cake comes with the cake pan so I won’t post it but we didn’t use the icing recipes, [...]
Why I Avoid MDF and Furniture Built with MDF (and Think You Should, Too)
Something has been bothering me. I haven’t really gotten into it on the blog, but the case studies I’m doing on the furniture industry makes me very uncomfortable. For the past couple of decades, there has been a drastic increase in the percentage of consumer furniture and goods manufactured using a material known as MDF. [...]
Sometimes, To Get Ahead, You Have to Turn Down Opportunities
With the death of Whitney Houston a few days ago, I was doing a case study of her life and the lessons that can be learned from her successes and failures. One of the big ones has little to do with Whitney Houston per se, and more to do with her connection with Dolly Parton. [...]
The Secret Project Publicly Launches Next Week
I’m working from home today. Er, trying to but work not a lot of work is actually getting done. There is a team of 11 or 12 movers valiantly attempting to transfer the grand piano from what was-going-to-be the music room to the secondary living room but they are having a very difficult time doing [...]
Borrowing Money Is the Equivalent of Renting Someone Else’s Savings
In economics, it helps to ask the questions, “What is really going on? What is the heart of what we are discussing?”. It surprises me that things most familiar are most often taken for granted and, in many cases, not understood very well. By reframing things through that lens, decisions often become clearer. Consider the [...]
Buying Quality Furniture Can Save You Money In the Long Run
This blog is a way for me to pass along some of the stuff I learn on the journey and the past year has taught me a lot about furniture, furniture buying, and what constitutes quality furniture. Tying that into our usual discussion of economics and finance, I think it provides a lot of valuable [...]
The Ramifications of Globalization Through the Eyes of the Domestic Furniture Market
I’ve been thinking a lot about free trade, labor unions, American manufacturing, and free markets for the past few weeks. You know that, on the whole, American manufacturing is still as strong as it was in 1960. We still produce roughly $20 out of every $100 of world goods. The difference? Technology and, to [...]
Reducing My Technological Footprint
Though the home renovations have gotten the most headlines due to their nature (constant onslaught of choices and tasks that need to be completed), one of the most important items on the agenda of the six-month project has been to drastically reduce my digital footprint. By the end of the program, I will have one personal presence [...]
Lunch Scholars – How Much Do High School Students Know?
This makes me sick. This high school is ranked in top 5% of high schools in the United States. The worst part of the video for me was the part where the kid says, “I was never taught that knowledge”. It’s not somebody else’s job to teach you, it is your job to seek out [...]
Mail Bag – A Message from Ms. Roxanne
This is a great way to start the day … one of the reasons I love writing this blog. Joshua, [In American Households Continue to Deleverage But That Only Tells Part of the Story, you wrote] “The numbers are just figures on a sheet trying to explain human behavior. Study the behavior, what is driving [...]
A Delicious Corn Chowder Recipe for Cold Winter Nights
We’ve been looking for a corn chowder recipe to add to the “permanent” on-demand recipe collection but most are geared toward summer when fresh corn on the cob is abundant in the Midwest. This allows you to use the rich pulp, corn juices, and kernels to create a delicious, thick chowder that can be eaten [...]
Mail Bag – Opportunity Cost and Enjoying Your Money
The best message I received all day in the usual flood of reader submissions … Hello Mr. Kennon, I am 24 yr old who has saved/invested incessantly since I was 18, and my portfolio just recently breached 6 digits! I have always had a similar mindset to you when it comes to the future value [...]
Signing My 11th Year About.com Contract
I’m working from home this afternoon, in part because I plan on making a beautiful corn chowder recipe for the family’s dinner tonight. I needed to take a break from what I was doing to review the new About.com contract that will govern the licensing of my copyrights to The New York Times subsidiary for the [...]
The Master Bedroom Renovations Are Mostly Done!
The master bedroom is done! One more thing to mark off the six month project. Thank you all for your great thoughts on carpet selection. I finally grabbed as many samples as I could, took them home, and then made a decision based solely on feel (“hand”, as I’ve learned it is called in the [...]
E. Dehillerin Delivers When Williams-Sonoma Doesn’t
In early December I ordered a 10-piece set of Mauviel Professional 2.5mm copper pots and pans from Williams-Sonoma. They were backordered until December 26th. Then, they were supposed to be delivered January 5th or 6th. Then, they were pushed back to February 28th. On the morning of January 20th, I received an email telling me [...]
Making a Beef Stew at 10 p.m. Might Not Be the Best Idea … But I Wanted to Try the Staub Cookware
I’m disappointed I haven’t been able to keep up on the blog or my messages this month because there have been some wonderful memories and experiences the past few weeks, from putting on a puppet show for my nephew to having an Auntie Mame movie night with pizza for a few members of my family. [...]
I’m Stumped on a Real Life Opportunity Cost Calculation: We’ve Hit a Snag Choosing the Wall to Wall Carpeting
The economists among you will enjoy this. I’ve run into an opportunity cost trade-off that has me stumped. The fact it has me stumped has me frustrated. That is distracting me from more important things. What is my problem? Carpet. Carpet is my problem. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a big fan of nicer carpet, [...]
I’m Working on a Recipe for Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese Crumbles, Whole Almonds, Fresh Chicken, White Onions, Tomatoes, and Drizzled with a Cinnamon Pear Balsamic Vinaigrette
We’re working on dinner salad recipes tonight and my dish of choice was a spinach salad with blue cheese crumbles, whole almonds, fresh chicken, white onions, tomatoes, and drizzled with a cinnamon pear balsamic vinaigrette. It’s not perfect but it is a very good starting point. One option is to take it more in a harvest [...]
Mail Bag (Two Parts) – Which Financial Ratios Would You Use to Value Airline Stocks?
A question about airline stocks and performing financial statement analysis on an airline company: If you were asked to perform a financial statement analysis for an airline what 5 ratios would you use and why are these the most relevant ones? – Pauline I wouldn’t. Airlines are notorious commodity-like businesses that require large capital expenditures [...]
The Sitting Room – Before and After (In Progress) Home Renovation Photos
The home renovation or home upgrade project continues to progress. There is still much to be done so these aren’t really before and after pictures … more like before and in-progress pictures, half of which are taken at night in low light. I decided to post them, anyway, for Aunt Donna because it will give her [...]
Mail Bag – What Drives Successful People and How Do You Overcome Discouragement?
This is a Mail Bag question from back in December. I’m using it for several people, who wrote asking about many of the same concepts, which is why it got bumped to the front of the line even though I still have old messages from September and October to which I am working on responses. [...]
I'm a private investor who loves architecture, furniture, clothes, history, philosophy, books, cooking, and music as much as I do finance. 
