Note to Washington: You Cannot Separate Human Psychology from Economics

The Huffington Post is talking about Obama’s handling of the economy and the world view of his economic advisers now that Larry Summers is resigning. Those policies — the bailout of Detroit automakers, an $814 billion stimulus package, subsequent programs under TARP, Cash for Clunkers and the administration’s unlimited backstop of Fannie Mae and Freddie [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Men Unlikely to Marry Women with Large Debts

There was an article three weeks ago in The New York Times that began with the following paragraph: Nobody likes unpleasant surprises, but when Allison Brooke Eastman’s fiancé found out four months ago just how high her student loan debt was, he had a particularly strong reaction: he broke off the engagement within three days. [...]

from Joshua Kennon

If You Have Credit Card Debt, The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 Should Make Your Life Better

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, or the credit card reform act as it is called in the news, was passed more than a year ago.  This is a case of the middle class getting a huge break that most of them won’t even realize but, in the future, it will [...]

from Joshua Kennon

What the Hell Is Up with the National Poverty Figures?!

Last week, the Census Bureau reported that an estimated 1 out of 7 Americans is now living in poverty, which is the same level we had in 1994.  I started digging around the figures and found that the government definition of poverty for a two-adult, two child household (4 people) is $22,050 in annual income. [...]

from Joshua Kennon

At What Point Does Your Life Stop Being Mommy and Daddy’s Fault?

Over at the Investing for Beginners site, I just published a blog explaining that the best investment is in yourself, as I have repeatedly said. This came as a result of a Wall Street Journal article that explained unemployment levels for college graduates, which is only 25% of the population, is still incredibly low. In [...]

from Joshua Kennon

The Best Advice I Ever Received

The best advice I ever received came when my parents dropped me off at college.  As they were getting in the car, my dad looked at me and said, “Your mom and I have done everything we could for you.  We fed you, we clothed you and you have a high school education.  From now [...]

from Joshua Kennon

My Birthday In Pictures

The birthday festivities began around midnight.  Most of my family was over visiting going over some details of something we needed to discuss.  Then, later that night (er … morning) I got an email from Molly, who sent me a charitable gift card to Kiva, a wonderful organization. I woke up to one of my [...]

from Joshua Kennon

A Hedge Fund vs. a Mutual Fund

In the next 2-5 years, depending upon what happens at the private businesses we own, I am seriously considering launching either a hedge fund or a mutual fund.  Both have significant advantages and disadvantages. A Hedge Fund The Pros: With a hedge fund, I could do almost anything I can do now in private business.  [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Why the Chinese Economy Is Destined to Be Bigger than the Economy of the United States

In Surprising Facts About America’s Population, I pointed out that the top 25% of people in China – the gifted students who out-test 3 out of 4 of their classmates – exceeds the entire population of the United States. This raised some concerns about my enthusiasm for the rise of China.  I thought it would [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Educational Crisis In Black Male Population Resulting in Staggering 25% to 40% Unemployment Rate

The Good News: African American women are gaining in net worth, income, high school graduation rates, college graduation rates, and seats in boardrooms at powerful companies throughout the world.  They are going from glory to glory, success to success. The Bad News: African American men have unemployment rates as high as 40% in some areas, [...]

from Joshua Kennon

How We Used Shares of Coca-Cola to Teach My Youngest Sister About Investing (and Why the Cycle of Consumption and Financial Stress Starts as a Teenager for Most Americans)

When I was a senior in high school, I bought my youngest sister, who was first grader at the time, a single share of Coca-Cola common stock for her 6th birthday.  I had it framed with an engraving of the first part of Deuteronomy 8:18 placed under it, “You shall remember the Lord your God, [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Think Like a Spider Web, Not an Organizational Chart

Here is the best thing I heard all day … Life is not an organization chart. Life is more like a spider’s web. Things happen in strange ways. – Ross Perot There is a lot of truth in this. You cannot think lineally about your life or business. You need to think in three-dimensions. This [...]

from Joshua Kennon

How I Structure My Day

When I come into the office, I begin by sitting down with a white pad of narrow-ruled paper (very small lines – smaller than college ruled because that is how I like it), and set out everything I want to achieve that day.  If I knock off the top 5 things, I consider it a [...]

from Joshua Kennon

New Wardrobe Additions for the Wedding

Aaron and I went shopping today for my sister and soon-to-be-brother-in-law’s wedding gifts.  We also decided we wanted to wear something new that wasn’t parked in our respective closets so we headed to Nordstrom and a few other stores. I ended up going with a modern cut lavender white stripe dress shirt with mother-of-pearl buttons [...]

from Joshua Kennon

The Cult of the Majority (or You Don’t Have a Right to Vote for the President of the United States)

Countless Americans mistakenly believe that the constitution says we are a nation, “of the people, by the people, and for the people”.  They don’t realize that line came halfway through the nation’s history in the Gettysburg Address by President Lincoln and isn’t part of our constitutional framework at all. Consider, for a moment, that people [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Does Geographic Location Influence Success?

I was speaking to a relative of mine when this person (who shall remain nameless) expressed horror that after living near New York for so long, I would buy a house near my parents in the Midwest.  “I thought you were going places!” they basically decried in exasperation. It was then that I realized how [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Have You Noticed … (This is an Honest Question to Friends, Family and Readers)

This is an honest question to which I’d like an honest answer … have you noticed that the people who seem angry all the time about everything, spewing nonsense about America being taken over and the world falling apart always look like this: White Middle or lower class 50 to 65 years old Struggling economically; [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Mental Model: Goldovsky Errors

How can a dead body hang in a tree for nearly 14 hours and not be noticed by a town?  How can experts at one of the world’s top scientific institutions miss an easy-to-spot mistake for almost 30 years yet a 5th grader spots in 2008 after only a few seconds?  Why can’t you remember [...]

from Joshua Kennon

The Secret Philosophy of Successful Investing – One of My Best About.com Articles

This is a cross-post of The Secret Philosophy of Successful Investing from About.com, a division of The New York Times because I want to highlight the piece in case any of you missed it and get you to head over to the Investing for Beginners site to check it out! Why?  I’ve received tons of [...]

from Joshua Kennon

“Dreams Become Reality One Choice at a Time” – A Lesson on Life, Business, and Money

Isn’t that a fantastic quote?  I got it from Tara Beth Workman a few days ago and I’ve been thinking about it since.  I realize that it is entirely true and that my life is a reflection of that.  All of our lives are reflections of that.  Let me explain. This afternoon, Aaron and I [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Is There a Separation of Church and State in the United States?

A friend from college and I have been discussing whether the separation of church and state is what the founders intended and whether it is a good or bad thing for society.  After a few years of studying the issue, here are my conclusions.  I’ll keep it as brief as I can. I despise intellectual [...]

from Joshua Kennon

The Creed Fragrance Counter Is One of My Favorite Places in the World

This morning, I walk into my kitchen to find my grandmother and mother sitting there waiting for me, wanting to know if I want to go out and eat or spend the day together.  Long story short, the three of us, plus my youngest sister, who is in high school, end up at the Country [...]

from Joshua Kennon

My Reflections on Christian Legal Society Chapter of University of California Hastings College of Law v. Martinez Supreme Court Ruling

Back in college, when I was the student body treasurer and chairman of the finance board, a Christian group known as Campus Crusade for Christ threatened to sue the university because they wanted to be officially recognized.  The problem was they required that their elected leaders leaders sign a personal “Statement of Beliefs” pledge that [...]

from Joshua Kennon

The Supreme Court Is On a Roll Today … Rulings on “Guns, God, and Gays” All In a Single Morning

In addition to the Kagan confirmation hearings this morning, did anyone notice the opinions the Supreme Court of the United States of America released today?  Two major ones that have been watched very closely in conservative and liberal circles alike were decided on 5-4 decisions. McDonald v. City of Chicago: The court ruled that laws [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Mail Bag – How Does Someone Start Creating Passive Income?

Among the thousands of emails and messages I receive regularly, I came across one today that was sent to me on May 17th by Cale P. Here is the question that was posed: I’m a pretty talented IT professional with great salary and a standard quality of living. I’ve known that I won’t be in [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Shocking Facts About Abortion In America (And the Drop In Christians as a Percentage of the Population)

Instead of writing the next chapter of the book I’m working on, as I should be, I am playing We Rule and studying statistics and demographic data from various nations around the world. I’m not exactly sure how this began, but somehow or another, I ended up in databases and that started my research. What [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Mental Model: The Revolution of Satisfied Expectations

The Revolution of Satisfied Expectations: “Research conducted by Daniel Kahneman of Princeton University, and by others who have come to approximately the same conclusion, shows that most people judge their well-being not by measuring where they stand but rather based on whether they think their circumstances and income will improve in coming years.  For example, [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Let’s Get All of the Teenagers Pregnant and Give Them HIV

Today, in our “Civilization Is Screwed” file, we find the State of Wisconsin.  Or, more specifically, the attorney general.  According to a news story carried on Yahoo, the AG has informed teachers and health instructors that if they teach students about the use of condoms to prevent pregnancy or incurable STDs, they may face prison [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Cinnamon Apple Baked French Toast with Sweet Potatoes

This is another one of the unique breakfasts we had last week. It’s a cinnamon apple french toast that was baked in the oven with wheat bread base and apple butter glaze, fresh slices of apple, and cinnamon. The side dish consisted of “fried” sweet potatoes, which were really prepared in a pan over open [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Locks of Love Donation … And I’m Nervous (Before and After Pictures)

Over the past year, I have grown my hair out to donate it to a charity called Locks of Love that creates custom-tailored hair pieces for children suffering from cancer (and the unfortunate side-effect of baldness, which comes from full-scale chemotherapy and radiation treatment).  They aren’t wigs – they will actually fit each child’s head [...]

from Joshua Kennon

I Finally Understand Buffett’s Comment …

When I was a kid, I recall watching a recording of a speech Warren Buffett gave to a college group and he said it would be incredibly boring to watch him work if you had the opportunity to observe Berkshire Hathaway for a day.  When I began building my company, Aaron and I wanted a [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Department Store Sales Make Me Really Happy

Although I’m normally a Nordstrom’s guy myself, I have to say that after reading an article a few years ago (The Wall Street Journal or The Financial Times maybe?) about the vastly improved quality of department stores suits such as the J.C. Penny brand thanks to the use of expert tailors in Hong Kong for [...]

from Joshua Kennon

The Joy of Cash Dividends

Over the years, I’ve written a lot about dividends on the Investing for Beginners site at About.com.  In fact, over the past few years it has been one of my absolute favorite topics to cover because through the Great Recession of 2007-2009, those who owned a collection of high quality dividends stocks were better able [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Dear Ken Cuccinelli. You Are Proof That The Older Generation Just. Doesn’t. Get. It.

A friend of mine sent me information on the recent actions of the Attorney General in Virginia.  I almost couldn’t believe it, but true enough, he has issued his legal opinion that state colleges and universities cannot self-govern and determine their own community standards, including creating classes of people they want to protect.  Not only [...]

from Joshua Kennon

The Bosendorfer Strauss Grand Piano – A Real Life Lesson in the Time Value of Money

The Opportunity Cost of a Bosendorfer Strauss Grand Piano I’m going to teach you a financial technique that can help empower you to make informed choices about your own life and keep more cash in your pocket.  I’ve been using it since college and it’s done wonders from my bank balance and investments. From the [...]

from Joshua Kennon

It’s Comforting How Oddly Predictable Humans Can Be on the Small Things

A few days ago, Aaron got a message from one of our friends, Jimmy, at about 4 in the morning.  We were both still up working on a project that’s going to have some fairly large financial ramifications for us in about a year or two, so we happened to read it in near real-time.  [...]

from Joshua Kennon

The Billy Joel and Elton John Concert in Kansas City at the Sprint Center Tonight Was Great

There’s a Good Chance That Were It Not for these Two Men, You Wouldn’t Be Reading This Blog Right Now My mom, arguably as big of an Elton John fan as I am, took Aaron and me to the Billy Joel and Elton John Concert in Kansas City at the Sprint Center.  (Thanks again mom!) [...]

from Joshua Kennon

People Who Are Drowning in Student Loan Debt

Victims of the Student Loan Industry or Irresponsible Borrowers? I was reading a site called Student Loan Justice as well as a piece at the Huffington Post where people are talking about their “overwhelming” student loan debt that is – wait for it – $15,000 or $30,000.  Basically, less than the value of a car.  [...]

from Joshua Kennon

How to Find Investment Ideas

Years ago, I wrote an article called Finding Investment Ideas for Your Portfolio for About.com, a division of The New York Times.  I’ve been thinking for the past few days about how it is that I seem to come across so many opportunities and then I realized that most people like me are always looking [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Walter Schloss Value Investing Strategy

Walter Schloss, a legendary value investor who learned directly from Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing, never graduated from college and was hired as a runner on Wall Street in 1934, at the age of 18. Schloss enrolled in the New York Stock Exchange Institute, where he took courses from Benjamin Graham on how [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Asset Allocation Basics 101

Asset allocation is one of the most important concepts you must learn as an investor.  By practicing it, you can balance your portfolio against adverse market conditions, keeping more capital in your account so you can take advantage of the market crashes that will happen as an inevitable result of human nature. That is why [...]

from Joshua Kennon

How to Make Money in Fable 2 – Or, How I Made My Fable 2 Character a Millionaire in a Few Days Without Cheating

It’s remarkable that the same concepts that allowed me to be effectively retired by my mid-twenties allows me to frequently become rich in video games. That’s the nature of compounding.  It is a law, exactly like gravity. This weekend, Ashly and Ian drove in from Columbus to visit – they are thinking about relocating to [...]

from Joshua Kennon

David Oscarson Releases New Pen Series

Sweet!  David Oscarson released the next installment of his pen series called Consider the Lilies.  They were inspired by Luke 12:27 when Christ said, “Consider the lilies, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” [...]

from Joshua Kennon