Over at Above the Law, Elie Mystal wrote an article called “Earning $250,000 Does Not Make You Rich, Not In My Town” … even though that income level means earning more than 97 out of every 100 households in the United States.
Today, I was sitting at the dining room table, drinking a cup of coffee wearing the Brooks Brothers pajamas I picked up on my birthday a few days ago, and watching the stock market skyrocket when it occurred to me that, given the secret project and some other things going on at the business, I want to build some cash and bond reserves at one of the individual operating companies; maybe put aside money a little at a time, let it build and do something fun with it three or four years from now, like design and build a row of townhouses or whatever.
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.…
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 on, it is your responsibility to make your dreams come true. We can’t do it for you, and no one else can either. If you want it, you have to do it on your own.”
When it comes to diversification, you have to look at your entire life and not just your portfolio. Several years ago there was a book I really enjoyed that dealt with this topic called Are You a Stock or a Bond?: Create Your Own Pension Plan for a Secure Financial Future. It provided a valuable framework for understanding how the stability of income in your life should inform your approach to asset allocation.
When I was 16 years old, I was sitting in the hallways of the local high school, waiting for class to begin, discussing the state of the world with Molly. She stopped me and asked a simple, direct question: “Do you believe that the life of an American is more valuable than the life of…
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…
In a major peer-reviewed study from Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton from the Center for Health and Well-being at Princeton University, the great debate of psychology – can money buy happiness? – has finally been answered. It turns out, it can up to a point. This isn’t some quick news poll either, it is a…
Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina by Il. Padre G. B. Martini One of my all time favorite pieces of music is Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina (translation: Lord, My God, Assist Me Now), by Il. Padre G. B. Martini, or Giovannia Battista Martini, who lived from 1706-1784 and was a mentor to Mozart. Personally, I…
When I was a senior in high school, I bought my youngest sister a single share of Coca-Cola common stock for her 6th birthday. It’s been a teaching mechanism throughout her life; one that is far more important and beneficial from an academic and educational standpoint than any investment return it could generate.