Slack is a lot like Twitter from my vantage point. It’s a service I use all the time. It’s become an integral part of my life from both a work and social perspective. Every time I talk to someone else who uses the service they share my love for the platform. And it’s almost impossible to explain its usefulness…

It was reported earlier this month that Stephen A. Smith is in line to become the highest paid on-air talent in ESPN history when he signs his new contract. He could earn between $8 to $10 million a year. People on the Internet love to point out how wrong Smith’s takes can be at times….

In his book The Ages of the Investor, William Bernstein describes a mythical employer named Uncle Fred who offers investors a retirement savings scheme determined by the flip of the coin. One side of the coin results in a +30% annual gain while the other side gives you a -10% loss in a given year. Since the…

It’s estimated the average American spends nearly 3 hours a day watching TV. Many bemoan the fact that people waste so much time with mindless entertainment like this but I don’t really have a problem with it as long as you take care of business elsewhere in your life. We all need some time to…

Social Security is one of the most unique retirement strategies available because it protects against: Volatility risk Longevity risk Inflation risk Insurance risk (death of a spouse) Cognitive risk Since so many people are woefully prepared for retirement in terms of their assets, Social Security will be required to play an important role in retirement…

When I came up with an outline for my book proposal for what eventually became A Wealth of Common Sense: Why Simplicity Trumps Complexity in Any Investment Plan, my grand idea was to make markets, investing, and personal finance accessible to normal people. I wanted to explain complex topics using plain English, a little bit…

A reader asks: Putting aside the opportunity cost of the financial markets and 401k contributions and focusing only on making early mortgage payments, are you really making 4%/year if you make early payments on your mortgage?  Extra mortgage payments ($50k for example), if paid early would only pay off the last scheduled payments of your…

A reader asks: I’ve seen a number of social media and other reports about people being upset that their tax refund was lower than in previous years.  I haven’t seen any analysis around whether this was just a withholding issue or their total tax actually went up.  Do you have any data on this? I’ve seen…

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: if you want to know someone’s priorities in life just look at their checkbook online banking statement and calendar. How people spend their time and money tells you a lot about where their priorities lie. Unfortunately, budgeting is a four-letter word for most people, so very…