I read a few things this week that had to do with control in some form or another that are worth highlighting. A study released earlier this year found people who have high self-control tend to experience less of those things that cause impulsive behavior such as fatigue, hunger, and stress: We found that trait…

Here are 8 random questions I’ve been pondering lately: 1. What if gold dies out with the boomer generation? The market value of gold around the globe is estimated at more than $7 trillion. I understand some of the reasoning behind the fact that people still put a lot of faith in the yellow rock —…

Phineas Gage worked on a railroad construction crew in Vermont during the mid-1800s. While his crew was blowing up rocks using blasting powder to clear the way for a new rail line, a 13-pound iron rod was accidentally shot out from the explosion. It went through his cheek, left eye socket, and out the top…

A friend gave me a book a few months ago to get my opinion on the investment strategy it was selling outlining. I gave it a read and didn’t get the best first impression. I’m not going to name the book because the name isn’t important. This could have been hundreds of different books or investment pitches….

This week Fidelity became the first fund company to offer index funds — a total U.S. stock market fund and an international stock market fund — with an expense ratio of 0%. Fidelity is a massive company that more or less missed the boat on index funds and ETFs when the first wave hit. This…

The World’s Fair took place in Chicago in 1893. It occurred during one of the worst economic panics of that century when economic activity fell almost 40% in a little less than two years from the combination of railroad bankruptcies, a run on the gold supply, and a banking collapse. But the economic backdrop didn’t…

Here’s something I didn’t realize people have such strong opinions on: I couldn’t believe the number of responses, DMs, texts and emails I received from this random tweet I sent last week (mostly telling me the exact make and model I should get). There were plenty of solid ideas and advice such as: Never buy…

In my last post I looked at a short history of drawdowns in foreign developed stock markets. Investing in international markets may seem like a kick in the pants at the moment. Not only have U.S. stocks been outperforming for some time now, but the losses have been more severe and commonplace overseas. Markets are…

Earlier this week I wrote about how holding can be one of the hardest aspects of investing. Anyone can buy or sell but holding takes discipline. I promised a follow-up to discuss how I handle this. To offer a potential solution I’m going to walk you through my evolution on how I’ve come to think about…

One of the great things about the Internet is that it’s broken down many of the barriers to information that existed in the past. Investors can now become more informed than ever before if they know where to look and who to trust. You no longer have to go through the gatekeepers to access relevant…