In my post that looked at housing as an investment I showed historical data going all the way back to 1880 on the investment returns in the housing sector. Then I looked at some of the investment characteristics on housing including the net expenses you pay and its low liquidity when you need to sell. I…

“If you spend 13 minutes a year trying to predict the economy, you have wasted 10 minutes.” – Peter Lynch Many investors assume that the stock market anticipates economic developments. Or that the latest GDP number has a huge effect on the market’s movements. Over the long term there is virtually zero correlation between the…

When we got engaged my wife and I had a discussion about how we would run our finances once we were married. This was obviously a topic that was breached by me since I am the personal finance nerd of the relationship. But she was all for it. We covered our spending habits, budgeting, saving,…

“Housing takes maintenance, it depreciates, it goes out of style. So why was it considered an investment? That was a fad. That was an idea that took hold in the early 2000s. And I don’t expect it to come back. Not with the same force.” – Robert Shiller Purchasing a home is the biggest investment…

“By choosing to place asset allocation at the center of the investment process, investors ground the decision-making framework on the stable foundation of long-term policy actions. Focus on asset allocation relegates market timing and security selection decisions to the background, reducing the degree to which investment results depend on mercurial, unreliable factors. Selecting the asset…

The S&P 500 has been trading right around the 1500 level for most of 2013. The first time it crossed that mark was in March of 2000. It did it again in May of 2007. Just some food for thought on the crazy ride the markets have been on for the past 13 years. Here…

“Once you set your asset allocation, stick to it no matter how greedy or scared you become.” – John Bogle, Founder of The Vanguard Group Your asset allocation is one of the most important decisions you can make when figuring out how to invest your retirement funds. Studies on the subject vary, but many show…

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it…he who doesn’t…pays it.” – Albert Einstein “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett A great way to figure out how to plan ahead with your finances when you…

“The art is not in making money, but in keeping it.” – Proverb How much do I need to retire? Should I increase the riskiness of my portfolio to make sure that I have enough money to retire? How much should I be saving as a percentage of my income to have a big enough…

“A very low-cost index is going to beat a majority of the amateur-managed money or professionally-managed money.” – Warren Buffet At this point most people know the advantages that come with investing in index funds.  They are tax efficient because of their low turnover.   This lowers the transaction costs in the funds making them less…