It’s Easy to Forget About Risk in a Stable Market
Stability itself is destabilizing. This is one of the defining ideas of the economist Hyman Minsky. And it matters because when we have periods of relative stability or happy results in the stock market (like now), we start to tell...
A Slow-Tech Approach to Tracking Spending
Ten years ago, I tracked every penny of our family’s spending. That’s good, right? Over time, however, I lost sight of why I was doing it and eventually stopped. Recently, I decided to try it again, and I find myself...
A Slow-Tech Approach to Tracking Spending
Ten years ago, I tracked every penny of our family’s spending. That’s good, right? Over time, however, I lost sight of why I was doing it and eventually stopped. Recently, I decided to try it again, and I find myself...
The Illogic of Active Trading
Individual investors have been busy the last few months. TD Ameritrade saw a 30 percent jump in daily trading volume compared with the same period last year. Other discount brokers reported a similar increase in daily trading volume. I spoke to TD...
Seven Tips for Stock Traders Determined to Defy the Odds
Last week, I wrote about the documented evidence that trading activity results in lower returns to investors. This is equally true for those people we think of as professional investors and for people day trading in their parents’ basements. As far as...
With Planning Out of the Way, Time to Enjoy the Moment
When we think of financial planning, we naturally focus on the future. We start by getting really clear about where we are today, then we spend time thinking about where we want to be 10, 20 or even 30 years...
With Planning Out of the Way, Time to Enjoy the Moment
When we think of financial planning, we naturally focus on the future. We start by getting really clear about where we are today, then we spend time thinking about where we want to be 10, 20 or even 30 years...
Investors Trying to Beat the System Invariably Are Disappointed
Let’s start with a parable. Next to a mountain trail stood a twisted, gnarly tree. Hikers loved the shade it provided, but one day, a guy with an ax came along and decided the tree could do more than provide...
Here’s a Money-Making Strategy: Save More
A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from someone living nearby who wanted to talk about his investment plan. We arranged a time to meet, and I got to spend an hour being a sounding board. It didn’t...
What Michael Lewis’s Book Has to Do With Your Money
Do you consider yourself an investor or a trader? The answer matters because there’s a big distinction between the two. It’s also an answer that will help you make sense of the current sideshow entertaining most of Wall Street: Michael...
