A reader that I’ll call Diane recently wrote in with a question about investing a windfall. She says:
I am getting some extra money — about $10k — and I have no idea what to do with it.
I am 57 years old and have no debt. I have about $9k in my company’s 401(k), and that [...]

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You’ve heard time and again that expenses matter when it comes to investing. In fact, when it comes to mutual funds, Morningstar has gone so far as to argue that “investors should make expense ratios a primary test in fund selection… In every single time period and data point tested, low-cost funds beat high-cost funds.”
This [...]

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Do you have a will? If not, why not? Sure, you might not have any kids, and you might not have much in the way of assets, but if you die without a will, the courts decide who gets what – and their decisions might not jive with your desires.
But lawyers are expensive, and there [...]

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When I began my career as a financial advisor, I worked in a bank. On my third day on the job, I met one of the wealthiest men I would ever meet. Phil was worth over $10 million dollars – and this was back in 1986.
As if that weren’t enough, Phil never inherited a dime [...]

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If you are like most people I know, you go through financial ups and downs. When this happens, do you talk about it with the kids or pretend nothing is wrong? If you decide to share it with your children, how? And how much do you share? I faced this dilemma a few years ago.
I’ve [...]

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When it comes to planning for your financial future, inflation is a huge issue. In fact, given the historic annual inflation rate of 3.75% a million dollars today will be worth just over $190k in 50 years. Moreover, using that historic rate along with the rule of 72, we can further conclude that prices will [...]

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Earlier this week I proposed the idea of building a personal endowment. In short, this involves building an investment portfolio that is 25x-33x your annual living expenses. If you can achieve this goal, then you can fund your ongoing expenses from your investment income, without ever having to touch the principal.
Given the large numbers involved [...]

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If you feel like your retirement plan is DOA, you are in good company. The financial crisis of 2008 whacked most people’s faith in the future. In fact, this is one big reason why more and more people aren’t ready for retirement.
Government debt is astronomical, and many people aren’t sure Social Security is going to [...]

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Many academic institutions, charities, and foundations fund their operations with a financial endowment. In other words, they use a pool of assets to generate an ongoing income stream without touching the principal. If this approach works for them, why can’t it work for you?
How much do you need?
Assuming a safe withdrawal rate (SWR) somewhere in [...]

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One of the most common pieces of financial advice that you’ll hear is to create a budget – and then stick to it. But, in many ways, budgets are like diets. They involve discipline and self-deprivation, and neither of these things are fun. Thus, most budgets end up failing, just like most diets end up [...]

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