I love facts that challenge the conventional wisdom. That’s why this article from US News & World Report was so enjoyable to read. The “8 Biggest Myths About The Rich” were all things that I’ve heard people say when making assumptions about people with means. Here’s my take on some of the myths and what I’ve seen in my career with investors most would call rich. Continue reading “Surprising Info About “The Rich””
As someone who travels a lot for work, news from airlines always gets my attention. Southwest Airlines is doing an overhaul of their logo, their paint jobs on planes, their snack bags…virtually everything associated with their brand. We see the same images and messages all the time and after a while we stop noticing. I always think of Charlie Brown’s teacher when I hear a friend of mine threaten her kids with some form of punishment (which never happens, they still get ice cream after failing to listen to anything she says). The same “you’re going to bed early” or “no technology if you don’t do X” or some similar thing is held out as a consequence, yet there are never consequences. In order for her kids to take her seriously or for companies to get us to pay attention again, sometimes a change is required. Southwest is doing exactly that with their makeover of their logo and branding efforts. Continue reading “Do You LUV Your Brand?”
By “magic number,” I mean how much money will you need in order to retire comfortably? Without giving away too much, let me answer briefly. A WHOLE LOT!!!! Of course, it’s going to be a different number for each of us and there are countless ways to arrive at a number that makes sense for your life so my goal here is to try to help you figure out a reasonable estimate of what you might need without having to run numbers on a spreadsheet or a website that may or may not be worth the time it takes to prepare the estimate. I’m not saying it’s going to be super-easy but at least it won’t require much math! Continue reading “What’s Your Magic Number?”
When I was a little kid, I used to look forward to being able to gorge on all my Halloween candy. It didn’t take long for me to realize what economists call “diminishing marginal utility.” Each additional piece of candy would bring me less pleasure than the last. It would eventually get to the point where eating more candy would only make me feel sick. Continue reading “What Eating Halloween Candy Can Teach Us About Financial Success”
“Good morning, Mr. Ward. How are you today?” sincerely asked the polite young gentleman behind the rental car counter. I smiled and acknowledged his cordiality. “I see you have a prepaid vehicle with us today. How does a Ford Taurus sound?” Continue reading “Seven Tips for Avoiding Rental Car Traps”
Spring crept up on me this year, giving the weeds in my lawn time to spread before I was able to spread any weed control. On top of that, when I went to cut the grass for the first time last week, I discovered my lawn tractor had a flat tire that was not easily fixed. Luck was with me though, because just as I was about to give up on the lawn care that day, I heard the sound of a weedwacker and noticed a shiny 4×4 pickup truck and trailer parked in front of my neighbor’s house. “No problem, I can cut your grass and apply some weedkiller for you today” said the landscaper with a big smile – and a big price tag. I ended up having to pay him $160 to cut my acreage and attack the weeds. Continue reading “Will the Grass Really Be Greener?”
We can’t all win the lottery next week, but amazingly 21% of Americans—38% of those with incomes below $25,000—think that winning the lottery represents the most practical way for them to accumulate several hundred thousand dollars, according to the American Savings Education Council’s Savings Facts and Statistics. So instead of throwing a dollar into the office lottery pool for next week’s drawing, take the time to join the America Saves Week campaign as an opportunity to encourage your employees to save automatically through payroll deduction or direct deposit towards an emergency fund, a goal like a home, or towards retirement. Continue reading “Get Your Workforce Money Motivated with America Saves Week”
