“Most human beings have an absolute and infinite capacity for taking things for granted” –Aldous Huxley I try to be aware of myself more Often and of my surroundings and to be grateful for the world around me. Sometimes, though, I slip into the habit of routine and I take things for granted. Occasionally, I … Read more

CNBC makes its fame by providing information that investors are supposed to be able to use. Do investors watch CNBC? Should you watch it all day, every day? Take a look at the video below and find out what I think. Do Investors Watch CNBC? Do Investors Watch CNBC? The transcript is below. I suspect … Read more

“Ah, yes, divorce … from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man’s genitals through his wallet.” –Robin Williams It seems like in every large city, there’s one divorce attorney who owns the market on billboards and bus stop signs. There’s one in the Fort Worth area. It’s impossible to drive more than a … Read more

“Look to the future, because that is where you’ll spend the rest of your life.” –George Burns When I was on my honeymoon, we went to one of those adult arcades like Dave & Busters. While other people were busy slinging Skeeballs and whacking moles, my wife and I went to a simulator that used … Read more

“We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day.” –Linda Evangelista It all started before a class in business school. The guy next to me was playing cards on his laptop. I grew up playing cards, and in the Army, your ability wasn’t determined as much by your actual competence in the field as … Read more

“Kenny’s family is so poor that yesterday, they had to put their cardboard box up for a second mortgage.” –Eric Cartman Google the term “unlock the equity in your home” and every result on the front page – both paid search results and organic search results – has to do with a mortgage. In other … Read more

“There’s a sucker born every minute.” –P.T. Barnum I enjoy messing with scammers. I like to select some scam e-mails that I receive from “Nigerian princes” and “oil barons” and “SAEREAGEANT MEKE SMEETH” and string them along to believe that they’re going to actually get money out of me. I figure that if they’re going … Read more

“Banks introduced the installment plan. The disappearance of cash and the coming of the credit card changed the shape of life in the United States.” –Jerzy Kosinski As Black Monday erupted and people were jumping out of windows, a phrase was born. “Cash is king” posited Per G. Gyllenhammar, the CEO of Volvo. Thus a … Read more

When talking about retirement, most financial planners use a wage replacement ratio (WRR) to estimate whether or not you’re going to have enough money to retire. The approach is a top-down approach to figuring out how much you’ll need in retirement by taking a percentage of what you make in the year before your retirement. … Read more

“Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.” –Redd Foxx A health savings account (HSA) is a tax-sheltered account designed to allow you to use tax-advantaged money to pay for healthcare expenses, and if you do not need to use it to pay for healthcare expenses, then you can … Read more