Founded by the late Jonathan Clements, former WSJ columnist, contributor to "My Money Journey," author of "How to Think About Money" and "Money and Me"
Philadelphia
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If this tweet is appearing, it means I’ve succumbed to cancer or one of its side effects.
Please don’t feel sad for me.
I’ve had a life filled with love, great experiences and wonderful career opportunities.
Despite my demise at a relatively young age, I consider myse...
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What would you do if you were told you might have just 12 months to live? For me, this isn't a theoretical question. humbledollar.com/2024/06/the…
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The dice have no memory. The coin can’t recall the last toss. And the stock market doesn’t care about your investment history.
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If you’re a financial writer peddling sensible advice, there's only so much to say—so you hit repeat and hope folks don't notice.
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You’ll end up treasuring almost nothing you buy. Work is so much more enjoyable when you work for yourself. Plus eight other things I wish I'd been told in my 20s. humbledollar.com/2020/02/nob…
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If we don’t educate our kids about money, one day a broker will teach them lessons they’ll never forget.
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Buy a total market index fund and then, when your neighbors boast about their latest hot stock, you can say, “yeah, I own that one.”
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MILLENNIALS—those currently ages 18 to 37—are far more likely to tell others what their salary is, found a Bankrate survey. For instance, 33% of millennials have told a coworker what they make, versus 18% of baby boomers, those currently ages 54 to 72.
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I’m determined to make the most of every day. It’s an attitude I recommend to readers—one I’d encourage you to embrace now, rather than waiting for a dire medical prognosis. humbledollar.com/2024/08/on-…
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Buy a total market index fund and then, when your neighbors boast about their latest hot stock, you can say, “Yeah, I own that one.”
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The day you make the minimum payment on a credit card, you’re setting yourself up for maximum financial pain.
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Estimated annual sales of equity-indexed annuities if salesmen weren’t paid huge commissions: $0,000,000,000.
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Tempted to sell stocks and buy rental real estate? Remember, stocks don’t call at 2 a.m., complaining that the toilet’s clogged.
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It's been four months since I was told I might have a year to live. Where do things stand today? Here’s an update. humbledollar.com/2024/10/tur…
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The one thing better than deducting mortgage interest is having no mortgage interest to deduct.
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If you buy stocks regularly, you buy indifference: Up markets make you richer, while down markets let you invest at cheaper prices.
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I'm dying of cancer. How's @Chase treating me? A week ago, it locked my account because of an employee's clerical error. Today, it blocked a money transfer to my son because of doubts about my identity. "Do you know your son personally?" I've been asked not once today, but twice.
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A second home is a lousy investment, a predictable vacation, and a doubling down on yardwork and house repairs.
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Whenever you win in the financial markets, ask yourself: Did I really know what I was doing—or did I just get lucky?
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If our net worth was displayed on our foreheads for all to see, libraries would be mobbed and used cars would be status symbols.
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Thanks to my frugality, I had a paid-off house and a seven-figure portfolio by age 45. It was a great strategy for amassing wealth—but I'm not sure it was a great strategy for enjoying life. humbledollar.com/2022/07/now…
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If we don’t educate our kids about money, one day a broker will teach them lessons they’ll never forget.
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Draw up a list of your greatest pleasures in life. Then ask yourself: Do you need great wealth to enjoy any of them?
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I have a rule against doing politics, but today I'm breaking that rule: Nations aren't built on bricks, marble or steel. They're built on beliefs and ideals that bind us together. The 9/11 terrorists didn't get that--and nor do the folks we're seeing on TV right now.
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If we spend our days doing what we love and our evenings with those we love, we have a rich life—even if we aren’t rich.
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Who has time to die? In the two months since my cancer diagnosis, I’ve been busy making countless financial tweaks, mostly with a view to making things easier for my family after my death. humbledollar.com/2024/07/no-…
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It’s hard to know who is less truthful, teenage boys boasting of their sexual conquests—or middle-aged men touting their investment prowess.
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Wall Street whining (2019): Everyday Americans are undermining the smooth functioning of the markets by buying and holding index funds. Wall Street whining (2021): Everyday Americans are undermining the smooth functioning of the markets by investing too actively.
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A shout-out to stock-pickers: Thanks for sacrificing your portfolio’s performance to keep the markets efficient for us index-fund owners.
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If our net worth was displayed on our foreheads for all to see, libraries would be mobbed and used cars would be status symbols.
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It isn’t the bigger house, the new furniture or the remodeled kitchen that’ll make you happy. It’s the people you live with.
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I turn 60 today—undoubtedly a milestone. If you die in your 50s, folks say, "That's a tragedy." If you die in your 60s, they say, "That's a bummer."
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Seven months into my battle with cancer, here are four questions I’ve been asking myself—questions, I suspect, that might also be interesting to those who aren’t facing a terminal diagnosis. humbledollar.com/2024/12/fou…
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If homes were priced daily like stocks, some folks would be so unnerved they’d rent—but others might realize stocks aren’t so bad.
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If you spend your days doing what you love and your evenings with those you love, you have a rich life—even if you aren’t rich.
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Because I'm an optimist and I think tomorrow will happen, I ordered a salad for dinner. But because I also believe in diversifying my bets, I got it with fried chicken on top.
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If insurance policies stopped pretending to be investments, we’d all like them a whole lot better.
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A second home is a lousy investment, a predictable vacation, and a doubling down on yardwork and house repairs.
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If you save $5 a day for 40 years by not buying coffee, you’ll miss out on an awful lot of caffeine.
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Want to improve your chances of a comfortable retirement? Find a job you’ll never want to quit.
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I'm convinced the best investment strategy is to sit patiently with a globally diversified portfolio of index funds. But on top of this know-nothing approach, I’ve layered four key ideas about the stock market. humbledollar.com/2024/12/sha…
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If financial education was all that was needed to improve behavior, we’d be a nation of avid savers, hardcore indexers and early retirees.
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Why will folks spend 30 years in a job they hate to get a pension, but won't delay Social Security by a few years to get a larger check?
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The good news is, many investors are prepared for a stock market decline. The bad news is, they’ve been prepared since 2011.
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Pay for retirement? No longer a worry. Thanks to my recent cancer diagnosis, my financial life today doesn’t look like that of anybody I know—in seven key ways. humbledollar.com/2024/07/loo…
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Looking back on your life, what are you most grateful for? I made my own list—and discovered money played only a minor role. humbledollar.com/2024/09/no-…
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Financial freedom isn’t the ability to buy anything we want. Rather, it’s knowing we already have what we need.
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Retirement should be viewed not as a chance to relax, but as an opportunity to take on challenges that don't come with a paycheck.
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We are voracious acquirers of financial information, but mostly to buttress opinions we already hold.
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The financial markets have two primary functions: to make us wealthy over time and drive us completely batty along the way.
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If investment “professionals” attack broad market index funds, don’t ask whether they’re right. Instead, ask what they’re selling.
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Whenever you see a pricey car roll down the street, hold a moment of silence to mourn the wealth departed.
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Index funds make winning look effortless—because it is: The surest way to outperform other investors is not to try.
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During a bear market, buying stocks feels like tossing dollar bills into a bonfire. But if shares keep falling, I'll keep buying, because I fully expect the market to recover. humbledollar.com/2020/03/fea…
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Your precise mix of stocks, bonds, cash and alternative investments is less important than your willingness to stick with it.
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If you keep investing simple and make it understandable, you’ll lose half your audience, who assume success lies in their own befuddlement.
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We might retire from the workforce, but we should never retire from the pursuit of a fulfilling life.
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"Active managers are threatening the future of indexing with their relentless beating of the market," said no index fund manager ever.
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On my tombstone, please write: “You would be astounded at the number of stupid tweets he resisted responding to.”
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For most Americans, the biggest "death tax" isn't the estate tax. Instead, it’s the income tax still owed on their retirement accounts.
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Variable annuities offer everyday investors the unique opportunity to pay hedge-fund-like fees.
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The goal isn’t to beat the market, prove we're clever or grow absurdly rich. Rather, the goal is to have enough to lead the life we want.
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Financial progress: When we can afford almost everything we wanted when we were younger—but we no longer want it all that much.
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Be an optimist. Great happiness comes from the money you don’t spend. Have each other’s back. Pay it forward. Hannah and Henry have good financial habits—but I figured I'd offer a few final reminders. humbledollar.com/2024/11/adv…
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If you think money managers are overpaid, imagine how much they’d charge if they actually beat the market.
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JUST 12% of actively managed U.S. stock funds outperformed the broad U.S. stock market over the 15 years through June 2019, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Index funds, anyone?
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When you discover you have more money than time, you should stop pursuing money and focus on getting the most out of your time.
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Never confuse the appearance of affluence with affluence. One is the mortal enemy of the other.
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Whenever you see a pricey car roll down the street, hold a moment of silence to mourn the wealth departed.
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If the urge comes over you quickly and you feel the need to act right now, you’re likely on the verge of an irrational financial decision.
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Draw up a list of your greatest pleasures in life. Then ask yourself: Do you need great wealth to enjoy any of them?
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The goal isn’t to beat the market, prove we're clever or grow absurdly rich. Rather, the goal is to have enough to lead the life we want.
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I have decided not to enter the race for president. After consultation with my spiritual advisors, I realized I am unqualified and—as a foreign-born citizen—ineligible. Please respect my family's privacy at this difficult time, so we can celebrate with a truly outrageous party.
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Why do we buy the extended warranty in case the $300 television breaks, but not health and disability insurance in case our body breaks?
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Money may feel like our scarcest resource, especially when we’re younger. But in truth, our most finite resource is time.
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What’s the common attribute of everyday Americans who have amassed $1 million or more? They’re frugal—otherwise known as cheap.
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Tempted to sell stocks and buy rental real estate? Remember, stocks don’t call at 2 a.m., complaining that the toilet’s clogged.
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Today, we worry that stocks are a bad investment. Thirty years from now, we’ll wonder why we owned anything else.
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Don’t cut the lawn, and you’re the local disgrace. Let your children drown in student debt, and you’re the nice family with college kids.
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