I stuck a thermometer in the snow before every race. It might sound quirky. But every cross-country ski racer did it. We checked the snow’s temperature before putting wax on our skis. The right temperature-dependent wax gave us the perfect combination of kick and glide. But if we chose the...

Plenty of people have asked me, “What if everybody invested with index funds? Would the strategy reach a danger point?” Currently, index funds represent about 14% of the money in the stock market. But if you want to read what might happen if everybody jumped on board… Image by Pixabay...

None of us know how long we’re going to live. We might look at life-expectancy tables. We might estimate our end-dates based on lifestyle and age. Statistically, people who smoke or live an unhealthy lifestyle don’t live as long. Those who eat well and exercise are supposed to live longer....

I sat in the passenger seat as we swept around a corner. My friend, Pat, was driving. I was 20 years old. Pat was 31. But he was more like a giant kid with a grown-up’s income, credit cards and a taste for fast cars. He drove a black Porsche...

It was a scene I’ll never forget. Gary Sinese played a double-amputee in the 1994 movie, Forrest Gump.Lieutenant Dan, played by Sinese, hollered into the wind of a storm. He was bouncing around in the crow’s nest of a shrimp boat that he ran with Forrest Gump. “Me, I was scared,” said Tom...

Many people pay for everything they can with a credit card in pursuit of air miles points. While that sounds pretty savvy, such payment methods might cost more than they are worth. What do you think? I’ve written a story about it here. I’m interested to hear your opinion as...

“I don’t want to invest money,” said the young, bearded schoolteacher. “Do you have a trust fund?” I asked. He said no. “Have you married a wealthy spouse, or perhaps someone who’s going to be eligible for a defined benefit pension?” He smiled and said no. It was a weird...

Bitcoin is kicking sand in the face of traditional investments. Between July 1, 2013 and June 13, 2017, it gained 3,130 percent. To put that in perspective, it took Vanguard’s S&P 500 thirty years (from its 1976 inception) to make investors that much money. Bitcoin, for now, isn’t slowing down....

We pulled our rental car into my mother-in-law’s driveway. It was 11:30pm. I still remember the lights casting their beams across the neighbor’s grass. The sign on the edge of the lawn read, “Trump, Pence: Make America Great Again!” Two weeks later, Trump shocked the world when he won the...

It’s easy to create an attention-grabbing headline. “How To Grow Wealthy” does the trick. But true wealth has nothing to do with money. We live one life on Earth.  As our hourglass drains, we wonder how much sand is left.  We should enhance that experience, giving purpose to the time...