A recent column, “The Housing Bubble That Wasn’t,” struck a real nerve with readers, who shared some thoughtful comments via email and my weblog. In that column I compared today’s housing prices, adjusted for inflation, to those in 1950. Viewed with that perspective, today’s prices don’t seem all that high. One South Dakota reader called […]
What’s Your Money Story?
Chances are you won’t ever be famous enough to write an autobiography. Still, your life has its own story. That story is shaped by your background and the influences that have formed your beliefs and helped make you the person you are. One facet of your biography that is rarely explored is your money story. […]
The Housing Bubble That Wasn’t
In a column in August, I reported that almost every large news magazine and major newspaper was predicting the real estate bubble was about to pop. I concluded that, when the major financial press all agree an event is eminent, that is the best guarantee it probably isn’t. As I pointed out at that time, […]
A Budget By Any Other Name
Living within a budget would seem to be a perfectly straightforward proposition. The first part of the task is creating the budget. You list all of your income, then list all your expenses, add them up and compare the two. The second part is following the budget. You know how much you can afford to […]
What Are You Saving For?
What are you saving for? For financial planners and other financial advisors, it’s easy to become immersed in the details of investment portfolios and retirement plans. Those of us who get excited dealing with the mechanics of investing—the “how”—sometimes forget that it’s at least as important for clients to focus on the reasons behind investing—the […]
