Why live in a dorm when you can live a castle? Our twin sons recently took the PSAT exam. Translation: Commence the bombardment of solicitations from expensive private universities. We live in a nice area and our sons go to a school with a very solid academic reputation. Our zip-code makes us a prime target…

Only 1/4 of new teachers break even on their pensions. Most won’t qualify for their pensions at all. Many who receive one receive less than what they put in. These startling facts are found in this disturbing report from Bellwether Education Partners and the Urban Institute. Only 23% of teachers will ever break even between…

Welcome to the Theater of the Absurd – A.K.A. the U.S. Congress. There’s a good reason why the legislative branch is less popular than root canals and traffic jams. Last week, I traveled to Washington, D.C. with Dina, who was testifying why the SEC’s proposed Reg BI is insufficient to protect investors from the claws…

Enduring boredom is the golden ticket for successful investing; the same holds true for most fields. A famous Olympic weightlifting coach was once asked, “What’s the difference between the best athletes and everyone else?  He gave a surprising response:  “At some point, it comes down to who can handle the boredom of training every day, doing the…

Following the crowd gets pretty crowded. Rational decisions are powerless in the epic battle versus social proof. Robert Cialdini defines social proof as: “The principle asserts that people think it is appropriate for them to believe, feel, or do something to the extent that others, especially comparable others, are believing, feeling, or doing it.” Decision-making appears more…