Magna Cum Lousy

Imagine: you give a teenager access to car keys when they have never driven a car or taken Driver’s Education.  You simply tell them to drive carefully and you hope for the best. That would be setting them up for failure, and yet, we do this every day with personal finance. The stakes might not…

Suitably, Unsuitable

It’s impossible to calculate the price tag of “suitable financial advice;” often, it is never disclosed as merely suitable.  Opportunity costs created by avoiding low-cost index funds are enormous. How about the tax consequences of withdrawing money from retirement accounts to purchase expensive insurance products? Suitability is no match for unbiased, comprehensive financial planning. According…

It’s Monday Again…..When Is My Retirement?

Retirement is a new concept. Up until recently, people did not plan on living too long after they finished working. You need to prepare. Here is some good news. There are more 401(K) millionaires than ever before. Investors Business Daily Many Americans retire and then go back to work. It’s not for the money. New…

Same Old Song

  Our son considered his course options for next year. His dilemma was how to meet the visual arts requirement; art classes interest him like watching paint peel. We suggested a digital photography class. “I hear it’s a lot of work!” he said, “It’s not easy, you have to know about camera settings – you…

Oh Behave!

Bad behavior ruins many things. This is especially true regarding investing. Stacy Rapacon wrote this neat article for grow.acorns.com on the index card I created about market crashes. “It’s not just with finance. When you make decisions based on emotions instead of facts and data, it’s not usually going to turn out well,” Isola says….

Three Ways to Fail Slow

Investors fear violent market crashes; those that would vaporize years of wealth accumulation in a matter of days or weeks. Many pay too little attention to slow failure. Risk aversion is a stealth assassin.  This silent threat has none of the drama of plummeting markets. The carnage left behind is worse. Justin Sibears wrote an…

It’s Monday Again…..When Is My Retirement?

Dreaming of not having to go to work on cold, rainy Mondays? Make this a reality by educating yourself on retirement planning. Start by reading today’s links.   Having too much company stock is a problem. New York Times Many state pensions are in big trouble. Yahoo Finance Tread very carefully if you have access to…

Stealing the Golden Years

  My Dad, Anthony Grasso – 1991   We sat on the other side of the doctor’s desk.  My father was wedged between my mother and me, just in case he tried to make a break for it. It turns out, I was the one who wanted to run. The doctor started off in a light,…

Boring Money is Beautiful

Dina here … I have a bird’s-eye view into the many ways investors have been misdirected by their financial salespeople; but this past week I encountered a perplexing situation – which is rare, as I’ve seen a lot. In the past, the usual “suspect-behavior” has been selling investors expensive mutual funds and annuities when better,…

Rule Breakers

Break the rules to learn about money. Dina and I, along with Anora Gaudiano of MarketWatch, visited one of New York City’s most prestigious and ultra-competitive schools – Stuyvesant High School.  Kudos to them for taking a much-needed step in educating their student body about personal finance. Financial literacy courses are greatly lacking across the board; even in high caliber…