Why spending intentionally gets harder as life gets more comfortable. Read time: 3 minutes Last week, I wrote about why paying yourself first is harder than it sounds. Setting money aside before spending it is the first pillar in my book, The 7 Pillars of Wealth. But protecting that first slice of income raises another … Read more

Why paying yourself first is harder than it sounds. Read time: 4 minutes “Pay yourself first” is one of the simplest ideas in personal finance—and the first pillar in my book, The 7 Pillars of Wealth. The idea is simple: set aside part of your income before you spend it all. The principle sounds obvious … Read more

Having more doesn’t always mean having more room to live. Read time: 4 minutes For much of my life, I had a fairly straightforward definition of wealth: earn more, save more, invest more, and watch the numbers grow. I grew up in a family where money wasn’t always predictable, so financial security wasn’t abstract. It … Read more

I kept explaining when I should have been listening. Read time: 3 minutes My daughter can become upset about something that seems small to me. She wants to keep playing when it’s time to leave, and telling her why we need to go doesn’t make her any less disappointed. My instinct is often to explain: … Read more

The easier it is to act, the more restraint matters. Read time: 5 minutes After publishing The 7 Pillars of Wealth, two readers sent me comments that stayed with me. One had finished the book and discussed some of its ideas with his sons. He told me he was worried about what he described as … Read more

It took me a while to realize time wasn’t always the problem. Read time: 4 minutes For a long time, “I don’t have enough time” felt like a reasonable explanation for many things I wasn’t getting done. My days were full, my work was demanding, and there was almost always something else waiting for me. … Read more

Some things have to be protected before their value becomes clear. Read time: 5 minutes Over Labor Day weekend, my family took a short trip to Kansas City. My wife wanted to visit the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and see its Chinese art collection, and that was probably the biggest reason I wanted us to … Read more

The early years of compounding were working. They just weren’t impressive. Read time: 4 minutes When I first started investing seriously, I understood how compounding worked. I worked in finance, so I knew what the numbers could eventually become if I gave them enough time. But understanding the math and experiencing it were two different … Read more

On asking before you know the answer, looking where others don’t, and knowing when enough is enough. Read time: 5 minutes Most weeks, I write about one idea that’s been on my mind. This week, three unrelated ideas kept coming back to me. One was about asking for what you want, another about finding information … Read more

Some risks can change your life. Others can take away your ability to try again. Read time: 4 minutes Early in my investing career, I had a small personal retirement account where a series of aggressive options trades produced unusually large gains. I always bought options rather than sold them, so the maximum loss on … Read more