Archive for March, 2013

Experiential Financial Planning

People often talk about how there are two types of some something-or-others in this ol’ world of ours. For instance, you often hear that there are only two types of people in this world, after which you hear what those two types are, e.g., givers and takers, or moochers and […]

I’ve Got a Problem with “No Problem”

Today I was on the phone with a customer service person from Vanguard and, sorry to say, didn’t have a great time of it. Being a customer service rep is a very difficult job. In the late 90s when I worked for E*TRADE (do they still all-cap it? That was […]

Paying for Financial Services: The Hidden Balls, the Magician’s Hands, and the Dollars Effortlessly Eased Away from You

I get a lot of value from listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio. His politics are about as far removed from mine as possible, and I often disagree with what he says, but he often serves up a lot of food for thought, which, on a good day, can […]

Financial Planning Does Not Have to Be Investing-Centric

We start with this:         <>    Do you know what that means? If not, then please allow me to take you back to yesteryear, and to little-you sitting in your little chair in arithmetic class, so that I can re-introduce you to your dear old friends, […]

Tufte, the Distribution of Wealth, and Long-Run Systems

When it comes to conveying information in excellent ways, the big-cheese is Edward Tufte. Most of us have never read (or viewed) his work because Tufte’s skill at presenting information has not, perhaps, carried over into his business acumen in the Internet age, as, from a quick look today, it […]