Archive for October, 2013

Financial Advice for Normal Folks

Everyone should have access to financial advice, right? I think we can all agree on that — or at least we can agree that it would be a good thing if we all had some way to obtain financial advice. But the world in which we live does not offer […]

15-Year vs. 30-Year Mortgages (Part 2): Which is Better for You?

Quick! Which would you rather have: a 30-year mortgage at 4% or a 15-year mortgage at 3.25%? I thought I knew the answer — the 15, right? — until I recently spent a good deal of time what-if’ing the numbers. And what I found surprised me.

San Francisco Realty Realities Bite or Nourish, Depending on Which Side You’re On

I am fortunate to live in Noe Valley, San Francisco, California, USA, North America, Earth. I am doubly fortunate to have bought a house in En-Vee Ess-Eff See-Eh in 1996 (though admittedly the downside of this time scaling is that it puts me well into the second half — final […]

The Treasury’s Checkbook: Healthy or Not Healthy as We Peer Into the Debt Default Abyss?

Looking at a couple of statements from your day-to-day checking account, I tell new clients in our first working meeting, is like looking at the lab results your doctor orders when you have a physical. Staring out from those pieces of paper [pdf files] are a bunch of numbers that […]

The Last Act of Love

Tom Friedman died at 3:43 p.m. today, Central Time. A bit later Nurse Ellen said, “See, I told ya. He waited until all four of you were here. It was his last act of love.” *  *  * We have, all of us, embedded deep within our biological self, a […]