Is there a secret to having financial wealth, to being rich? Is the secret to wealth complicated? And most important, is the secret something I can use to make myself rich? The good news is that there are only two real ways to build financial wealth. Both are easy to apply. There is a third way to become rich that builds wealth fast and creates a much bigger pile. We’ll save the super-charged wealth building secret for last. If you read social media or the news feeds, you would think having money is some complex,10,000 step process only the lucky and gifted can conquer. It gets people to click ..read more

The home is often the largest hard asset people own. The right time to sell your home requires you to consideration several factors. Job relocation, retirement, or divorce are reasons to sell your home. Unfortunately, these home sales are often forced upon you. The second reason to sell your home is more strategic. Moving to a larger home or downsizing does not force your hand. You can plan the transition, maximizing your financial benefit, while keeping your taxes at the lowest level allowed by law. Regardless if you are forced to sell your home or are planning a lifestyle change, there are s ..read more

It is hard to believe that just over 100 years ago in the United States — the Land of the Free — women did not have the right to vote. That right was not granted by the Constitution until 1920 when the 19th Amendment was finally ratified by Tennessee on August 18th, the 36th state to do so, surpassing the required two-thirds necessary to add an amendment to the Constitution. Ratification was certified on August 26, 1920, giving women the legal right to vote nationally. It seems like women enjoyed suffrage forever. We take it for granted these days. But that is not the historical truth.  A ..read more

I am of the firm belief you can learn something from every situation, from every event you attend. With this in mind, I decided, after years of avoidance, it was time again to check out what happens behind the closed doors of the free dinner invitations. The older you get the more of these invitations you get. (They put you on a list.) The first one that arrived in the mail was for the traditional investment seminar, followed the next day by an invitation to a health treatment and another for funeral planning. Mrs. Accountant and I pinched our noses and signed up for all three. In each seminar ..read more

Five years ago I started a project where I would publish a special page on this blog listing The 100 “Best” Books for a Financial Education. This project is nearing completion. At the time I felt a few months max would be needed to compile the list. However, prior read books needed another read and the more I read the more books I discovered should get a review for inclusion. As the finish line approaches I see over 450 books on my list. Every book was read at least once. Notes were taken, highlighted text reviewed, and books were re-read. This has been a daunting task, considering I realized ..read more

The Ugly American William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick published The Ugly American in 1958. This short novel tells the story of Homer Atkins, an unassuming man in every way. He is plain spoken, plain in appearance. Yet he will change the world forever. Atkins is sent by the US government to the fictional Southeast Asian country of Sarkhan to work on engineering projects. What he finds when he arrives shakes his worldview. Mismanagement and entrenched interests are overwhelming. When Atkins challenges these entrenched interest the American foreign policy is laid bare. Gross incompetence topped ..read more

The first time Karen Carpenter stood on the stage as the focal point and vocals of the performance she died. In the early 1960s Karen Carpenter started her music career in an all-girl band that didn’t last long. She teamed up with her brother Richard and Wes Jacobs, a friend of Richard’s, to form the Dick Carpenter Trio in 1965. Karen Carpenter played the drums and did not provide vocals. In April of 1966, she and Richard were invited to audition with Joe Osborn, of Wrecking Crew fame. Carpenter expected to play drums only, but was asked to sing. It was then that her distinctive voice was disc ..read more

One of the most important studies ever conducted on human interactions with money, wealth, and retirement was undertaken in 1968 and it involved mice. John B. Calhoun, an ethologist and behavioral researcher, had a long history of studying rodents in differing environments and recording the rodent’s behaviors and interactions. Much of Calhoun’s earlier work involved Norway rats. But in July of 1968, Calhoun began a study using mice. This research has been debated ever since. A common debate is comparing the mice to humans and population. However, what most never noticed is that the mouse exper ..read more

Congress has been getting better at hiding tax increases on the middle class the past decade or so. The Secure Act, and to a lesser extent Secure Act 2.0, are prime examples of how Congress saddled the middle class with higher taxes under the guise of providing better opportunities in retirement planning. Let’s review two features of the much lauded Secure Act and Secure Act 2.0. The Secure Act increased the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) age to 72. Secure Act 2.0 increased the RMD age to 73 in 2023 and will climb to 75 in 2033. Inherited IRA distributions now must be taken within 10 y ..read more

Tom Godwin’s short story, The Cold Equations, was published in the August 1954 issue of Astounding Magazine. Many consider it to be the best science fiction short story ever written. Yet almost no one noticed the personal finance lessons of the story. First, let’s look at the plot of The Cold Equations so we understand what these “cold equations” are. The story is set in the future when man is starting to spread out to other planets in other solar systems. A planet with a small terraforming crew suffers a medical emergency. Medicine is rushed aboard an Emergency Dispatch Ship (EDS) to deal wit ..read more