Carl Richards is a Certified Financial Planner and a columnist for the New York Times, Morningstar magazine and Yahoo Finance. He is author of 2 books, The Behavior Gap & The One-Page Financial Plan. Carl lives with his family in Park City, Utah. You can find his work and sign up for his newsletter (which has an international audience) at www.behaviorgap.com/
I’ve been a member of a club that I never knew existed until recently. I learned about this club when I read Yvon Chouinard’s book, “Let My People Go Surfing.” “I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach about an 80 percent proficiency level,” Chouinard says. “To go beyond that…
You want to know the #1 rule of personal finance for couples? Spouses almost never agree on the definition of “financial security.” Even the simple act of talking about what to do with extra money can cause conflict in relationships. Why? Because at the core of these discussions are deeply-held values about what security (or…
A couple of years ago a guy made headlines because he was caught using a lowly flip phone. In a world of gold iPhones and palm-size phablets, it does seem a little odd that someone would still use such a low-tech device. But it was the identity of the person using the phone that got…
Let me tell you a little story. It’s the story of a consultant who had a scary idea. She wanted to publish a cookbook. She had no background in writing, publishing, cooking, blogging or anything related to that goal. In this tall tale, the consultant left her job to follow her dreams, as the…
You are not your spending thoughts. Spending without thinking about the long-term consequences is a problem. And by the long term, I mean just 30 days from now when the credit-card statement arrives. Some people label this type of spending “impulsive.” Others use the word “urge” to describe the feeling that comes just before they…
I’m sick of Instagram. I’m sick of comparing myself to everyone else I see there. I’m sick of thinking that #livingmybestlife has anything at all to do with what @Influencer123 thinks (aka, preaches). I’m sick of competing. I’m sick of flipping through other people’s photo streams and feeling envious about what I see. I’m sick…
