Worry is a terrible strategy, but for a long time it was the only one I knew. Now, I consider this a safe place, so don’t judge me when I tell you a little story. For years, when I would send in the sketch that goes with my column for the New York Times, I…
Articles by Carl Richards
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/
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…
Remember how you felt during the financial crisis in 2008? People were scared. Even the professionals were uncertain about what might happen. I know, because I was scared, too. But I couldn’t show it. Whatever was going on, my clients still needed me to provide thoughtful advice and to help stop them from doing…
Things happen. The car breaks down. The roof springs a leak. We can’t predict these one-time events. But we can predict that something will happen — eventually. Our job is to plan for when eventually happens, and we can do so by setting aside a little money each month to help offset these one-time events….
I want to talk to you about scary markets. For the sake of this particular subject, I want to be blunt and a little bit in your face. So for the next few minutes, please, just think of me less as your friend and more as your Scary Markets Drill Sergeant. O.K.? Great. Now, you may…
We’ve been told over and over by the traditional financial services industry to look for the best investment. In our search for the best, we often use past performance. Doing so makes sense since we rely on past performance for other decisions. For instance, if a university needs a new basketball coach they start by…
There’s nothing wrong with ranting. Most people do it. I would argue that everybody needs to do it. In fact, I’d even suggest that ranting is a good thing. But only if you do it right. If you do it wrong, the consequences can cost you your job, your friendships or even your marriage. So…
I talk to many people who have problems with spending. Sometimes it’s friends. Sometimes it’s co-workers. Sometimes it’s neighbours. And yes, sometimes I talk to myself about my own struggles. What I’ve discovered over the years is that most of our problems do not come down to income. Instead, we don’t notice enough. Spending mindlessly,…
Will you try something with me? Grab a blank piece of paper, draw a line right down the middle, and think of the last time you saw someone fail. It might take you a minute to remember. Now, on the left side of your paper, write down a few words describing how that failure made…