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Wealth Is Knowledge   The title of this post was also the title of an insightful Wall Street Journal article.  Here is a thought-provoking excerpt from it:   ……….… "...I asked the author and economist George Gilder about wealth creation. “Wealth is most essentially knowledge,” Mr. Gilder says. “Let’s face it, the caveman had access to all the materials we have today. Therefore, economic growth is learning, manifested in ‘learning curves’ of collapsing costs driven by markets.

Thing One   “The Top” Of The Market Is All A Matter Of Perspective   Most of us are familiar with the buy low, sell high mantra.  It’s a reminder not to enthusiastically rush into the market and buy “overpriced” stocks only to get discouraged and sell them when their prices deflate.  This is good advice, but it needs context.  While there are certainly stocks whose prices “get ahead of their earnings”, there really is no such thing as the top of the market for a long-term inv

Thing One   A Reminder From Warren Buffett   Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has long emphasized a simple yet profound principle: bad news is an investor’s best friend. During a 2008 interview with CNBC, amid the chaos of the financial crisis, Buffett explained that downturns and uncertainty often create rare opportunities to buy exceptional businesses at bargain prices. His optimism wasn’t blind; it stemmed from a disciplined belief that

Thing One   Wealth Is Knowledge   The title of this post was also the title of an insightful Wall Street Journal article.  Here is a thought-provoking excerpt from it:   ……….… "...I asked the author and economist George Gilder about wealth creation. “Wealth is most essentially knowledge,” Mr. Gilder says. “Let’s face it, the caveman had access to all the materials we have today. Therefore, economic growth is learning, manifested in ‘learning curves’ of collapsing costs driven

Thing One   HYSAs Revisited   A year or so ago, we discussed high yield savings accounts (HYSAs). Given the cash that many investors are still sitting on, we thought we’d revisit the subject. What follows is a primer per Miranda Marquit writing for Buy Side WSJ:   “…Key takeaways High-yield savings accounts often pay up to 10 times higher APYs than their traditional counterparts. Benefits of high-yield savings accounts include a low-risk way to grow your savings faster and re

Thing One   Apps That Help You Save/Make Money   Soon after smart phones became an integral part of our daily lives, the phrase, “there’s an app for that” became ubiquitous as well.  The following is a summary of three apps geared toward helping us save money:   Acorns - This one's great if you want to save without even thinking about it. It rounds up your everyday purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the spare change into a diversified portfolio. It’s perfect for begi

Thing One   A Tale Of Three Savings Plans   Once upon a time, there was a person who earned $12 per hour, working diligently at their job for 40 hours a week. They harbored a dream of saving up to a million dollars through careful savings and investments. Here are three tales of how this dream could unfold, all with an assumed 7% annual return on investment:   The Moderate Saver's Tale: Our protagonist chose to save 20% of their net income after taxes, which came to $3,840 ea

Thing One   To Pay Down Or Invest, That Is The Question   To get to the answer you are going to have to balance potential returns against the cost of borrowing. Totally paying off debt is like earning a guaranteed return equal to the interest rate of the debt. For example, if you have a credit card debt with an 18% interest rate, by paying it off, you effectively gain an 18% return on your money, which is often higher than what many investment vehicles might offer in the shor

Thing One   Revisiting The Social Security and Medicare Issue   We've previously mentioned the ticking time bombs that are the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.  The former is projected to be insolvent by 2035 and the later by 2026.  Given the dire nature of the situation, we believe that all options for addressing the impending crises should be on the table, including means testing, which would essentially reduce benefits for well-off “older people”.  With that in mi

Thing One   Reagan Told Us The Secret About Corporate Taxes   "...The government has only two ways of getting money other than raising taxes.  It can go into the money market and borrow, competing with its own citizens and driving up interest rates which it has done, or it can print money.  And it’s done that.  Both methods are inflationary.  We’re the victims of language.  The very word inflation leads us to think of it as just high prices.  Then, of course, we resent the pe