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Stock market-sensitive investments, including mutual funds that own stocks, can realize an attractive return when considered over long periods of time. By “long” I really mean 20-year time periods or greater. If you’re one of my college students, or former students with a 30- or 40-year timeframe to be invested, you have a wonderful opportunity...

A 50-something couple met with me to discuss early retirement. Their wealth analysis revealed that they had an estimated 80 percent probability of having a financially successful retirement. In other words, they probably wouldn’t run out of money. Still, working a couple more years and saving a little more money would give them an additional...

A bond mutual fund is not the same thing as a bond. A bond represents the indebtedness of a company, government, or other entity that generally pays a fixed interest payment at intervals, often every six months. A bond has a specific maturity amount (face value) and a fixed maturity date when the principal is...

The conventional wisdom, in recent years, was that a retired person could withdraw 4 percent of their retirement account balance annually for income and very likely never deplete their nest egg. Though a good financial plan would go much deeper into the numbers regarding longevity, expected return based on risk, and spending patterns, this old...

“The Bookkeeper and the Surgeon” is the true story of a thrifty bookkeeper and a not-so-thrifty, highly paid surgeon. The story is told in my book The Five Financial Foundations, available on this website. If you buy this book, read it and then pass it on to someone who is just getting started investing. Its lessons...