new york times

Let Go of Irrational Fears

New York Times

When we talk about the chances of something bad happening, people tend to fall into three general groups. ■The Numbers Don’t Matter No matter the odds, this group dismisses the statistics. People insist they can trust their gut. I suspect this group buys lottery tickets every week. Read the rest of the article on The…

To Get at the Root of Spending, Pay Attention

New York Times

In personal finance, almost all of the advice we come across seems to focus on playing defense. We’re always looking for ways to build bigger and better walls to protect ourselves from bad behavior: Cut up the credit cards. Pay only with cash. Stick to a budget. Hide the passwords. It’s all good advice, but…

Learning to Deal With the Impostor Syndrome

New York Times

On paper, your investments in stocks, real estate or even cash may look like your greatest assets. While all those things are superimportant, you have something else that’s even more valuable. It’s the investment called you. Finding ways to increase your value while doing the things you love may be the most important thing you…

A Wake-Up Call Without the Trauma

New York Times

Imagine a hypothetical guy who lives a responsible financial life. He’s focused on meeting his obligations, even though he doesn’t have a big cushion when it comes to his take-home pay. Things are tight. He’s not quite living paycheck-to-paycheck, but it’s close. Then one day, an external shock completely outside his control occurs, and it…

Use Life Hacks to Minimize Bad Decisions

New York Times

A few years ago, a friend of mine who happens to be a really well-known journalist had a conversation with a really well-known academic. Because the conversation was private, I’m not mentioning names. But I did want to share one fascinating part of their discussion. They were talking about cognitive biases. A cognitive bias is…

Dealing With an Investing Blind Spot

New York Times

Psst. Excuse me. I’ve got a secret. I feel like I should be talking really quietly right now, but first I need to warn you. This secret is going to seem incredibly obvious. You may even wonder why I’m going to tell you about it at all. The secret comes in two parts: 1. We…

What Is Our Attention Really Worth?

New York Times

Pay attention! We hear this command a lot, often from parents and teachers. People want to remind us to focus on what we’re doing. But I’ve been thinking about a more literal meaning: paying with our attention. Attention is a currency. We choose how to spend it, just like we spend our time, energy and…

Your Spending Choices Often Reflect Your Values

New York Times

I have a crazy idea I want to run by you. Imagine that a cultural anthropologist finds one of your credit card statements in 100 years. What would your spending suggest you value the most? Based on your spending, what assumptions might someone make about how you live your life? Our credit card statements (really,…

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