Readers who have kids—or who remember being one—know the importance of coming-of-age birthdays. Turning 13 means shedding the kid stuff and acting more like an adult (or at least attempting to). Turning 16 in most places means getting a driver’s license, while turning 18 gives us the right to vote. We can legally buy alcohol at 21. After age 21...
"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." - Apple shareholder, Warren Buffett Today is a special day for Apple shareholders, and a celebration of capitalism. The world's first trillion dollar company. Of course, it is just a number. What's so important about crossing a threshold from $999,999,999 to $1 trillion, anyway...
Saving is the first step to building wealth. We all know saving money is important, yet many of us struggle to make consistent progress. Here are nine hacks to help you start saving more today. 1. Remember net worth trumps income Do you know your net worth? Many people know the number on their last paycheck, but not their net...
A little over ten years ago, my former boss, Ken Fisher, wrote a book called The Only Three Questions That Count. Ken has written many books. That one is my personal favorite. The book is about gaining an investing edge by asking questions. Specific questions—designed to help uncover unique insights. The first question is: Which of my beliefs may be...
America celebrated Independence Day this week, while Lebron James celebrated a new $154 million-dollar contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. Whether you’re a “King James” fan, hater, or don’t even know who he is, he's the American Dream personified. His ability to fulfill his version of the American Dream can be traced to an NBA contract signed 30 years ago...
As I approached Angels Stadium a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help but notice something oddly out of place—a gigantic Christmas tree towering over fans at the entrance. Soon I learned it was “Christmas in June,” an annual team tradition marking the halfway point to the holiday. That’s right, 2018 is halfway over, which got me thinking about how we...
Can't Buy Me Love is a movie from the 1980s about a nerd who is desperate to improve his social status. In so doing, he makes an investment. He hires the most popular girl in school to be his girlfriend for a few weeks, believing this will permanently elevate his standing with the popular clique at his high school. The...
If you’re are an active investor with a goal to outperform, history says the biggest company in the world is not a good bet. Why? Because the #1 stock in the world has always—I repeat always—gone on to underperform. Maybe not right away. But eventually it happens. It must be that way, or the biggest firm would eventually swallow the...
Howard Schultz is the pied-piper of modern coffee. A pioneer who brought a fringe coffeehouse culture to the masses, convincing people the world over to pay a premium price for a premium experience. On his watch, the Starbucks franchise grew from just 11 stores to over 28,000. Now, Schultz is stepping down as Chairman of Starbucks to pursue other interests...
Fewer people have run a four-minute mile than have scaled Mount Everest. The first runner to do it was Roger Bannister. Bannister was a strong runner, but not the most physically gifted athlete. His edge was his strategy. “It is the brain, not the heart or lungs, that is the critical organ,” he once said. A New Yorker article describes...
We live in a world where good news travels fast and bad news travels even faster. Case in point: over the course of just a few hours, Roseanne Barr sent out a racial slur via tweet, and effectively flushed her hit TV show and resurgent career down the toilet. Asked why the ABC Network decided to cancel the show, a...
Did you hear “Yanny or Laurel?” If you don’t know what I’m talking about, there’s a viral audio clip making the rounds which asks that question. Some people listen and hear Yanny. Others hear Laurel. It’s one of those things that’s open to interpretation. One thing that isn’t hard to interpret is Q1 earnings season. S&P 500 firms crushed expectations...