A Foolish Fan of Various Foolishness
Last week I introduced resources for information and how to compare major fund types in How to Pick a Fund. This week, we’ll dig into a practical comparison of three specific exchange traded funds based on the S&P 500 Index so you can follow along with how those resources can be used. What is the […]
With so many investment funds now available, we need to evaluate them to pick what is right for our needs. We’ll start by looking at the key factors for fund analysis and then cover useful resources to locate this information. Key Factors for Fund Comparisons When evaluating all types of funds (mutual, closed-end (CEFs), or […]
Investment funds create baskets of assets and package them for investors. Most funds stick to publicly traded stocks or bonds, but some funds will include commodities, real estate, cryptocurrency, or other more exotic assets. Most likely, you will start your investing journey with one of these funds either because you want to start simple or […]
To make good investments, I try to make purchases that will be worth more to me in the future than they are worth to me right now. While this sounds very simple, it often will be complicated by exactly how to determine the worth, or value, of the investment. Precise valuation requires effort, market analysis, […]
After starting to Pay Yourself First, cash starts to accumulate. That is when we Put Our Money to Work (our rule for early retirement #2), but to do so, we must pick both an investment and an account type. However, trying to cover both in one blog takes too long, so for today, we’ll focus […]
Many new investors never start because they fear losing money. I get it. Losing money is extremely easy, even after you gain experience and become a good investor. It is also built into our minds that we experience more pain from losing money than from gaining money. Fortunately, with standard stock investing (more exotic types […]
Any saving strategy, investment, or opportunity requires something more basic: cash. To have any cash to put into investments, you have to follow our first rule for early retirement: Pay Yourself First. This concept is a classic and George S. Clayton uses it as a fundamental principle for success within the The Richest Man in […]
After posting “Our Rules For Retirement,” my daughter replied “I guess I better get started working on not working!” I was immediately proud that she grasped the concept of the article as well as jealous that she encapsulated it so perfectly and succinctly. Therefore, I had to steal her line as the title for this […]
My wife and I retired early and use our investment income to live. Whether they ever read it or not, this is the first of a series of articles for our kids, nieces, nephews, and friends that outlines how we achieved our financial independence. The success formula, like the recipe for good health, is simple, […]
In the argument about data-driven versus ideological decisions, I always prefer to use data. But data skewed by ignorance or neglect may be even worse because it pretends to be scientific.