Behavioral Finance

When it comes to successful investing, Jack Bogle once advised, “Don’t do something; just stand there”, and he makes a fair point.

The behavior and decisions you make around money root far deeper than you might ever realize.

With a lack of clarity still in the financial forecast, this article spotlights two fear and greed-based biases you will want to be aware of, so you can learn to not only manage them, but to also put more focus toward the long-term success of your investments.

Were you a math pro in school? If so, new research shows it could benefit you more than you might realize.

The “bucketing” manner in which you might account for income and assets, as well as the hierarchy it develops, can cause you to save more money for retirement than you actually need.

Does money truly have the power to elevate your life? It can certainly take care of your most basic necessities, but according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, money has a limit on the amount of happiness it creates.

The analytical aspect of making investment decisions is often overthrown by our emotions. It’s simply human nature, and it shows up most commonly in the form of bias.

My favorite blog takes a look at how we should all take the data produced from "happiness" studies with a grain of salt, especially if you’re letting them help determine important life decisions.

You make hundreds of decisions daily, both big and small. When it comes to the financial decisions you make, however, what if there was a way to take a more calculated, observant approach?

Take a moment to think about how you have evolved over the past decade. The changes you find might be profound. You certainly have learned a lot and gained more life experience, however, the other aspect to keep in mind is what this article refers to as the “end of history illusion”.

Here’s a shocking statistic: About 70 percent of financial planning recommendations are never implemented. Why? It might be a direct result of the advisor you work with, or your natural behavioral finance tendencies.

The author here (a self-proclaimed pyromaniac) makes a very important observation as it relates to the popular Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement: “It is usually easier to start a fire than put one out.”