investing – Incognito Money Scribe

You Are What You Eat — and Invest

The premise for investing is pretty simple: to grow your money. It’s as simple as the reason for eating: to satisfy your hunger. Yet, choosing from the myriad investments out there can be as confusing as choosing among the thousands of items stocked on grocery store shelves. The fact is not everything is good forContinue reading “You Are What You Eat — and Invest”

More Data ≠ Better Performance

Data, data, everywhere data. Blockin’ out the imagination. Breakin’ my mind. Do this, don’t do that. Can’t you read the data? Here’s one childhood dream of mine that hasn’t died: to dunk a basketball. Just one glorious flush on a rim at regulation height. To realize this dream, I would have to vastly improve myContinue reading “More Data ≠ Better Performance”

You Contain Multitudes, Diversify Accordingly

Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large. I contain multitudes.) – Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself” The world asks us to be quickly readable, but the thing about human beings is that we are more than one thing. We are multiple selves. We are massively contradictory. – Ali SmithContinue reading “You Contain Multitudes, Diversify Accordingly”

Stories That Make You Rich or Go Broke

Why do you make certain decisions? How can you make better ones? Perhaps, you need a better story. I think finance is synonymous with storytelling. Wall Street publishes more stories than the publishing industry. Exhibit A is the GameStop saga, where a group of day traders bid up the beleaguered video game retailer’s stock priceContinue reading “Stories That Make You Rich or Go Broke”

Managing Your Personality in Your Portfolio

Whether we can admit it or not, the way we invest is heavily influenced by our personalities. As I struggle with the hardest Dry January in history, I’ve thought a lot about people I’ve known who could freely indulge in alcohol or drugs yet still meet all life’s obligations. They always made it to theContinue reading “Managing Your Personality in Your Portfolio”

What You Appreciate, Appreciates

A fundamental principle for growing wealth, love, happiness — everything — lives in a remote corner of India. More than 40 years ago, a humble farmer named Jadav Payeng started to plant trees on a desolate river island. Known as “The Forest Man of India,” he planted tens of thousands of trees — bamboo, cottonwoodContinue reading “What You Appreciate, Appreciates”

Supercharging Your Financial Bullshit Detector

Please excuse the language. To me, the hardest part of writing isn’t the writing. It’s the editing. Specifically, the cutting. My ego believes every word is divine while my brain says most are crap. Deep down I know my work improves when I get the red pen and, as Stephen King incites, “kill my darlings.”Continue reading “Supercharging Your Financial Bullshit Detector”

Do Your Financial Goals Match Your Values?

Tony Hsieh, who tragically passed away last week, was all of us – someone who wanted to know how to live a happy, meaningful life during his short time on Earth. A concern for happiness was a major reason why the former Zappos CEO focused on transforming work culture. Happy workers made happy customers. ButContinue reading “Do Your Financial Goals Match Your Values?”

The Market Owes You Nothing

Invest for long enough in the stock market and you’re destined to exclaim: “I didn’t expect that!” (Or, something to that effect: “I can’t believe it!”, “Wow!”, “Holy s**t!”) Probably many times. You could be a longtime investor who was unphased by every bubble, bust and crash of the past 60 years. You can beContinue reading “The Market Owes You Nothing”