by Doug Goldstein CFP® | Jul 2, 2015 | Decision Making |
The internet is one of the most powerful inventions ever. Information is freely available, and you can get anything and everything you want. Yet, the internet can also be a dangerous place for investors. Here’s why: Online fraud As the internet becomes more sophisticated, so does online fraud. Emails offering you a great cash prize if you would just deposit $5,000 into a stranger’s bank account have been around for years and most people now know to avoid them. Since then, scammers have made their approach more plausible and convincing, and many innocent and intelligent investors have been fooled. From identity theft to real-sounding but false emails claiming to be from your bank, online scams go on every single day. To learn how to protect yourself from internet fraud, click here. Do they really know what they’re talking about? If you’re good at designing websites, you can make anything look appealing and interesting. But is what’s written on an attractive website always accurate? Many online commentators may sound as if they know what they’re talking about. But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll soon discover that they possess about as much financial knowledge as the taxi driver who’s just dying to tell you about a stock pick while you’re on the road. No matter how well designed this so-called financial pundit’s website is, if you follow his “advice” you will soon be heading towards financial disaster. Too much information The vast availability of knowledge on the internet is not always a good thing. There’s so much information that you can get totally overwhelmed. Even if what you read... Click for more
by Doug Goldstein CFP® | Apr 16, 2015 | Decision Making |
IQ, or intelligence quotient, assesses your overall intelligence level. We’re guessing that if you’re reading this blog post your IQ is pretty high. But what is “financial IQ”? Financial IQ is a measure of how well you do with money. Having a high financial IQ doesn’t mean that your investments outperform the market or predict you’ll retire a millionaire. Rather it means you handle money responsibly. You make smart money decisions and spend and save according to a plan. People with low Financial IQs tend to focus only on spending, while those with higher Financial IQs also focus on saving. Unfortunately, increasing your financial IQ takes time and energy. Here are three steps you can make to increase yours: Organizing records of expenses and income Educate yourself. Three links to good sites or books and online webinar Smartphone apps to help you stay within your budget, meet your savings goal This month, April 2015, is Financial Literacy Month, which focuses on improving your financial IQ. To mark Financial Literacy Month, we are giving away five free copies of Rich As A King. To win your free copy, click here Goodreads Book Giveaway Rich as a King by Douglas Goldstein Giveaway ends April 19, 2015. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to... Click for more
by Doug Goldstein CFP® | Mar 30, 2015 | Other |
April is National Financial Literacy Month. How will you celebrate? By going on a shopping spree or by doubling your efforts to budget, save, and invest? The Senate recognized the importance of financial education and literacy in 2004, when it officially designated April as National Financial Literacy Month. Events and activities promoting financial education are taking place all across America. We hope you take some time to increase you (and your family’s) financial literacy. Susan and I are also marking Financial Literacy Month with a Goodreads giveaway of Rich As A King. To enter the giveaway and win one of five signed copies of Rich As A King, click here. (Note the giveaway is only open to people residing in the United States. We apologize to our international readers.) After you enter the giveaway, take the next step to improving your financial literacy and click here to learn how to make good money... Click for more
by Doug Goldstein CFP® | Mar 5, 2015 | Chess, Financial Strategies, Strategic Thinking |
Rich As A King is the first book ever to apply chess strategies to personal finance. Lots of folks have asked how Susan and I came up with the idea to write it. Here’s the story behind the book: I first met Grandmaster Susan Polgar in 2010, when I interviewed her on my radio personal finance show Goldstein On Gelt. After realizing that the thinking behind financial strategies and chess strategies is similar, I wanted to check in with a strategic thinker with a strong chess background. Who better to choose than Susan Polgar? After the interview concluded, we continued to discuss these ideas and we came to the conclusion that these insights could be the subject of a useful and interesting book. And, as they say, “the rest is history.” Listen to Susan and my original 20-minute conversation... Click for more
by Doug Goldstein CFP® | Sep 10, 2014 | Chess Strategies, Decision Making |
In his best-selling and controversial book, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell argues that people’s first impressions often trump researched decisions. He opens the book with an exciting account of how a larger-than-life, noseless Greek statue known as the Getty kouros was bought by the J. Paul Getty Museum for $7 million. Naturally, the curators brought top-tier experts to examine the piece before they acquired it. Though the museum purchased it based on the authentication of the professionals, a number of those who looked at it said they had had a strange feeling about it. On first glance, many felt the statue was a forgery. In fact, one well-respected Greek museum director commented, “Anyone who has ever seen a sculpture coming out of the ground could tell that that thing has never been in the ground.” Gladwell points out that the first reaction of the people who recognized the artwork as fake was better than the analysis of the people who studied, examined, and concluded the piece was genuine. Though Gladwell’s theory has garnered a lot of support, many people have misunderstood him. They have presumed that he meant you should always make decisions based on your first impression. Yet that’s hardly the lesson. He purports that you can develop intuitive judgment, meaning the ability to make correct choices in the blink of an eye, by experience, training, and knowledge. Combine those three components and you will have the talent necessary to make money choices in a Gladwellian blink: Knowledge Developing an understanding of basic money management does not require a PhD, and you don’t need to dedicate years of your life... Click for more
