Brett F. Whysel “So, Brett, what does GALOP say?” During my days as a quantitative investment banker, my colleagues would often ask me to convey the results of my financial models so they would know what product or strategy to offer a particular client. Programmed in Excel, my GALOP models (which stood for “Global Asset-Liability Optimization Program”), would analyze a client’s balance … Read more
Can financial education/coaching break the financial stress, declining health cycle? In a previous article, I outlined three vicious cycles affecting financial stress, physical and mental health. They are vicious because, once financial stress occurs, the health impacts can lead to yet more stress, which can further impair health, causing additional financial stress as the cycle begins … Read more
Do you know someone going off to college who’s clueless about money? What if they’re clueless about why they’re going in the first place? Then Finance is Personal by Kim Stephenson and Ann Hutchins should be on their summer reading list. Even those further along in their careers will benefit from portions of this book (as I … Read more
“Do you know what you want?” Those six, dreaded words haunt my otherwise happy memory of a meal my friends and I enjoyed to celebrate graduating from university. It seemed such an important occasion: I wanted to get my menu selection exactly right. You can imagine the groans around the table after the third or fourth postponement … Read more
As we explored in my last article about Victor, the appliance repairman, trust is increasingly necessary and valuable in modern life. At the same time, trust is getting scarcer as well-publicized betrayals in business and government add up. What is Trust? But what is trust? The dictionary defines trust as the “Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing.” … Read more
The other day, I invited a total stranger with a Ukrainian accent, “Victor,” whom I found on the Internet, to come into my house. Within 24 hours of my call, he was in my kitchen, fixing two appliances. I paid him $550 by personal check. Why did this work so well?An underlying level of trust in … Read more
Feedback loops are powerful forces of nature. Melting polar ice caps reduce the earth’s reflectivity, causing it to absorb more heat from the sun, which accelerates the melting. The cumulative, accelerating aspects of such loops make it imperative to break the cycle before it gets out of control. Below, I identify three feedback loops among financial … Read more
Budgets. Yawn. Why bother? I prefer the uncertainty and anxiety of never knowing that I have enough money to pay rent (said no one ever)? My Paris Budget So, I created my first budget when I went to Paris during my junior year in university. I had limited funds, an exchange rate to manage and I was … Read more
You’re saving too much…said no financial expert ever. It’s America Saves Week, which is all about saving more. If you’re in your twenties, you’ll be told to save ten to 15 percent of your income. Older? You’ll be advised to save 20-30 percent or more! At the same time, one-third of Americans have saved precisely … Read more
Saving money is hard. It requires self-control in the face of continuous bombardment by scientifically engineered marketing messages, peer-pressure and brains “designed” for immediate gratification. For many of us, it requires investing some quality time to mindfully design a sustainable budget that’s in line with our values. (We think we’ve figured out how to make … Read more