Being smart about charitable giving  1.   As Barry Ritholz notes in this oldie but goodie -- “giving to charity is personally fulfilling and it helps those in need, but some charities are better than others in channeling donations to where they are most needed.” Find out how to do your homework before you give.  Be Smart About Charity (Bloomberg View, 12/4/2014)  +   GiveWell is a nonprofit dedicated to finding outstanding giving opportunities through in-depth analysis. Thousands of hours...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 Senate Republicans passed their tax reform bill in the wee hours last Saturday morning. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters that the GOP tax bill would pay for itself. Independent analysis rejects this notion. Next step: turning two bills into one. When chambers pass different versions of a bill, conferees appointed from both the House and Senate meet to reconcile the bills they...

Small Changes Add Up Small changes, beginning today, can materially affect our future wealth; they can also dramatically impact our future selves. This article by Nick Maggiulli includes a powerful visualization of the cumulative effect on future wealth of saving 5% to 15% of our income each year. (Example assumed $50,000 in annual income with a 5% annual return.) Consider also how creating a habit that may not cost us...

At SAGEbroadview we are very busy this holiday season and I expect our readers are too. So, for the rest of the year, barring an emergency that I would need to address (another credit agency security breach, for example), we will keep things short and sweet. I will share three articles each week with one or two sentences about each article. The articles may all be on the same topic,...

Do you have any idea how often you pick up your smartphone throughout the day (and night)? Do you feel addicted to your phone? Are you losing your ability to focus when you read and when you work? If so, then I have just the book for you -- “Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self”, written by Manoush Zomorodi, the host of...

Dominic begins his senior year at WPI and Devon his sophomore year at the Hartt School; Dave and I return to being empty-nesters.  Sigh. As your kids or grandkids head back to school, I've compiled a list for your reading pleasure.  You will find some light-hearted articles, some that are thought-provoking, and some of a more practical nature: When Holding is the Hardest Part (Ben Carlson) “The easy money has been...

A curated list for your reading pleasure — some light-hearted articles, some that are thought-provoking, and some of a more practical nature: Why Walking Helps Us Think (The New Yorker) “What is it about walking, in particular, that makes it so amenable to thinking and writing? The answer begins with changes to our chemistry.” Why I Write About Classical Music (My Favorite Classical) “Life is too short to spend it thinking...

A curated list for your reading pleasure -- some light-hearted articles, some that are thought-provoking, and some of a more practical nature: This Bull Market Isn't as Old as Some Seem to Think (BloombergView) “Why is this important? Understanding how old a bull market is may very likely affect your expectations of future returns, your risk appetite, even your investment allocations. Misunderstanding when a bull market began is potentially a...

  I don’t know about you, but I’m a fast reader and I can barely keep up with the news these days. I start each morning reading from a variety of national and local media outlets (and support each one with paid subscriptions which I feel is vitally important) then try to do some deeper dives into policies and issues. And I nearly always spend at least thirty minutes before I...