Risk Is Never as Simple as It Seems
Posted August 18, 2020 by Ben Carlson
“The financial models many banks used gave them a false sense of security leading up to the Great Financial Crisis. Garbage-in, garbage out is the same for financial models as it is for your sink.”
A number of years ago I was packing up my bags on a Sunday morning to fly out to an investment conference when my wife told me we had a plumbing situation. Water was coming up out of the drain in the shower. And the kitchen sink was backed up. That’s not good.
She was scheduling a plumber to come to the house as I walked out the door to hop on my flight. As my flight touched down I called to see what the verdict was. The news was weirder than I expected. So what’s the damage? I asked.
Well it’s not great she told me. When the plumber put his snake video device into the pipe that runs from the kitchen sink to our master bathroom he discovered it was full of eggshells.
What?! There’s something living in the pipe?!
No, Ben — eggshells from your morning breakfast.
Oh.
You see I’m a creature of habit. Every morning for breakfast I have scrambled eggs. And when I first started making eggs I would discard the shells into the garbage disposal. I probably did this hundreds of times.
The problem was the grade of the pipe was off just a smidge so those eggs weren’t finding their way out of the house but instead sat on the bottom of the pipe and built up over the course of a couple of years.
Whoops.
After flushing the pipe with many blasts of water to clear things up the plumber gave us some advice: Never put any food down your garbage disposal. Garbage disposals are what keeps me employed.
He said the garbage disposal gives people a false sense of security that they can just put anything down their sink and it will magically disappear. Much to my surprise, garbage disposals are not as trustworthy as I thought.
Lesson learned.
https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2020/08/risk-is-never-as-simple-as-it-seems/
7 Surprising Benefits of Failure
By Kentin Waits WISEBREAD
Everyone loves a success story, and the world is filled with them. But what about stories of failure? Can't they be as just as educational? Just as inspirational? Equally insightful?
After all, a single big win is often built on several losses. It's a truth perfectly captured in the words of Japanese industrialist and automaker, Soichiro Honda, "Success is 99% failure."
Brazil’s Massive Crash Is A Sign Of Things To Come In The West
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) October 29, 2026
On Sunday night, Brazil re-elected its left-wing president, Lula da Silva. On Monday morning the São Paulo stock market fell so hard at the open that the exchange halted trading for the first time since the pandemic. When trading resumed, Brazil’s stock market kept falling.
6 Attitudes That Breed Financial Failure
By Kentin Waits WiseBread
Financial success or failure is often the result of attitudes — both conscious and unconscious — that affect our behavior. No amount of budgeting and self-control can help us when we’re up against ingrained ideas about money management, spending, and debt. If you’re having a tough time shifting your financial behavior, maybe it’s time to change your mind about money. Here are six common attitudes that work against us financially.
Plan B Options for folks on Social Security
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) October 27, 2026
In the early morning hours of February 7, 1937, a young American named Stirling Dickinson got off a train in central Mexico and rode into San Miguel de Allende on a mule-drawn cart.
He and a Princeton classmate were months into a trip around Mexico looking for a quiet place to write, and a Mexican opera singer had told them to try San Miguel.
A Condo in this Ghost City Gets You Ten Years Residency
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) October 22, 2026
On March 6, 2016, Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, turned up for the grand opening of a city that did not exist yet, two kilometers off the coast from Singapore.
It was called Forest City, and the plan was enormous. One of the largest property developers in the world came in to build four artificial islands in the strait and put a “smart, green” city of 700,000 people on them, at a cost of roughly $100 billion.
Avoid These 4 Common Mistakes When You Get Rich Overnight
September 4, 2025 by Laura Bogart GoBankingRates
You’re about to score a financial touchdown. Maybe you’ve crushed it at work and landed a sweet promotion. Perhaps you’ve won a lottery or stumbled into a side hustle that suddenly pays off. As you near the end zone, heart pounding, head full of dreams, you can’t afford (literally) to fumble. Whether you’re blindsided by unexpected taxes or tripped up by bad financial advice, you have a lot to lose if you drop the ball.
6 Common Excuses for Not Saving Money By Tara Struyk
Have you ever settled on a new exercise program, only to get a bad cold a few days in and happily throw yourself on the couch, relieved to have a handy excuse? Excuses must be human nature; I know I usually make them when I'm facing something that’s new, that's hard, or that I just don’t enjoy. And I’ve certainly made excuses when it comes to money.
In the years that I’ve been writing about personal finance and investing, I’ve also heard my fair share of excuses, mostly from readers who don’t agree with my advice. The problem is, unlike good financial habits, excuses are easy to come by, even though most of them just don’t stand up to reason. Check out some of the ones I’ve heard most frequently so far.
How To Make Strategic Cash Bucketing Work For You
Last Edited Sep 16, 2026| Angelena Mascilli
Cash bucketing – or categorizing your funds based on specific expenses or goals – can help you organize your financial life.
Cash and other liquid assets may be the ideal place for buckets of money that you may need to access soon to cover expenses or capitalize on new investment opportunities.
3 Savings Moves To Make Post-Fed Rate Hike
By Matt Richardson September 17, 2026 CBS News MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money
With interest rates rising again, savers will want to take certain steps now to take advantage.
Savers on Thursday woke up to a new financial climate marked by the first interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve in more than three years. Now at a range between 3.75% and 4.00%, a new, higher federal funds rate is expected to lead to even higher rates for savers than they've already been accustomed to in recent years. And while that change will look different based on the account type and the bank in question, savers are undoubtedly now entering a more profitable period, especially if the Fed proceeds with another interest rate hike when it meets again in October.
5 Steps To Master Your Money
Simple strategies to help fund your future.
Fidelity Viewpoints
Key takeaways
Define clear goals and make a plan to help guide your financial decisions.
Set up automatic transfers to help boost your savings and keep you on track.
Build up your emergency savings to cover unexpected essential expenses
Debt management: How To Avoid Common, But Costly, Money Mistakes
May 27, 2026 Malena de la Fuente and Aaron Goodman
Americans are carrying more debt than ever before. Total household balances now approach $19 trillion, reflecting a steady increase over the past decade.1 In 2025, millennials in their mid-30s held roughly twice as much nonhousing debt—including student loans, auto loans, and credit card debt—as baby boomers did at a similar age.2
9 Ways Retirement Will Be Different in 2026
By Cameron Huddleston and Deirdre Shesgreen, AARP
How changes to Social Security, Medicare, 401(k) contributions and more will affect your finances
Retirement may seem like the most stable period of your life, with no work demands, no kids to cart around and lots of free time. But this dynamic new chapter comes with its own twists and turns. Your lifestyle, expectations and finances continue to change. And in 2026, big shifts are coming — from Social Security payments and Medicare expenses to how you save and spend.
12 Key Habits for Achieving Financial Freedom
Set yourself on the path to saving with these habits
By Matt Danielsson Updated March 06, 2026
Key Takeaways
Set financial goals and create a plan to achieve them.
Make and stick to a budget covering all financial needs.
Pay off credit cards monthly and minimize debt.
Automate savings with an emergency fund and retirement contributions.
U.S. consumers can request a free annual credit report from major agencies.
The Seven Deadly Sins Of Personal Finance
By J.D. Roth —03 June 2019
I've been reading and writing about personal finance for more than thirteen years. In that time, I've consumed a lot of books about money. Lately, I've found that it's fun to revisit old favorites.
Recently, for instance, I've been re-reading Brett Wilder's The Quiet Millionaire [my review]. It's different than most personal finance books. It's targeted at those who are farther along their financial journeys rather than at those just starting out. Still, there are bits and pieces in The Quiet Millionaire that are applicable to everyone.
Tomorrow’s Election Changes Nothing About The National Debt
Notes From the Field By james Hickman (Simon Black/Sovereign Man) November 2, 2026
Johnny Moon was homeless and unemployed in the early 2000s. A high school dropout with a bad drug habit, Moon was hardly someone that banks would consider creditworthy.
And yet, over the course of a single year, he was able to borrow more than $600,000 to buy five different investment properties.