Wednesday is all about personal finance here at Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s links including a look at whether you should include your home in your net worth calculation.
Quote of the Day
"Personal finance is personal. As long as you’ve done your research and are comfortable in how you’re deviating from conventional personal finance and investing wisdom – feel free to do you."
(Kevin)
Chart of the Day

Who Americans pick to be guardians of their children. (via @priceonomics)
Financial mistakes
- How to avoid financial mistakes. (tonyisola.com)
- Errors (investing and spending) compound in retirement. (rivershedge.blogspot.com)
- How to overcome mistakes: start saving early and be a good saver. (humbledollar.com)
Emergency funds
- Why you need cash to buffer against financial emergencies. (humbledollar.com)
- Instead of spending your tax refund, why not turn it into your emergency fund? (thesimpledollar.com)
Financial literacy
- Allison Schrager, "Making your own coffee or improving your financial literacy won’t make you rich, but it will lower the odds you’ll be poor." (qz.com)
- Why lasting gains in financial literacy are so difficult to achieve. (bloomberg.com)
- Are financial wellness plans just an excuse to not pay you more? (thebasispoint.com)
Spending and saving
- On the benefits of saving early (and often) in your career. (humbledollar.com)
- Three lifestyle creep traps to avoid. (whitecoatinvestor.com)
- Stop asking people to spend big bucks to come to your destination wedding. (washingtonpost.com)
- Extreme frugality isn't for everyone. (robertsilvernail.com)
Investing
- Why index funds make even more sense for retirees. (morningstar.com)
- Are annuities that terrible if they force you to keep your money invested? (theirrelevantinvestor.com)
- Don't forget that the money in your traditional IRA will eventually get taxed. (marketwatch.com)
Personal finance
- The cold reality of declining financial decision making skills with age. (retirementfieldguide.com)
- There is more to an estate plan than a will. (humbledollar.com)
- Giving the charity efficiently these days means using a donor-advised fund. (peterlazaroff.com)
- Insurance coverage is not a set-it-and-forget it decision. (humbledollar.com)
- Americans' FICO scores have been steadily increasing since the GFC. (financialsamurai.com)
- Financial infidelity can be a relationship killer. (npr.org)
- How taxes affect the decision to pre-pay a mortgage. (fattailedandhappy.com)
- Your financial plan is a compass not a map. (yourbrainonstocks.com)