Jonathan Clements is arguably one of the best, and most influential, writers ever on the topic of personal finance. At the Wall Street Journal, of books, and most recently, at his site HumbleDollar , Clements has been providing level-headed personal finance advice to investors and consumers for decades.
Jonathan also has Stage 4 lung cancer. Despite this grim prognosis he continues to write and educate with a perspective that nobody would choose: someone with a limited amount of time.
You see Clements talk with Consuela Mack on WealthTrack.
You an also hear him speak with Peter Mallouk, CEO of Creative Planning.
Since his diagnosis, Clements has been profiled in the New York Times. He has written a piece for the Washington Post. And he has continued to write on HumbleDollar. My sincere hope is that the site lives on. It is breath of fresh air in a space (personal finance) that is increasingly populated with bad actors.
I have linked below to Clements’ HumbleDollar articles since his diagnosis. My recommendation is you read them all. However this paragraph struck a nerve. He writes:
I’m no fan of motivational speeches and feel-good pop psychology. Still, at this moment, I’m willing to embrace one piece of bumper-sticker wisdom: Happiness is a choice. It’s highly likely that my days will draw to a close within the next few years—for those with my diagnosis, the median life expectancy is 16 months—and there isn’t a whole lot I can do about it, other than follow the treatment plan, eat healthily and continue to exercise. But I can strive to make the most of the days I’m granted.
We all know our time here is limited, but we continue to labor under the illusion that we will always have just a little bit more of it. At some point our luck (and time) will run out. We should all hope to emulate Clements and use our time left to continue to live our lives, and help our loved ones on their journey.
Godspeed, Jonathan.
HumbleDollar articles by Jonathan Clements since June:
- The C-Word
- The Risks We Miss
- No Slowing Down
- Unanswered Questions
- Turning on a Dime
- On the Clock
- A Time to Give
- What We Believed
- Our Balancing Act
- No Regrets
- Behind the Curtain
- Never Quite Enough
- My Spending Rules
- Turned Upside Down
- Sticking With Stocks
- Death Benefits
- Before You Quit
- Advice for the Kids
- A Taxing Retirement
- Stuck at Home
- Hardly Missed
- Pick Your Peril
- Sharing Lessons
- Model Behavior
- Four Questions
- Why We Struggle
- Spending It
- Money Grows Up
- Mind Over Money
- Taking It Personally
- Never Enough
- What’s It All About?
- Four Thoughts
- Don’t Push It
- Tasting Retirement
- Do It For the Kids
- When They’re 64
- Let’s Get Happy







