As cliché as it sounds, the first million is the hardest. Having achieved recently my second in four short years instead of fifteen— saving for my first— is a testament to this. But why exactly is that? The short answer is it takes money to beget money. The more money …

As I’m writing this, the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 wreaks havoc across the globe, causing the U.S. stock market to plunge more than 20% in a few weeks. The rush to safety accelerated to unseen levels since the Black Monday of 1987. Thanks to the uncertainty. As if that’s …

Today is my 20th anniversary living in America— the land of milk and honey. The place where pretty much anything that I’m accustomed to seeing is bigger. Bigger houses, bigger cars, bigger TVs., bigger you name it. I can vividly remember what my reaction was

Ask any successful investor not named Warren Buffett their secrets for minimizing risk, and they will tell you it’s diversification. Not putting all your eggs in one basket is essential for preserving both your wealth and your sanity. Whenever I pack for a trip abroad, for example, I always make …

Ever wonder how long it takes to save a million dollars? The short answer is it depends how much you can save each month and how well your investment performs. Admittedly, one million dollars is not what it used to be, thanks to inflation. But it’s still a reasonable goal …

There’s probably nothing more uncomfortable than your visits to the dentist. I don’t know about yours, but my dentist doesn’t have the gentlest hands I can brag about. Once you’re seated on that dreaded chair, you’ll be as helpless as a toddler as she works on scraping the tartar buildup …

One of the most entertaining scenes in the movie ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ is when Mark Hanna (played by Matthew McConaughey) explains to new recruit Jordan Belford (Leonardo DiCaprio) how stockbroking business works over lunch of martini and cocaine. “F*** the clients. Your only responsibility is to put meat on …

In Wall Street and beyond, there is no shortage of greedy people. Many will resort to strategies that are borderline immoral like short-selling stocks of company XYZ and wishing that the company loses half of its value so long as they profit from the trade— even if it meant that the company goes bankrupt and the majority of its employees are laid off.

Humans are by nature impatient. At the supermarket counter, we’d constantly look into our watches when several people are queued ahead of us. If we’re in a hurry, we’d drive to another store even if it takes much longer to get there. And if we actually do, we’d honk on a car in front of us, at some stoplight along the way if the driver hesitates to proceed for safety.

Almost everyone has heard of Aesop’s parable of “The Tortoise and the Hare”. In a nutshell, the story goes like this… There once was a hare who bragged about how fast he can run. Tired of the hare’s boastful behavior, the tortoise, challenges him to a race. The hare soon …