Now with Star Wars IV: The Rise of Skywalker, the nine Star Wars films are complete. I was in the theater for the first film with my girlfriend about 43 years ago. A lot has happened in my life (that
Summary of smart moves (or maybe just less stupid)
Smart things I did (or maybe just less stupid) in the personal finances of myself and my family (see footnotes): Abandoned the default 50-50 split between stocks and bonds in my long-term saving, going instead for the Stupid Financial Plan’s*
A new challenge
Effective July 1, 2019, I became the department head in economics at James Madison University. This is my second term of service in this job — but when I did it before, I was Luke Skywalker and now I’m Obi-Wan
Return to macro
In spring 2019 I’m teaching the macro principles class for the first time in a few years — and I’m looking forward to it. I’m a regular participant in our department’s weekly macro seminar and I have some new material
What I did on my summer vacation
“Don’t mix business and pleasure,” says the old proverb, but this vacation worked out well with both — a trip to Lambeau Field for a professional conference with lots of fun and sightseeing with my family too. (Trust me, the
About “Plain Money”
Getting a Grip on Your Money was published in 2002 and had a good five-year run. It was featured on nationally syndicated talk shows, published overseas, and used for group discussions in a variety of settings. The book is still available from
Can you automate good investing habits?
The Plain Money approach to investing isn’t fancy — it’s just developing some good habits: buy and hold index funds, keep costs low, keep things in balance. But in some 401(k) situations that’s not easy. You may have multiple accounts,
Teaching note
I love to teach using Socratic dialogue, with a few extra twists thrown in. This video explains:
Virtuous sign
One of our academic mice puts up a yard sign in three languages, but what does it say?
Econometrics
When I teach econometrics it’s fun (really!), but there’s a lot of power in econometrics for good or ill. Econometrics can be used honestly to study and understand the material world (my favorite use) or dishonestly to advance the agendas