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Media Archive

Carl Richards , Director of Investor Education

Carl Richards is the director of investor education for the BAM ALLIANCE. He advises on best practices, marketing efforts and social media. Carl is the author of The Behavior Gap and a regular contributor to The New York Times. Known for his simple sketches that capture complex investor behavior, Carl’s work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Planning and at lifehacker.com. His work originally appeared on BehaviorGap.com. Carl holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Utah.

Additional Media by Carl Richards

• A Simple Place to Start: Your Net Worth - Carl Richards

  
  The world is a crazy place. We hear reports that say the economy is getting better. Next month, we hear that things don’t look so good. It feels like a tug-of-war, and we’re caught in the middle.
  

• Striving to Lead More of an Heirloom Life - Carl Richards

  
  The inventor Saul Griffith gave his new baby son a Rolex and a Montblanc pen. Odd gifts, right? But for Mr. Griffith, it was about buying the only watch and pen his son would ever need.
  

• Your Hazy Future Is No Excuse for a Lack of Planning - Carl Richards

  
  

  Who do you think you’ll be in a year? Five years? Twenty years?

  One of the big problems with setting goals, especially financial ones, is that we’re really bad at imaging our future selves.

• Spending Your Money to Make Someone Else Happy - Carl Richards

  
  In the early 1990s, I went to Philadelphia on a Mormon mission and lived in a tough section of the city. One day I received a letter from a friend. In it was $100 and instructions to spend it doing something nice for someone else. No spending the money on myself.
  

• Tips for Managing Your Increasingly Lumpy Income - Carl Richards

  
  Graduate from college, get a job with a stable paycheck that grows each year by a little, work for 30 or 40 years and retire with a pension.
  

• Call It an Uncertainty Fund, Not an Emergency Fund

  
  

• When the Tail Wags Your Investment Dog

  
  

• Try to Focus on Your Personal Economy

  
  

• An Election Probably Shouldn’t Change Your Financial Plan – Carl Richards

  
  Just because we know the identity of our president for the next four years and have uncertainty about the approaching budget showdown doesn’t mean we should make a bunch of quick money moves.

• You Should Try a Multi-Day Spending Cleanse – Carl Richards

  
  Going several days in a row without spending money may help you shake some bad financial habits – or recognize ones that you didn’t realize you had.

• Six Tips for Setting Your Financial Goals – Carl Richards

  
  Carl Richards (and Alice, the one from Wonderland) offer a guide to setting (and changing) your financial goals.

• You Probably Don’t Care Enough About Your Goals – Carl Richards

  
  

• You’re Probably One of Two Kinds of Shoppers – Carl Richards

  
  

• A Financial Plan for Misbehaving Lottery Winners – Carl Richards

  
  When you get any kind of big financial windfall, managing money ceases to be a problem. But managing your behavior becomes the bigger financial threat.

• A Warning About That Guy Who Is Beating the Market – Carl Richards

  
  All sorts of self-styled experts talk a good game about their consistent, double-digit investment returns. You, however, should not count on doing that well.

• The Over-the-Wall Portfolio for Excess Cash – Carl Richards

  
  Many entrepreneurs get twitchy when their businesses start to throw off excess cash. They need a pan to keep that money safe.

• Don’t Mistake Investing Folklore for Personalized Advice – Carl Richards

  
  All too often, we change our minds about our portfolios because of something we’ve heard from our uncle or some purported investing expert who may not share our goals.

• Let Diversification Do Its Job - Carl Richards

  
  When your balanced portfolio has a chunk of money in losing investments, remember that your instinct to sell means diversification is actually working. (And don’t sell!)

• Investing: Money Plus (Lots of) Time Equals Excitement – Carl Richards

  
  

  The power of compound interest is on display only after decades of persistent saving. Don’t let that keep you from starting today, though.

• Stock Investing Isn’t the Only Risk in Your Life – Carl Richards

  
  

  Everyone knows that stock investing is risky, but avoiding equities creates other risks, including ones that come from long-term inflation.

• The Question You Should Be Asking About the Stock Market – Carl Richards

  
  Carl Richards, director of investor education for the BAM ALLIANCE, on how investment plans can protect investors from repeating mistakes of the past.

• Why We Fear Simple Money Solutions - Carl Richards

  
  Carl Richards, director of investor education for the BAM ALLIANCE, on the beauty of simplicity.

• Questioning the Motives Behind Your Financial Decisions - Carl Richards

  
  Carl Richards, director of investor education for the BAM ALLIANCE, says the "what-when-how" of investing should often start with "why"

• Beware of Investments Promoted as 'Just Like a C.D.' - Carl Richards

  
  Carl Richards says it’s called “chasing yield” for a reason.

• Investors Make the Mistakes, Not Investments — Carl Richards

  
  Carl Richards says it's easier to blame the lawn mower than the person pushing it.

• Market Milestones Can Lead to False Assumptions -- Carl Richards

  
  

  Carl Richards says market milestones are really just that

• Viewing the Glass as Half Full, but Not Too Full -- Carl Richards

  
  Carl Richards says there's so much more to see when you look on the bright side

• To Avoid the Biggest Mistakes, Stay Strong — Carl Richards

  
  Carl Richards on the one story worth repeating (spoiler alert, it’s stick to your plan).

• Why Budgeting Will Lead to More Awareness — Carl Richards

  
  

  Carl Richards says budgeting and flossing can lead to more happiness.

• Feeling Overwhelmed? Take a Deep Breath — Carl Richards

  
  Carl Richards on focusing on what you can control and letting go of the rest.

• Why E.T.F.'s Won't Solve Our Behavioral Problems — Carl Richards

  
  

  Carl Richards says investing in ETFs won’t stop investors from behaving badly.

• The Perils of Investing in What You Know — Carl Richards

  
  Carl Richards says if you love Apple, leave the stock, take the iPhone.

• What's Important About Your Money? — Carl Richards

  
  Discovering money's importance to you can help you uncover the motivations behind your goals.

• The Dull Task of Decoding 401(k) Fees Matters — Carl Richards

  
  Carl Richards says the impact of fees on your retirement savings is a very big deal.