Christmas is both a religious holiday for many - and a time to celebrate with an abundance of gift giving. Merry Christmas to all of my friends who celebrate.
Still, for too many Americans, the having of many "things" is too important - every day of the year. If "enough" is enough for you, you are indeed blessed. The man who created Vanguard explains.
Mr. Bogle is steadfast in his belief that there remain common-sense ways to invest for the long haul and, as he puts it, claim your fair share of the returns earned by public companies. His list includes buying—and holding—index funds as the core of your portfolio and managing your expectations for future returns.
As for why speculation has eclipsed investing, Mr. Bogle points to, among other things, a broader change in our national culture.
He writes: "... we Americans like to buy things—in abundance—before we have the cash to pay for them. We focus on today's wants rather than tomorrow's needs. Even our wealthiest citizens never seem to have enough. We compare ourselves with our neighbors and, since the realities of life can be so hard to overcome, we look to speculation—even at long odds—to lift us out of the everydayness of our lives."
It's a theme he's explored before, in a little book he wrote called, simply, "Enough." It opens with a story about the novelist Joseph Heller who, at a lavish party on Shelter Island, N.Y., was ribbed by another guest, author Kurt Vonnegut, that their host had probably made more money in a day than all the money Mr. Heller had earned from his best-seller, "Catch-22."
Mr. Heller's retort: "I've got something he can never have…enough."
May you have "enough" this holiday - and for years to come.
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