Timeless Financial Wisdom

“I would like wisdom”

3,000 years ago, a young man was asked by God in a dream:

“Ask for whatever you want me to give you?”

The man, stunned by what was happening, responded with a simple, yet profound answer:

“I would like wisdom.”

The young man was Solomon, one of the great kings of Israel.

While he led Israel for almost 40 years to economic prosperity, he is credited with composing 3,000 proverbs, much of what would become the book of Proverbs.

The words he wrote all those years ago are often spoken and practiced in my home.

Wisdom endures.

Just last week, the world’s top bankers and policymakers gathered in Jackson Hole to debate the global economy. Beneath the charts and speeches, they were pursuing the same thing Solomon asked for: wisdom.

And when it comes time to retire, make major investments, or sell a business, I can’t think of a better financial companion than wisdom.

Wisdom’s watermark is timelessness.

It never goes out of style. It shapes the daily choices we make with our wealth, our families, and our future. True wisdom is formed where knowledge meets experience, and is profoundly useful in trying or uncertain times.

As summer winds down and we move toward year-end, here are seven enduring financial principles that put wisdom into action.

1. Have a financial plan – I’ve written about the statistics showing that families with a plan end up with more money and greater freedom compared to those who do not. Financial plans take effort, but clarifying your goals and running the numbers is always worth it.

2. Work with winners – When it comes time to hiring a team of professionals who are in the business of your success, hire the best you can. When you hire great people who you know, like, and trust, who are experts in the situation you are in, they will amply your efforts and your success.

3. Lifestyle Creep is your foe – Personal incomes often peak in the mid-50s, and it is easy to let spending rise as income rises. Enjoy your success, but always ensure that you save and invest more than you spend.

4. Diversification is your friend – Being diversified can be hard when crypto or gold or Nvidia are soaring. But you only have one career to make money, one retirement to live out your dreams. To make it count, leverage one of the only free lunches on Wall Street, diversification.

5. Do what you say you’d do – This one hits home for me as someone with too many ideas. Ideas are abundant, but execution is rare. A financial plan only works when paired with consistent follow-through. Commit, stay the course, and let compounding do its work.

6. Build financial unity with your spouse – Financial unity means you and your spouse are aligned in how you earn, spend, invest, and give. The peace and freedom that come from this alignment are extraordinary. I have worked with couples who have achieved remarkable unity, and it is inspiring. My wife and I try hard in this area, knowing what is possible. Forgive, reset, and write your story together.

7. Understand your risk – I often talk about risk because we see it every day while serving the hundreds of families we work with. Risk is always just around the corner, and it is worth the effort to understand what could go wrong in your specific situation. The point is to work to protect yourself and your money.

The common thread in this simple list? Each of these principles is within your control.

And in a world full of unknowns, that control is where wisdom lives.

Something strange just happened.

All known knowledge now lives inside AI models that have even helped drive markets to all-time highs.

As I write this, my three kids are swimming in our pool, right outside my home office. I cannot help but think about the fact that they will have access, throughout their entire lives, to PhD-level knowledge in any domain.

They can just hit a button and go.

Mostly, I am excited for them, knowing the opportunities this will create.

But I also wonder: how will they discern what is right for them and what is not, when they can simply turn to an AI model and receive endless streams of answers?

And how will I continue to make wise decisions as this becomes more and more a part of life?

It feels like magic, and in some ways it is, but at the end of the day, it is still just code.

And while the answers it gives you, or the world gives you, may sound right, they may not be right for your financial life.

But that has always been true.

There has always been somebody, or something, trying to get access to your money with eloquent promises of high returns and shortcuts to riches.

That is why wisdom, particularly in a world shaped by AI, matters.

Wisdom is your best financial companion.

My commitment to you is simple: in the years ahead, I will do my best to filter the noise and share wisdom that endures, so you can:

• Generate more income

• Pay less in taxes

• Manage risk

• Grow

Thanks for your time this week.

Tom