Quotes from Taylor Larimore

Don't look for the needle. Buy the haystack.

Remember that if you itemize your taxes, any amount above 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI) that you spend on health care qualifies for an additional tax deduction!

Total Market Index Funds do not suffer the impact of front running because they hold nearly every publicly-listed stock. If a stock is sold by a small-cap index and bought by a mid-cap index, it makes no difference to the passive manager of a total market index fund because the index fund manager neither sells nor buys the stock, thus avoiding front running and other hidden turnover costs.

In either case, you need to consider two factors: costs and taxes. Costs would include any commissions and fees incurred by trading. Taxes would be a factor if the rebalancing takes place in a taxable account, because you may realize capital gains.

Morningstar found that investors who rebalanced their investments at 18-month intervals reaped many of the same benefits as those who rebalanced more often, but with less costs.

To be a successful investor requires being a good risk manager. Managing risk means having a plan to cover the downside. That's what insurance is all about—damage control to prevent the unforeseen from smashing your nest egg.

To maximize the return of your taxable account, you want to minimize the taxes you pay.

Holding out until you get your price to sell an investment is playing a fool's game.

The Coffeehouse Investor by Bill Shultheis (Kirkland, WA: Palouse Press, 2005). A little book with a big message: How to invest simply and successfully.

To minimize risk, investors want funds with securities that act differently. If one stock or bond fund declines in value, we want other stocks or bonds in the portfolio to gain in value. If two funds hold securities that are the same (i.e., overlapped), diversification is reduced and risk increases.

Finally, if you own a business, make sure you have a sufficient business policy to cover contingencies, such as key-man insurance, or insurance to cover a buy-and-sell agreement.

However, just because it's an institution of higher learning offering the course doesn't mean it's automatically free from bias and veiled sales pitches.

Let's assume someone puts $10,000 in a mutual fund, leaves it there 20 years, and gets an average annual return of 10 percent. If the fund had an expense ratio of 1.5 percent, the fund is worth $49,725 at the end of 20 years. However if the fund had an expense ratio of 0.5 percent, it would be worth $60,858 at the end of 20 years. Just a 1 percent difference in expenses makes an 18 percent difference in returns when compounded over 20 years.

The expense ratio of each mutual fund is available from the mutual fund company, from Morningstar, and it's sometimes included in newspapers and other sources of mutual fund performance data.

We don't believe in mixing investing with insurance. Insurance is for protection and investing is for wealth building. Don't confuse or mix the two.

Another option for lowering your health care costs is to join an HMO (health maintenance organization). While your premiums will be lower, your health care choices will likely be fewer. HMOs frequently limit your choice of doctors and some services. If freedom to select your choice of physician is important, you probably don't want an HMO policy.

Most of us have learned from experience that cheap goods and services are usually not as good as more expensive goods and services. Paying more will often buy a better house, a better car, better clothing, better airline seats, and better service. It is, therefore, understandable that many investors believe that paying more for expensive funds, expensive financial advice, and expensive investments will result in better results. The opposite is nearly always true.

A good agent won't sell you insurance based on the cheapest price but, rather, on what policy best fits your needs.

And someone with significant net worth or a large portfolio does not need to invest in risky investments in search of higher returns.

we suggest that you add from 10 percent to 20 percent more bonds than you think you need for safety. This will be your insurance against worry, and might help prevent you from selling at the wrong time.

We can't stress enough how important it is to establish your own personal financial plan, and then carefully follow that plan. Select low-cost mutual funds, preferably index funds, as the core of your investment portfolio.

Think about your financial objectives and know what type of financial services you need. Knowing what you need will not only help you find the professional that's right for you, but it will also help prevent you from paying for services you don't want.

Money buys a whole lot more than food, clothing, and shelter. It's the power symbol of society. Money buys freedom, possessions, status, access, opportunities, experiences, and more choices. How

Every day you don't invest is a day less you'll have the power of compounding working for you. Put together an intelligent investment plan and get started. If you need help, seek out a good financial planner to assist you.