In a 2009 essay that was very influential in business circles, Paul Graham of Y Combinator tried to figure out why workers at different levels of the same organization struggled to stay on the same meeting schedule. His conclusion was that you could break jobs down into two categories: Managers and Makers. Members of each group had very different responsibilities, and also very different ideas about how to use their time effectively.

Sometimes the biggest risk is not taking one. Try as we may, it's almost impossible to protect our lives, careers, and financial planning from some degree of volatility. If you're not willing to accept risk, then you might stick with a "safe" but unfulfilling career for too long. Your relationships might lose their spark. Taxes and inflation might erode your long-term financial prospects.

You can teach these three simple financial lessons to your kids with activities that illustrate the basics of financial planning.

You don't have to be an artist to add some art to your retirement. From singing in a choir to taking an improv class, creative activities can improve your health, encourage self-expression, and expand your vision of a positive return on life.

Most experts agree that the big reason people struggle with resolutions is you can't just "improve your fitness." What you can do is develop key performance indicators (KPIs) that you execute daily and track over time as you progress towards a better Return on Life.

Wendy Marsden had the opportunity to meet with some people in their late teens to answer their questions about finances. This is the letter she wrote them afterward. The thing with being an adult is that you generally have to hear the same information from a couple of different directions before it starts to gel . . . when you encounter these concepts later in the wild you’ll be ready for them to click.