First, I am an economist and I treasure my profession’s century-long research on personal finance. This work has, by my count, contributed to a dozen Nobel Prizes in the field of Economics. Samuelson, Arrow, Merton, Modigliani, Sharpe, Markowitz, and Tobin are some of the heralded names in economics’ pantheon of financial geniuses. Each did seminal work on the economics of personal finance.
Second, through my software company I have developed the financial application, MaxiFi Planner, which delivers economics-based planning to households as well as professionals who are planning for their clients. Consequently, I have a commercial interest in my opinion. But academic economists, like myself, take an implicit oath to tell the truth, not only in reporting their research fundings, but in discussing economics with the public. I take that oath very seriously.