Larry's Substack Articles

Substack articles on various topics by Larry Kotlikoff

The MaxiFi Puzzler -- 6/15/25
Try this out on your fin advisor. If they can't answer these questions, have them run MaxiFi before providing you financial advice. Or, like tens of tho...
Tue, 26 Aug, 2025 at 7:56 PM
MaxiFi Is Fully Updated to the New Tax Law
JD’s statement suggests that we’ll pay dramatically lower taxes on our 2025 incomes than our 2024 incomes. Sadly, this is not remotely true. Read the ar...
Fri, 29 Aug, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Are Life-Cycle Funds Too Risky and Expensive?
The 2006 Pension Protection Act (PPA) allowed lifecycle, aka target-date funds, to serve as a “qualified default investment alternative,” permitting employe...
Thu, 18 Dec, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Another Awful WSJ Personal Finance Article -- This One on TIPS
Today’s focus is on an article by Derek Horstmeyer, entitled “Inflation-Protected Bonds Fail a Key Test: They Don’t Help When Inflation Is High.” Professor ...
Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Are AI Valuations a Huge Bubble?
As you likely already know, the reason the market’s been booming is that the valuations of the 10 largest AI companies, including Nvidia, have skyrocketed t...
Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 9:09 AM
The MaxiFi Puzzler -- 11-1-25
Forty-year-old Jerry lives in New Mexico. Jerry’s single. But he’s dating an AI bot named Techninny. He loves her or them. But Jerry knows Techninny’s tende...
Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Is Wall Street Meeting the SEC's Rule (Reg BI) to Act in the Retail Investor's Best Interest?
Tens of millions of American households rely on the financial industry to provide investment and related financial advice that is in their best interest. Th...
Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 9:12 AM
The Cost of Charitable Giving Via QCDs May Be Much Lower than You Think
Last year Americans contributed close to $600 billion to charity. That’s both a lot and a little. It’s more than the GDP of 85 percent of the 195 countries ...
Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Are You Investing Solely to Lose Money?
I wear lots of hats. One is a self-styled financial “therapist.” No, I’m not a licensed mental health professional. But I do talk with many people about the...
Wed, 18 Feb, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Are You Budgeting To the Wrong Budget?
It’s the new year — time for all of us to figure out how much to spend each month, each week, and even each day to stay within our annual budget. Whether we...
Wed, 18 Feb, 2026 at 11:20 AM