Why We Keep Falling for Financial Scams

"After I wrote my book, I lost a good chunk of my retirement savings to Mr. Madoff, so I know of what I write on the most personal level."

Now there's a backhanded endorsement of a book by its author.

TANSTAAFL is a pretty good model. If a situation isn't comprehensible or doesn't seem to be sustainable, don't invest as if it were.

The Golden Rule is another thing to keep in mind: If your gains seem are so outsized that they seem like robbery, there's a good chance that they are. Two questions ensue: Do you want to gain that way at another's expense? Are you sure you're the one who's gaining?

I guess particularly in this site's environment, rich in innovators, there would be a significant amount of gain where the cause is the replacement of outdated business and technical models. But then hopefully that is taking place in fields that you understand; the transfer isn't "magic".

I've mentioned before, but watching Chicago real estate prices rise into the middle years of this decade was unnerving. The rest of the economy was not accelerating to match. It didn't seem sustainable, and it wasn't.

Not that I'm any expert. Just my $0.02, while I still have the pennies to rub together.

> Why We Keep Falling for Financial Scams

I don't.