I write and teach about evidence-based investing, financial planning, and making smarter decisions with money. No hype. No predictions. Just principles that work.
I'm a CFA® charterholder, CFP® professional, and MBA. I teach economics at the university level, speak on evidence-based financial planning, and write about the principles that actually build wealth over time.
I started this site because most financial advice is too complicated, too trendy, or too focused on products. Good planning is simpler than the industry makes it. And the evidence is clear about what works.
"It's power versus freedom."
— CNBC, on Roth 401(k) vs. Roth IRA
"I don't know that people understand the benefits of the tax-free growth."
— CNBC, on Roth 401(k) contributions
The investment industry is obsessed with returns. But the evidence shows that planning decisions — not portfolio decisions — drive the outcomes that matter most.
February 2026Procrastination has a price. Here's how to calculate the real cost of delayed financial decisions — and a simple framework to start.
February 2026Risk isn't volatility. It isn't loss. And it definitely isn't what the financial news tells you it is. Here's how I explain it in the classroom.
January 2026Articles on investing, planning, and behavioral finance — grounded in evidence, not opinion.
Read the latest →Presentations for conferences, firms, and organizations on the topics that actually move the needle.
See topics →Planning frameworks and a downloadable guide to how I think about money, investing, and tax strategy.
Get the guide →I speak on evidence-based investing, behavioral finance, and the economics behind everyday financial decisions — for conferences, firms, and organizations.
Your investment strategy matters less than whether you can stick to it. Research shows the average investor underperforms their own portfolio by 2–3% annually — not because they pick the wrong investments, but because they make emotional decisions at the wrong time.
Most people think financial advice is about picking investments. It's not. Vanguard's research shows that disciplined planning — tax-aware strategies, proper asset location, behavioral coaching, and systematic rebalancing — adds roughly 3% in net returns annually. None of it comes from market predictions.
Everyone wants to know what the market will do next. The honest answer: nobody knows, and the data proves it. Drawing on decades of economic research, this presentation makes the case that planning for uncertainty is more powerful than pretending to predict it.
I tailor content to your audience — whether executives, early-career professionals, business owners, or retirees.
I teach economics at the university level because I believe education creates better outcomes than salesmanship ever could.
As an adjunct professor of economics, I teach students how to think critically about markets, incentives, and financial decision-making. The classroom keeps me sharp — and it keeps my advice grounded in fundamentals, not fads.
"The best financial education doesn't tell people what to think. It teaches them how to think — about risk, about trade-offs, about the difference between noise and signal."
I develop educational sessions for firms and professional groups on financial literacy, retirement readiness, equity compensation, and evidence-based planning. These workshops are designed to educate — not sell.
Most financial education is thinly disguised product marketing. Mine isn't. I teach the same frameworks in the boardroom that I teach in the classroom — because the principles don't change based on your net worth.
These are the books I recommend most often — to clients, students, and anyone who wants to think more clearly about investing, planning, and financial decision-making.
John C. Bogle
The case for index investing, from the man who invented it.
Burton Malkiel
Why markets are efficient and what that means for your portfolio.
William Bernstein
Theory, history, psychology, and business of investing — all in one.
Charles Ellis
Why not losing is more important than winning.
Ben Carlson
Simple, clear thinking about markets and money.
Jeremy Siegel
The data behind long-term equity investing.
Daniel Kahneman
The book that explains why smart people make bad financial decisions.
Morgan Housel
Your relationship with money matters more than your IQ.
Richard Thaler
How behavioral economics challenges everything we thought we knew.
Thaler & Sunstein
Small design changes that lead to better financial decisions.
Carl Richards
Simple sketches that explain why we sabotage our own plans.
A framework for evaluating what good financial advice should include — based on Vanguard's research. Whether you work with an advisor or manage your own money, this checklist shows where real value comes from.
Interactive calculators and additional planning tools coming soon.
For speaking engagements, media inquiries, educational partnerships, or professional questions — I'd enjoy hearing from you.
Email: jordan.whitledge@icloud.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jordanwhitledge