One of today's most respected personal finance writers has died. Jonathan Clements, a longtime Wall Street Journal columnist, and more recently, host of the Humble Dollar blog, passed away this week, a little more than a year after being diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer. He was 62.
Admirably, he brought his many readers into his cancer journey, sharing lessons — financial and otherwise — from the unique perspective of one who is more aware than most that his time is short.
Planning is an imperfect practice
In a blog post Clements wrote just before his diagnosis, he discussed his decision to convert some of his traditional IRA money into a Roth, highlighting the merits of shrinking his traditional IRA before required minimum distributions would begin at age 75.
In another pre-diagnosis post, Clements warned about the financial risks of living into your 90s. “Most of us,” he wrote, “focus less on the possibility of a long life and more on the risk of an early death.” He encouraged readers to build a plan based on the assumption of living many more years.
Of course, no one knows how long they will live. And yet, most want the peace of knowing their finances will hold up as long as they do. As Clements recommended, it’s generally best to build a financial plan around the assumption of a long life.
Gratitude
In the post announcing his diagnosis, it was clear that Clements had already done some soul-searching. He noted that it’s common for people to look back on their lives with some regrets, financial or otherwise.
However, he wrote, “This one has been a pleasant surprise: Until the past few years, I’ve lived quite frugally, and yet I find myself with almost no regrets about that lifestyle. Yes, if my health allows, I’ll be ticking off some bucket-list items over the year ahead. But mostly what I feel is profound gratitude for the life I’ve had. I’ve had amazing opportunities and wonderful experiences, and that allows me to face the time ahead with surprising equanimity.”
Simplify
Not long after his diagnosis, Clements shared many of the financial changes he was making, such as organizing his finances with an eye on making things easier for his wife and adult children. “If my life had come to an abrupt end, I now realize my family would have had a surprising amount of work to do to settle my affairs. Fortunately, I can now do a lot of that work for them. Make no mistake: Leaving behind a well-organized financial life is a wonderful gift to your family.”
In a subsequent post, he got more specific, mentioning that he reduced the number of credit cards he had from four to one, consolidated some investment accounts, updated beneficiary designations, and got rid of some old files.
Risk management
Clements’ cancer diagnosis prompted him to ruminate about risk, noting that, “We can manage risk — but terrible stuff can still happen.”
He pointed out that managing one risk can open you up to another (think holding a lot of cash in the hope of avoiding a market crash only to miss a huge bull market) and how some of the greatest risks come from within our own family. “Think of the adult children who get themselves in financial trouble and need to be bailed out, the bitter divorce that enriches only the lawyers, or the elderly parents who gave no thought to their later years and suddenly need long-term care.”
His advice? “While we have only one past, we face all kinds of possible futures — and it’s worth asking whether there are futures we aren’t even considering.”
The time value of… time!
Clements’ career was focused on teaching others about money. But not for the sake of just building wealth. He knew that money is simply a means to more satisfying ends. And he also knew that time is far more valuable than money.
“I’m determined to make the most of every day, doing what I love and trying mightily to fend off life’s nonsense. It’s an attitude I recommend to readers — one I’d encourage you to embrace now, rather than waiting for a dire medical prognosis. We should never forget that our most precious resource isn’t money, but time.”
In a later post, he added, “For me, that means doing work I love, helping others, and spending time with family and friends. In fact, I think this is the way we should all strive to live.”
Frugal for a reason
Clements was known for his frugality, encouraging readers to keep their fixed costs low and find joy in simple pleasures. At the same time, he was a strong proponent of generosity.
“Whether it’s family, friends or charity, there’s great pleasure in being generous with our time and money — a pleasure that outweighs and outlasts anything I can imagine buying.”
Perspective
As Clements’ health deteriorated, he seemed to grow more philosophical, asking in a mid-July post, “How Important Is Money?” and, last month, reminiscing about some of his most vivid money memories.
One final post
Ever the planner, Clements wrote his last post to be published after his death. On Sept. 22, Humble Dollar ran, “Farewell Friends.” He ended the article with the same sentiment he expressed when he announced his diagnosis 15 months earlier, “I faced the final months not with sorrow, but with great gratitude. I had spent almost my entire adult life doing what I love and surrounded by those that I love. Who could ask for more?”
Shortly before Clements’ death, a group of friends from the personal finance world helped him establish the Jonathan Clements Getting Going on Savings Initiative. Proceeds from sales of his final book, The Best of Jonathan Clements, will be used to fund $1,000 contributions to Roth IRAs for deserving young adults, especially those from low-income households.
