Bank OZKSmart Money Habits Blog

Dr. John Nestor was a cautious man. So cautious that the FDA transferred him out of his position as medical officer in the cardio-renal-pulmonary division because he didn’t approve a single new drug in more than four years. His careful disposition blinded him to the risks patient’s faced when new medications weren’t available. In 1984, […]

We’ve already discussed why you should have an emergency fund and how to build one on a tight budget, but then what? When are you justified to spend it? The answer isn’t as complicated as you might think. You just need to take the time to think through your options, which is something so many […]

If you are saving for a distant retirement, it is crucial that you focus on the long-term.  The market will have gyrations that appear catastrophic today, but mean very little by the time retirement nears. Take this Dow Jones Industrial chart from the 1987 crash known as Black Monday, which included the single worst day […]

There are three reasons entrepreneurs don’t seek professional help: they don’t know it’s available, they assume it’s not needed, or they think it’s too expensive. All three of these are wrong. We all need help, and asking for it reveals strength, not weakness. According to a Harvard study, people who seek advice appear more competent […]

It’s the single best thing that I’ve ever done.  —Mikael Lindnord There was something bigger . . . than winning.  —Staffan Björklund I’d forgive you if you thought those quotes were referring to a small business. They’re not. They’re about the 2014 Adventure Racing World Championship, a grueling 435-mile race that reached 15,000 feet in […]

They say everything is connected, and perhaps it’s true. James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 and founded the University of Kansas basketball program. While there, he coached Phog Allen, who later took over the legendary Kansas program and won the 1952 NCAA Tournament with none other than Dean Smith playing on the team. Smith later […]

Embracing change is a big part of being successful, and the new tax plan will likely change many of the financial rules we’ve come to accept. For example, you’ve probably heard that your mortgage is a “good” debt and it’s best not to pay it off early. It’s time to ditch that rule of thumb. […]

Sometimes the story behind a person only makes their accomplishments more amazing. Like with John Wooden. In 2009, he was named the greatest coach in American sports history, ahead of legends Vince Lombardi and Bear Bryant. And yet Wooden’s father taught him to “never try to be better than someone else.” When receiving the award, […]

I was first exposed to the title of this article in the hit movie Fight Club, and it resonates in my life. I have an attic filled with boxes I’ll never open, an extra car in my garage that I never drive, a boat that sits in paid-storage that breaks down yearly, and so many […]

People have this habit of overcomplicating stuff. When it comes to our money, we do it like crazy because money triggers all kinds of emotions, especially fear. There are ten million personal finance books out there and one hundred million blog posts (even on this blog we are writing regularly about saving smart and building […]