WSJ money guru, 61, preached saving and investing enough money to live past 90 — then he got a devastating cancer diagnosis. But he has no regrets

Would he take his advice back?

Clements spent much of the ink at his disposal dispensing a cautious financial approach to readers, which is the same one he used to prepare for a comfortable retirement. Does he now regret giving any of his advice?

In a July 6 post on his website, Clements, confronted the realities this way: “That money I diligently amassed over the past four decades? Almost all of it will end up with my heirs. My carefully considered plans … have gone out the window.”

Yet, that has absolutely nothing to do with boneheaded mistakes. Clements didn’t gamble or sink his fortune into an overhyped IPO (also gambling, you could argue). He didn’t indulge in luxury cars or lavish homes. Rather, his financial misfortune reflects a stark reality many have faced, even if they’re not as brave to discuss it as openly as he has: his terminal illness remained undiagnosed until an otherwise routine doctor’s visit, as he otherwise seemed to be healthy.

And even through his illness, he continues to operate his website and dole out advice.

Discover how a simple decision today could lead to an extra $1.3 million in retirement

Learn how you can set yourself up for a more prosperous future by exploring why so many people who work with financial advisors retire with more wealth.

Discover the full story and see how you could be on the path to an extra $1.3 million in retirement.

Read More

Less time and a longer time horizon

Would he spend more freely now? Clements did discuss a planned trip to Europe; he had to nix a second due to his condition. It’s not the expense that bothers him so much as where some of the money went.

“When I made changes to our flights, the airlines dinged me for a few hundred dollars. Supposedly, I no longer need to worry about how much I spend, and yet I couldn’t help but be irked,” he wrote. “Yes, even now, my frugality still lingers.”

Clements’s situation highlights a sobering reality. Many of us won’t get nearly as many years on the planet as we’d like, time being a precious commodity in its own right. Life expectancy in the U.S. is 77.5 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That may not be 90, but that's still a healthy stretch. Meanwhile, the number of people in the country aged 90-94 increased by nearly 70% between 2000 and 2020 from about 1.1 million to 1.8 million, according to the Census Bureau.

And yet, Clements asserts that his portfolio’s time horizon is getting longer. He’s thinking now about his wife and two kids.

“At this point they’re the ones I’m investing for.” And so, more than 90% of his portfolio rests in stocks “because that’s the asset allocation that makes sense for them, given where they are in their career and what other investments they hold.”

Employing the Rule of 72, Clements believes they could see the money double in slightly more than 10 years, assuming a 7% annual return.

Thus even with not much time left, nothing has stopped Clements from sharing with readers and loved ones the fruits of his wisdom and prudence: abundance of another kind.