Carrick on money: Are homes an investment? No way Are homes an investment? An appreciation of the work of Yale economist Robert Shiller, who just won a Nobel price. Shiller called the U.S. housing bubble in the middle of the last decade and has been a critic of the idea that houses are a good investment. Worth reading if you think the house you buy today will keep rising in value. The master class in retirement planning A Stanford University finance professor has made his course on retirement planning available at no cost online. Where the renters are This infographic compares the housing markets in Vancouver and San Francisco for both renters and owners. Lots more renting go on in San Francisco. Your yearly financial checklist Twenty financial tasks to complete every year, including rebalancing your portfolio and shopping your insurance rates. More money Join the 32,000+ people who subscribe to my Facebook personal finance community for talk about investing, retirement, real estate, banking and other financial matters.