What Jonathan Clements Taught Us About Money, and Dying Well

Jonathan Clements spent his career teaching millions how to live wisely with money. In his final year, he also showed us how to die well.

Clements wrote nine books and more than a thousand columns for the Wall Street Journal and was one of our most trusted and beloved oracles of personal finance. He passed away this week in Philadelphia, about 16 months after learning he had a deadly form of lung cancer.

Clements gave readers an intimate view of his approach to death in a column he wrote (subscription required) in November of 2024. He was in a race against the clock to make things as easy as he could for his loved ones. Financial planning, for him, had become an act of love.

Although Clements had thought his finances were simple and well-organized, they didn't seem that way to his family, who were not as financially minded as he was.

I’ve been working like crazy to make sure I bequeath a well-organized estate and leave my family in good financial shape. I’m determined to have as good a death as possible, not least from a financial point of view.
— Jonathan Clements

He spent "endless hours" on the effort. He canceled extra credit cards, made his wife a joint account holder on bank accounts, rolled his retirement savings into fewer accounts, updated beneficiary designations, drew up powers of attorney, and revised his will.

All this might seem rather tedious. But at a time when I’m losing control over my life’s trajectory, it feels good to have control over something, even if it’s just humdrum financial matters.
— Jonathan Clements

Most of us put off this kind of work, but Clements' example reminds us that organizing our finances is not just a chore but also a gift to the people we love. If you handle the finances in your family, don’t assume they’ll be simple for others to sort out.

For more from Clements, I recommend his new book, The Best of Jonathan Clements: Classic Columns on Money and Life.

By purchasing the book, you will be contributing to the Jonathan Clements Getting Going on Savings Initiative. Royalties from your purchase will help provide direct $1,000 grants to low-income young adults to help them get started on saving for retirement. The money will fund a Roth IRA. Learn more about the Clements initiative at boglecenter.net/gettinggoing.

Clements’ final lesson was simple: money is not just about living well; it’s about leaving well.

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