Blog

Blog

Musings on personal finance and more. Not written with AI since 2012.

Even when things go wrong, the world is an amazing place

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A brief meditation on perspective when things go wrong, in that so much that we don’t notice continues to be not only right, but amazing. My laptop died this past week. I was already planning on upgrading, as I knew … Read More … Read More

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What are the credit cards I use in my business?

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Take a look behind the scenes and learn about the credit cards I use in my financial coaching business and why. I started my financial coaching business informally almost a decade ago, but it was a few years later that … Read More … Read More

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What are your big money moves?

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I discuss the high-level “money moves”, the important decisions you can make that will be the most impactful in your financial life. I hope by this point you’re not under the belief that just by cutting out coffee or by … Read More … Read More

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The Target problem: Managing (over)spending at the Everything Store

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Target and other big retailers that sell a wide range of products present a challenge to those who wish to track their spending. Target has been around for decades, but it only hit my radar in college, when the first … Read More … Read More

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Debunking Ben & Arthur: How to win at investing even if you start later

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The parable from the Dave Ramsey team about Ben and Arthur is fatally flawed, which is good news for pretty much everyone. Everyone knows that you should start saving for retirement early. And that makes sense. The sooner you start, … Read More … Read More

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Going for my AFC certification: How I got my 1,000 hours

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I detail how I met the 1,000 Experience Hours requirement to become an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC). Two years ago, I decided to get my Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) certification. While I believe that you don’t need official credentials to … Read More … Read More

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Why inflation might worry you (but probably shouldn’t)

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I wade into popular economics to interpret recent higher inflation rates, to see if there is any merit in being concerned. I remember my first savings account that my parents opened for me when I was a kid. It was … Read More … Read More

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Why Ally’s Surprise Savings is terrifying

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I explore the Surprise Savings product from Ally and suggest a different way to achieve the exact same results. Last night, I was logging on to Ally to adjust some of my automatic transfers between my checking account and my … Read More … Read More

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Why I don’t talk about FIRE

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I discuss the FIRE (Financial Independence / Retire Early) movement, and how it falls short for so many of us, despite all of the hype. FIRE (Financial Independence / Retire Early) is a financial strategy or philosophy that encourages minimalist … Read More … Read More

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Don’t let your husband manage all of your money

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In our culture, it’s not uncommon for a woman to let her husband take care of all of the household finances. Here’s why that’s a problem. Disclaimer: I’m going to leap into the mono- and heteronormative for this post, but … Read More … Read More

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