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Blog

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

Don’t try to run out the clock on your finances

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It’s a sobering statistic: 1 out of every 1 person dies. If you are of a certain age, and your finances are not where you want them to be, it is understandable that a certain feeling of helplessness can set … Read More … Read More

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The Roth IRA danger zone (part 2): What to do if you contributed too much

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So we talked last time about the problems with being on the threshold of the Roth IRA income limits. If you make way too much or way too little, then you know where you stand in terms of being able … Read More … Read More

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The Roth IRA danger zone (part 1): What to do when you almost make too much to contribute

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A Roth IRA is awesome. There are lots of reasons, but the main one is that your money can grow and be withdrawn tax-free. So whatever you have in your account, that’s yours. Got a hundred grand? You’ve got a … Read More … Read More

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Inviting the repo man in: Using a home equity loan to pay off credit card debt

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Some people cut up their credit cards. Some people have them but keep them in a drawer. Some people may use them, but pay them off at the end of the month. I can see arguments for all of these, … Read More … Read More

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Is your money identity holding you back?

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I recently read the Seth Godin book “This Is Marketing”. On the back cover, and throughout the book, is the phrase “People like us do things like this.” At first I thought this might have been some weird marketing cult … Read More … Read More

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How financial stability (might have) led me to become vegetarian

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For much of my life, I was a dedicated “whatever-ivore”. I ate meat, because I ate everything. I wasn’t one of those people who ate bugs and the like, but it was part of my identity that restricting my food … Read More … Read More

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How your decisions change when you have more money

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In New York City, you can take a helicopter to the airport. It runs about $200, and takes you five minutes. There are a few different ways you can respond to this particular factoid. For many/most people: “That is absolutely … Read More … Read More

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Your feelings when you learn about other people’s financial decisions

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There is a risk when you share specific financial numbers: other people may feel either envy or disdain. Some people will see a budget of $40 a day for food for two people and say, “Must be nice. That’s how … Read More … Read More

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Real numbers: Budgeting for a weekend away

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Repeat after me: track or you will fail. It doesn’t matter if it’s money, or fitness, or watering your plants, if there is something you want to accomplish and it takes more than a single step to get there, you … Read More … Read More

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Why you waste energy trying to save on things that don’t matter

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Have you ever spent five minutes in the grocery store trying to decide between the organic and non-organic item? Have you ever stood outside of Starbucks asking yourself if you could rationalize spending money on a coffee? Have you ever … Read More … Read More