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Blog

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

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

The weirdness of checks

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I was recently in a food hall, one of those ones compiled by a real estate development company to give the illusion of a grass-roots, DIY, small-business-friendly establishment. Anyway, one of the more “hip” stalls had a sign by the … Read More … Read More

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The bridge: What you need when you retire early

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One of my life’s goals is to become financially independent. This means that I won’t need to rely on work to earn an income. (Yeah, it would be nice if we as a society could move to something approximating universal … Read More … Read More

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Book review: Everyday Millionaires

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I review the book “Everyday Millionaires” by Chris Hogan and its fundamental question: can anyone truly become a millionaire? The word “millionaire” has a lot of emotional meaning. It carries the weight of financial success, even if it doesn’t necessarily … Read More

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