Blog

Blog

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

Night window

It’s time for new beginnings (and uncertainty). Are you ready?

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“We overestimate what we can accomplish in a day, and underestimate what we can accomplish in a year.” That’s one of my favorite quotes about time and productivity. And it has certainly played out over and over. Here it is … Read More

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Stockberg panorama

Year in review 2018: Your top 10 favorite posts

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It’s the end of the year, and I’m recapping the best posts on this site for 2018, as I do every year. In my last post, I recapped my favorite posts of the year. But today, I’m recapping the most-viewed … Read More

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Gems

Year in review 2018: My top 10 favorite posts

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Happy end of the year! It’s that time when I take a little bit of time off from my standard posting schedule and instead have a recap of the best posts of the year, as determined in two ways: the … Read More

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Calendar card

If you don’t want to do it now, schedule a time to do it later

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I think a lot about resistance. There is so much that we know we should be doing and figuring out, so many important conversations that we need to have…and we really really really don’t want to do any of it. … Read More … Read More

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DTLA

What would make you feel financially secure?

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There are people for whom money is not a concern. (That’s great, except for the subset of people for whom money isn’t a concern but probably should be. I want you to feel financially secure, but only if you are financially secure.) … Read More … Read More

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Old United truck

I let my United miles expire. Should I buy them back?

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Somewhere, someone at United Airlines is smiling. Frequent flyer mile expiration is an easy way for an airline to make more money. It’s a “currency” that the airline owns. They control how you use it, and if you don’t keep … Read More … Read More

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Ship mast

There is a race to the bottom in mutual fund fees, and we all win

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I’ve always believed that in business you can compete on price or you can compete on quality, but never both. Which is why we have basic economy on airplanes (which are as cheap as possible and as a consequence are … Read More … Read More

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Record player stylus

How to put barriers in place for your spending

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Numerous services exist to make spending easier. Contactless cards allow you to pay without even taking the time to swipe or insert. Apple Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, Facebook Pay, Netflix Pay (okay not all of these are real, but … Read More … Read More

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Shoes

Woman tracks spending, finds out she spends more than she thought. Film at 11.

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I know that things that are obvious to some aren’t obvious to others. The phrase “it’s easy once you know how to do it” is both banal, profound, and very relevant. That said, when someone writes an article about something … Read More … Read More

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IQ tester

The benefits (and limitations) of Chris Hogan’s R:IQ assessment test

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I discuss the online R:IQ assessment test by Chris Hogan, which seeks to determine how much money you need to save up for your retirement. As mentioned in my review of Chris Hogan’s Retire Inspired book, a tool called the … Read More … Read More

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