Blog

Blog

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

Surprised sidewalk

What to say when someone you know makes a financial decision you disagree with

Posted by on | Featured

It’s not an infrequent occurrence that I get friends who apologize to me when they tell me about financial decisions they make. “I know you wouldn’t approve of this, but…“ The interesting thing is that more often than not, they’re … Read More … Read More

Tags:
Palm trees

Is it already FinCon 2018? A confession of unintentionality

Posted by on | Featured

I try to keep my posts here informative, educational, hopefully entertaining, and always vaguely nerdy. But this site is also a journey for me as well. I’m not sitting at the top of the mountain, throwing off wisdom to the … Read More … Read More

Tags: ,
Sailboat

You don’t need to wait until you’re old or rich to see the world

Posted by on | Featured

I’ve been in Scotland for the past week, the first time I’ve been here in about twenty years. The first time I was here was on a break from college. I had taken a spring semester off, and was planning … Read More … Read More

Tags: , ,
Double rainbow

If you save $1 today, how much will you have in 10 years?

Posted by on | Featured

It’s better to save when you’re younger. I think most of us know that. The problem is that being younger is the time when it’s hardest to save. One’s younger years are the time when pretty much everyone has a … Read More … Read More

Tags:
Robot

Why not use a robo-advisor?

Posted by on | Featured

So as I mentioned in my last post, my day job started offering a 401(k) recently. Finally! It’s been very relieving, as it allows me to put more tax-advantaged money away for retirement, which, as you might imagine, is pretty … Read More … Read More

Tags: ,
401

Why a 401(k) is the most lucrative investment product for most people

Posted by on | Featured

Lord have mercy, my day job just recently started offering a 401(k)! When I switched jobs last year, I was dismayed, as one can imagine, that there was no employee-sponsored retirement plan offered to me. When I asked, as politely … Read More … Read More

Tags: ,
Bank branch

The saddest money withdrawal I’ve ever seen

Posted by on | Featured

I’m going on a big trip this month, and I’m pretty excited about it. One of my rituals around packing—aside from spending the week prior making a way-too-big pile of stuff in the corner of my room under the misunderstanding … Read More … Read More

Tags: ,
Lonely tree

Don’t be a minimalist, be a sensibilist

Posted by on | Featured

Minimalism is a big thing. From tiny houses to 100 things challenges, it seems that there is a building pushback against the McMansion-loving, stuff-buying, American-dream excess of our modern age, where what you buy determines who you are. From the … Read More … Read More

Tags: ,
Ladder

An alternative to CD lock-in: a “ladder”

Posted by on | Featured

I don’t think CDs (certificates of deposit) are worth the bargain. You often (but not always) get a slightly higher interest rate than an equivalent savings account, but at the price of liquidity, in that you have to leave the … Read More … Read More

Tags: ,