Blog

Blog

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

Blocks

The internet really doesn’t want you to be untraceable

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Right after I started using a VPN for all my internet traffic, so that I could remain anonymous in my browsing habits, I started having technical troubles. It started with Amazon. I don’t shop Amazon all that much (I think … Read More … Read More

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How to find out if you (or anyone really) are owed money by the state

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I still fondly recall those late night TV infomercials about how you can get free money from the government. Now, as I’m learning, there may be something to all that. Because it turns out there are legitimate, state-run websites out … Read More … Read More

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Pretty nature view

For always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself

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I definitely found myself struggling around writing the following phrase in my previous post on signing up for an advanced personal finance course: And, I’ll be honest, I don’t know a lot of people who are in my situation. Which … Read More … Read More

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Limassol

Why I’m signing up for a personal finance course

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UPDATE (January 27, 2020): Finally published a review of this course. Michael Hyatt, the author and publisher, likes to say that “not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers“. By this, I’ve always interpreted it to mean that … Read More … Read More

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Prius toy car

Why buying my car wasn’t (totally) a good financial decision

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I own a 2004 Toyota Prius. It’s not a flashy car, at least it isn’t these days. It’s two models behind the current Prius, for one, and the Prius brand isn’t as flashy as, say, Tesla, these days. But I’m … Read More … Read More

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Road atlas

Why it’s okay to make a bad financial decision (sometimes)

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I was pretty hard recently on people leasing cars. That’s because I feel very strongly about how it’s a decision that can have a significant negative financial effect on one’s life. And not only that, but the implications of and … Read More … Read More

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Chair shadows

Why not refinance your student loans with SoFi?

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Congratulations! Student loan debt in the U.S. has reached $1.5 trillion as of 2018. That’s a staggering sum, equivalent to $4,600 for every member of the population, including babies. If you exclude babies (and we will, but we shouldn’t let … Read More … Read More

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Altar

Do you really want to pay your student loans off, or just pay less?

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Everyone wants to pay off their student loans. I had loans for the 10 years after I graduated college, and I hated them every step of the way. But people seem to handle their student loans in a confused and … Read More … Read More

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Shark

Why not lease a car and then buy it?

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If it wasn’t obvious, my post on reasons to lease a car wasn’t really in support of leasing a car, as I think that’s one of more financially foolish moves one can make, even worse than buying a new car. After … Read More … Read More

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