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Blog

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

How to calculate just how bad a deal a payday loan is

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I love local newspapers. There’s just something you can learn about a place from a local newspaper that no wandering or even research will tell you. But it’s the advertisements that often are the most interesting. I was recently in … Read More … Read More

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PayDay candy bar

Don’t use payday lenders

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Back when I was working at Kinko’s doing layout, one of my regular customers would often ask me to create or update an application form for his company. It was for some kind of loan, and as I had to … Read More … Read More

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Free cash sign

Four ill-advised reasons to refinance your mortgage

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So there are definitely some reasons where refinancing a mortgage could be a good move. Rates too high? Terms no good? Not going to be moving for a while? It could make a lot of sense, and save you money. … Read More … Read More

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White elephant statue

Is it time for me to refinance? My mortgage origination company thinks so

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I closed on my home almost two years ago. And while I made the terms a little longer than I needed to, my plan currently is to pay it off as if it were a 15 year mortgage. As I’ve … Read More … Read More

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Labyrinth game

What’s a mortgage refinance?

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You might think that the life cycle of owning a home is that you buy something, get a mortgage, pay off mortgage, and then live happily ever after. But this omits the fun world of mortgage refinance. Because it was … Read More … Read More

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Drumstick tips

Uber now allows tips: What’s 20% of $0?

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The news was electrifying: Uber, the sharecropping system of the transportation industry, was finally allowing passengers to tip their drivers. Amazingly, this wasn’t a thing before now. There was no option to tip a driver, except if you were to … Read More … Read More

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Bitcoin

What about Bitcoin?

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A few years ago, the online dating site OkCupid added a new payment option. It said: “Civilization Collapsed? Pay with Bitcoin” This was the first time that I saw Bitcoin being taken (somewhat) seriously as a payment method. Bitcoin is a … Read More … Read More

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Gold bricks

What about gold?

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I love talking about investing. A slow and steady plan that can enable almost anyone to ensure a comfortable future for themselves and their loved ones? Yes please, sign me up. When I talk about investing, I speak exclusively of mutual … Read More … Read More

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Galaxy NGC 2623

Why is the budget monthly?

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Our system of budgeting is pretty arbitrary. I recommend that everyone make a spending plan based on the calendar month. Twelve months a year: twelve plans a year. Could we do things another way? And are any of them better? … Read More

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Calendar

The arbitrary nature of a month, or does it really matter when you spend?

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Last month was a little challenging for me, money-wise. While every month I separate my allotted spending money into categories ($300 for Groceries, $60 for Transportation, etc.), it’s really just a best guess. The month had a number of expenses … Read More … Read More

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