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Blog

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

Homemade Enigma machine

Financial cage match: ETFs versus mutual funds

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I want everyone to be an investing expert. Thankfully, I also believe that simplicity in investing is best. Create a Roth IRA, put money into low-cost index funds, and repeat this every month. When I say “low-cost index funds”, I’m … Read More … Read More

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Newspapers

Is it time to turn off the news?

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My mom assures me that this is a true story. Around the age of 5 or so, reflecting on the content on the local news show on TV, I asked my mom why they didn’t call the show “Bad News” … Read More … Read More

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Bullseye

A photo finish is a good thing when budgeting

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If you’re like me, you may procrastinate, but you don’t like it. You don’t enjoy waiting until the last minute to get things done. And in general, it feels better to have some leeway, rather than cutting things close. However, … Read More … Read More

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Falling sand grains

Does savings count as a bill or an expense?

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I talk a lot about making plans for spending money, because you want to spend your money intentionally and not just let it happen. Moreover, the objective is not to spend as little as possible, but just the right amount … Read More … Read More

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Lightning in the desert

Would I have done college differently if I had wanted to avoid debt?

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I’m annoyed when I think about debt. It’s a thing that I want to get away from, like a snoring person in the room, or a screaming baby on the plane. I want it gone. When I was in high school, … Read More … Read More

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Spiral windows

Is it a good idea to get your student loans forgiven?

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Like approximately everyone, I graduated college with student loans. If there was a way to get my loans “forgiven”, no one told me. At the time, all I knew was that I had to either pay what I owed, pay interest … Read More … Read More

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Top of the mesa

Is it a good idea to have an “Adventure” expenses category when traveling?

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If you’ve read this site for any length of time, you know how about you can obtain best results with your money by tracking your expenses. Moreover, if you categorize your expenses, you can learn even more about how you … Read More … Read More

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The Exchange

A quick primer on obtaining and using foreign currencies when traveling

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As I mentioned about tracking expenses when traveling abroad, other countries don’t use US dollars. (I’m joking about this being notable, of course.) But switching between currencies presents some extra challenges and requires extra awareness to prevent getting burned with … Read More … Read More

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Adventure silhouette

How to keep track of your expenses while traveling

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Another question that was asked after a recent meeting of the Portland Integrative Finance Community was regarding expense tracking and traveling, namely: “How do you overcome the challenges of tracking expenses while traveling?” Ooh, another great question! Gosh, if the … Read More … Read More

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Blue corner

What to do when you have extra category money at the end of the month

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At the most recent gathering of the Portland Integrative Finance Community (join for free here), we had a frank and engaging discussion about the challenges and the benefits of tracking your expenses each and every month, something I’ve done for … Read More … Read More

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