Blog

Blog

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

Explosion

The debt blunderbuss, or can you have an emergency fund and still pay off debt?

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There is a financial cage match article that I can’t write: debt vs. the emergency fund. It’s not hard to see why there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to question of what comes first before the other. How much debt you … Read More … Read More

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Flooded street

I don’t understand European bathrooms

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Having just come back from two weeks in Europe (as part of my one new country per year challenge) I had a myriad of different experiences. Most of them were positive, though a few were unfortunate and of my own making. … Read More … Read More

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Approved/denied stamps

Does your bank know you’re traveling?

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If you’ve got international travels planned, I bet you’re excited for them. You might want to throw all of your stuff in your bag and just get to the airport as quickly as possible. I know the feeling. I just … Read More … Read More

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Plate with fork

The pleasures and sorrows of ordering a special meal in flight

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I’ve talked about how anyone can order a special meal on a flight if it’s one of the rare ones that still serve meals. It just so happens that I had such a flight recently, flying British Airways from Seattle (SEA) … Read More … Read More

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Lunch pail

Why not order a special meal on your flight?

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Long gone are the days where one got served meals on flights by default. These days, you may get served a meal if you’re flying domestic first class, but aside from that, you really only get something approximating a meal … Read More … Read More

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Seed sprouting

If you feel like you have too much debt to ever save for retirement

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Debt reduction and wealth building are part of the same process, so you are working toward your money goals even if you don’t think you are. I believe retirement is possible for us. But at the same time, I’m on … Read More … Read More

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Is retirement possible?

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Retirement is a scary thing to think about. Many people think that they’ll never be able to retire, that they will be forced to work until they die. But it’s worth taking a look at what retirement is and whether … Read More … Read More

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Tennis Shot

It’s okay, you were never taught

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I run a discussion group in Portland called the Portland Integrative Finance Community. It’s been tremendously satisfying for me, but the feedback I’ve gotten from attendees so far has been remarkable. Many people have mentioned how positive it was to … Read More … Read More

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Net

What is your financial net worth?

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I don’t necessarily think of one’s finances as a game (unlike, say, Tony Robbins), but more like a process, a challenge, a long task. Perhaps a kind of art. That said, I also think it’s useful and important to know … Read More … Read More

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Hands in the air

Tony Robbins’ finance app, or how the end of history is already happening

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I talk about the problems with tying the contents of a book to an online service, using the example of the Tony Robbins Master The Game app. I got on a bit of a rant when I talked about the end … Read More … Read More

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