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Blog

Musings on personal finance and more...

This is how much you need for your emergency fund

  An emergency fund, as I’ve talked about before, is a fundamental part of any sound financial life. You want to get to the point where you could live for six months on what you have socked away. (Retirement accounts … Read More … Read More

Join the Portland Integrative Finance Community!

  I’ve created a Meetup group! Called Portland Integrative Finance Community, it is a group where we can come together to share our experiences around two central questions: How can we use money to help us achieve our goals? How … Read More … Read More

Socrates, wall-to-wall carpet, and how to deal with unpopular beliefs

  I’m still getting settled into my home. I suspect that most people have a similar experience, where it takes upwards of six months for it to even slightly feel less like staying in someone else’s place. But for me, … Read More … Read More

Hand cramps, office supplies, and a hotel sweepstakes

  Last time, I talked about the Priceless Surprises promotion, a sweepstakes which is designed to get you to stay at IHG (Holiday Inn) properties and pay with a MasterCard. However, due to laws regarding sweepstakes, there is a way … Read More … Read More

How to potentially earn free hotel nights by filling out and mailing index cards

  I’m always on the lookout for ways to earn frequent flyer miles and hotel points without having to use credit cards. This is usually difficult. If you read travel hacking blogs, many of the articles have to do with … Read More …

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Why the home mortgage interest deduction is a disappointment

UPDATE: I originally made a math error below, and have corrected it. Apologies. UPDATE #2: I have another take on this. “Oh you’ve got a mortgage now!” goes Conventional Wisdom. “Now your taxes will be lower because you’ll be able to … Read More …

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Which is better, a tax credit or a tax deduction?

  WARNING: This post contains math. This is one of those posts that is a challenge to write. Since everyone is in different places and with different levels of financial literacy, I can’t expect everyone to have the same level … Read More … Read More

What is the minimum needed to start investing for retirement?

  Okay, so say you’re ready to invest. You’ve either paid off all your debts, or you’re not going to listen to me and want to get started now, regardless. Either way, I’ve got your back. Let’s also say that … Read More … Read More

How to know if you’re financially ready to start investing

  I’ve talked a lot about investing on this site. This is both because this is where a lot of my focus is in my own life (that and my final boss character), but also because it’s where I think … Read More … Read More

How to pay for a deductible

  I wrote about how to choose a deductible. Here is the equation we came up with. Choose a higher deductible over a lower one when: In general, I recommend higher deductibles over lower ones. A $1,000 deductible might seem … Read More … Read More

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