Blog

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

An introduction to negative money

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  WARNING: This post contains a discussion of math. In these enlightened times, negative numbers aren’t a big deal. Whether it’s your favorite golfer winning the tournament with a score of -12, or even the solution to “x = 3 … Read More … Read More

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Separate your savings

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  I once went to an ATM in a tourist area (Pearl Harbor to be specific). Finding an old receipt in the receipt slot, I removed it, buy being the nosy person that I am, I looked at it before … Read More … Read More

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Adventures in accessing credit reports

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  I recently decided to find out what was on my credit report. I figure, if my permanent record is going to follow me around, I might as well know what it says about me. And perhaps a nefarious Mike with a … Read More … Read More

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Get your credit report

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  Remember when we were in school and our teachers told us that if we misbehaved it would go on our “permanent record?” Remember how relieved we were when we learned that there was no such thing? That was a … Read More … Read More

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What else could you keep track of?

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  One of the quickest ways to get control of your finances is to keep track of your expenses. It is both the simplest task (requiring a pen and paper, alternately a text file on your phone or laptop) and … Read More … Read More

How to determine the ethics of a situation

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  I’m no ethicist. Or rather, I’m no different in my qualifications than anyone else to make these kind of judgments. Chuck Klosterman, who at some point while I wasn’t looking became the writer of the New York Times The … Read More … Read More

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Is it possible to be an ethical investor?

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  “Vote with your wallet.” “Put your money where your mouth is.” Where we spend our money matters. I’m assuming that there are certain companies that do not align with your personal ethical code, so you would not want to … Read More … Read More

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The best stock tip you’ll ever receive

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  I’m not usually in the business of talking about stock advice, but every once in a while, I make an exception. Many people charge hundreds, even thousands, of dollars to get access to certain people’s stock tips, but I’m … Read More … Read More

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How (and why) to avoid taxis when traveling

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  I have a few informal rules when traveling. One of them is to never take a taxi. Taxis, to me, equate with a kind of failure. Harsh? Perhaps. But it’s nothing personal, I just see it as a personal … Read More … Read More

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What I (re)learned from flying Business Class internationally

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  I was in the fortunate position of flying international Business Class using frequent flyer miles recently. Yes, it’s hard to complain. And while it was a great experience, a lot of what made it great is that it gave … Read More … Read More

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