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Blog

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

Why keeping a budget is just like getting a raise

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  I want you to keep track of what you earn and spend. But why? Is it a deep-seated need to assign homework? No way. Do I want you to become obsessed with your budget and spend hours and hours … Read More … Read More

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Why Charles Dickens’ Micawber was only half right

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  I will rarely quote Charles Dickens, but here’s a great quote from David Copperfield by the character Wilkins Micawber: “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty … Read More … Read More

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Your work may not be original, but that’s not the point

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  For those who haven’t read the post about Ze Frank, go watch this video. Go ahead, I’ll wait. A terrible place between zero and one I confess I watched this video with a strange mixture of excitement, amazement, and … Read More … Read More

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Honorary Ex-Velleitier: Ze Frank

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  I don’t usually (well actually ever) embed YouTube videos, but I’m going to make an exception here. So please watch this, it’s only 181 seconds long: … Read More

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Assume you will return

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  I’ve been helping to plan some travels for someone else recently, a nice change for me given how often people talk about how they aren’t able to travel. We’re going through all the usual decisions, but knowing that there … Read More … Read More

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What do you value?

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  Joe Biden, the current US Vice President as of the time of writing (and possibly the most famous person from Delaware), is on record with a great quote: “Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and … Read More … Read More

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Why cities are better experienced on the surface

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  I talked about bike share in New York City, and how it has the potential to change the fabric of the street. But I also didn’t test it out myself, as I lacked a helmet. Lame, I know, but … Read More … Read More

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Why bike share will change cities (for the better)

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  New York City has recently rolled out a new bike sharing program. Bike share is something that even bike-crazy Portland doesn’t yet have, and as I’ve been in NYC this past week, I was very curious about it. Plus … Read More … Read More

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What is the difference between a friend and a love?

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  The standard social model is as follows: You have a large number of acquaintances, followed by a smaller number of close friends, and then at the top: the single solitary love. Putting aside the acquaintances for now, it’s the … Read More … Read More

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On losing a friend

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  I’ve talked before about being grateful: for your health, for your security/safety, for your freedom, but most of all for your friends and family. You may think that your most important work is your job, career, hobbies, or art, … Read More … Read More

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