Radical Finances

Make your bills less lumpy

There is a difference between bills and expenses. A lot of people who talk about personal finance don’t distinguish between them. They say it’s all your “outgo” or just “what you spend money on”. But a car insurance payment is … Read MoreRead More

Dark waiting

One day, you too may not receive a paycheck. Here’s how to prepare.

Unless you live under a rock (and even rocks seem to have good WiFi these days), you know that as of the time of writing, the United States is undergoing the longest partial government shutdown in history. About 800,000 federal … Read MoreRead More

Stockberg panorama

Year in review 2018: Your top 10 favorite posts

It’s the end of the year, and I’m recapping the best posts on this site for 2018, as I do every year. In my last post, I recapped my favorite posts of the year. But today, I’m recapping the most-viewed … Read More

Gems

Year in review 2018: My top 10 favorite posts

Happy end of the year! It’s that time when I take a little bit of time off from my standard posting schedule and instead have a recap of the best posts of the year, as determined in two ways: the … Read More

DTLA

What would make you feel financially secure?

There are people for whom money is not a concern. (That’s great, except for the subset of people for whom money isn’t a concern but probably should be. I want you to feel financially secure, but only if you are financially secure.) … Read MoreRead More

Ship mast

There is a race to the bottom in mutual fund fees, and we all win

I’ve always believed that in business you can compete on price or you can compete on quality, but never both. Which is why we have basic economy on airplanes (which are as cheap as possible and as a consequence are … Read MoreRead More

Record player stylus

How to put barriers in place for your spending

Numerous services exist to make spending easier. Contactless cards allow you to pay without even taking the time to swipe or insert. Apple Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, Facebook Pay, Netflix Pay (okay not all of these are real, but … Read MoreRead More

Shoes

Woman tracks spending, finds out she spends more than she thought. Film at 11.

I know that things that are obvious to some aren’t obvious to others. The phrase “it’s easy once you know how to do it” is both banal, profound, and very relevant. That said, when someone writes an article about something … Read MoreRead More

IQ tester

The benefits (and limitations) of Chris Hogan’s R:IQ assessment test

I discuss the online R:IQ assessment test by Chris Hogan, which seeks to determine how much money you need to save up for your retirement. As mentioned in my review of Chris Hogan’s Retire Inspired book, a tool called the … Read MoreRead More

Little robot

Chris Hogan’s Retire Inspired: Another bionic book?

Years from now, when the internet is as obscure and unknowable as Linear A, archaeologists are going to unearth books, still well-preserved, that say things like: “If you haven’t taken the R:IQ assessment yet, do it now! Take it for … Read MoreRead More