Radical Finances

Lynn Cove Viaduct

Why not just track all of your spending as a single category?

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I believe that everyone can optimize their spending habits, and without much in the way of sacrifice. I didn’t say “zero sacrifice”. We can’t all jet off to Hawaii whenever we want it. (Not without consequence, anyway.) But I also … Read More … Read More

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Queue ticket

How do you figure out how much money you need in retirement?

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I had a little fun with our fictitious shopping trip on the luxury eBay. While I enjoy toys as much as anyone, I think the desire for ultra-rich luxuries seems less about desire for luxuries and more of a need … Read More … Read More

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Grim reaper

If you think you can get out of paying back your student loans, think again

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Student loans are a big problem today. With the 68% of bachelor’s degree recipients graduating with student loan debt, and the average being $30,100 per borrower (in 2015), this feels like it’s no longer just “one of those things” a … Read More … Read More

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Rain window

Here’s the risk tolerance we ought to be talking about

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I was a little hard on people who have a low investment risk tolerance. But that’s not because I’m a mean person. I have very good reasons. I get that the idea generally is that we want to protect against … Read More … Read More

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Scary hand

Why it doesn’t matter what your risk tolerance is

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When investing, whether for retirement or for any longer term goals, there is often a discussion of “risk tolerance”. Risk tolerance in this context means how much variability in the investment return process that an investor is willing to withstand. … Read More … Read More

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Gift cards

How to offload (or combine) unused gift cards

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After the debacle of trying to use a prepaid card to anonymously purchase VPN service, only to find that I couldn’t use it for purchases outside of the U.S., I decided to just buy the VPN service outright. But I … Read More … Read More

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Shadow selfie

I want you to be your own insurer

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As I’ve stated before, I have a natural built-in aversion to many insurance products. Mainly, this is because they are so heavily marketed and advertised (and you know how I feel about that). I just am usually not convinced that … Read More … Read More

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Safe door

Can your money ever really be safe?

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I feel like there are a lot more radio programs of a financial nature than there used to be. This might be a confirmation bias, in that I’m seeking these things out. I could just as easily say that I … Read More … Read More

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Push pins

Is a credit card safer than a debit card?

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I recently got some pushback about using debit cards. I always appreciate this. I want ideas to be battle-tested, and I welcome the opportunity to think critically about decisions I’ve made and suggestions I’ve given. I don’t need everyone to … Read More … Read More

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Bank Vault

Here are some better ways to spend $600 than on hard drive recovery

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I spent roughly $600 to recover personal files from a dead hard drive. Now, $600 is a lot of money. It was half of the price of my first car when I bought it. It was more than what my … Read More … Read More

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