Radical Finances

Metallic

What pennies taught me about the problem of private interest in government

I long for the days where it seemed like we fully funded the federal government to do its job or serving its people and keeping private interests in check. I think so much good could come from another set of … Read MoreRead More

Hula hoops

Technology isn’t the answer to our finance problems

I believe we live in a techno-uptopian society. By this, I mean that “technology” is seen as the answer to whatever ails us. How else to describe the over-inflation that is Silicon Valley (and its cousins Silicon Alley, Silicon Forest, … Read MoreRead More

How to transfer an IRA to Vanguard

Many years ago, when I was first learning about investing, I decided to start my own IRA. At my coworker’s suggestion, I set up the account at Scottrade. Over the course of two years, I put a little bit of money … Read MoreRead More

Porto Alegre at night

It’s 4 AM: Do you know where your retirement accounts are?

I just remembered that I have a gift card with money on it that I haven’t yet spent. The gift card is for Williams-Sonoma, a nice place for sure, but looks like I’ll be able to afford only a pot … Read MoreRead More

Monopoly house

Why the home mortgage interest deduction isn’t as disappointing as I thought

Often when I play board games, I enjoy the process of losing as much as winning. That’s why I love it when people comment on my posts pushing back against my arguments. I don’t consider myself an infallible expert in … Read MoreRead More

Ceiling Circles

Financial Cage Match: Paying down a mortgage versus investing

This is another entry in the Financial Cage Match series, where I look at two competing financial priorities and see which one comes out on top. Here’s another entry: Paying off student loans versus investing for retirement. WARNING: This post … Read MoreRead More

Man lying down

Just making sure: Mortgage interest isn’t a reason to hold on to a mortgage

WARNING: This post contains math. “When you have a mortgage, you get a tax deduction for all the mortgage interest you pay. So you shouldn’t pay down your mortgage early, because you’ll lose the tax deduction.” This is one of the … Read MoreRead More

Unlikely Hypocrite? Costco versus Amazon Prime

  I’ve got retail on the brain these days. Recently I talked about the new Starbucks Rewards program, and then more recently I talked about Amazon Prime. And now it’s on to Costco. Why Costco? Because as I was reviewing … Read MoreRead More

The financial risks of Amazon Prime

  I periodically buy things on Amazon. Not all the time, and I don’t keep up much what the giant of Seattle (the other one, not the one that makes the coffee) is up to. But I had recently put … Read MoreRead More

Do we all need to work?

  I believe that we are entering an unprecedented situation in America (if not the world), where the link between the existence of workers and the need to do work no longer correlates. We are seeing the ramifications of this … Read MoreRead More