Radical Finances

Falling sand grains

Does savings count as a bill or an expense?

I talk a lot about making plans for spending money, because you want to spend your money intentionally and not just let it happen. Moreover, the objective is not to spend as little as possible, but just the right amount … Read MoreRead More

Lightning in the desert

Would I have done college differently if I had wanted to avoid debt?

I’m annoyed when I think about debt. It’s a thing that I want to get away from, like a snoring person in the room, or a screaming baby on the plane. I want it gone. When I was in high school, … Read MoreRead More

Spiral windows

Is it a good idea to get your student loans forgiven?

Like approximately everyone, I graduated college with student loans. If there was a way to get my loans “forgiven”, no one told me. At the time, all I knew was that I had to either pay what I owed, pay interest … Read MoreRead More

Top of the mesa

Is it a good idea to have an “Adventure” expenses category when traveling?

If you’ve read this site for any length of time, you know how about you can obtain best results with your money by tracking your expenses. Moreover, if you categorize your expenses, you can learn even more about how you … Read MoreRead More

The Exchange

A quick primer on obtaining and using foreign currencies when traveling

As I mentioned about tracking expenses when traveling abroad, other countries don’t use US dollars. (I’m joking about this being notable, of course.) But switching between currencies presents some extra challenges and requires extra awareness to prevent getting burned with … Read MoreRead More

Adventure silhouette

How to keep track of your expenses while traveling

Another question that was asked after a recent meeting of the Portland Integrative Finance Community was regarding expense tracking and traveling, namely: “How do you overcome the challenges of tracking expenses while traveling?” Ooh, another great question! Gosh, if the … Read MoreRead More

Blue corner

What to do when you have extra category money at the end of the month

At the most recent gathering of the Portland Integrative Finance Community (join for free here), we had a frank and engaging discussion about the challenges and the benefits of tracking your expenses each and every month, something I’ve done for … Read MoreRead More

Rusted Car

This might be why you don’t believe you’ll be financially successful

It’s not hard to find bad economic news that applies to you. If you’re a millennial, chances are the job market is terrible for you. If you’re a baby boomer, chances are that you’re either underwater in your house or … Read MoreRead More

Mesospheric clouds

How you can use same day flight change rules to save on airfare

I think Alaska Airlines is pretty much the best domestic airline out there right now. Bold claim, I know, and there are many different criteria that go into such a rating, but I say this based on a combination of … Read MoreRead More

Toeing the line

There is no glory in poverty

Henry Rollins, who I’ve previously mentioned as being an honorary Unlikely Radical, perhaps the one that I aspire to be like the most, once joked at a spoken word show about a fictitious performance art piece, one with the pretension level amped up to … Read MoreRead More