Radical Finances

Man lying down

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

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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 More … Read More

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Unlikely Hypocrite? Costco versus Amazon Prime

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  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 More … Read More

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The financial risks of Amazon Prime

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  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 More … Read More

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Do we all need to work?

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  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 More … Read More

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Guilt tipping, or another way that a card makes you spend more

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  Last year, I spent an entire month spending only cash. My review at the time was that it was a giant pain in the neck, but it nevertheless (somehow) saved me hundreds of dollars. Since then, I’ve gone back … Read More … Read More

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94 index cards: My results from the Priceless Surprises promotion

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  A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Priceless Surprises promotion, a way to earn hotel points and other prizes. This promotion was sponsored by MasterCard, which presumably had a vested interest in getting you to use one of … Read More … Read More

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When to max out your Roth IRA contributions

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  My intuition isn’t always correct, and I enjoy being confronted with facts that don’t back up my assertions. And this post is one of those situations. Sort of. So let’s talk about funding your Roth IRA, and assume you … Read More … Read More

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Can you use your retirement account as your emergency fund?

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  My high school algebra teacher always had some sagacious advice for our class. “Open the door before you walk through it.” That sort of thing. This always elicited a laugh from us, which I suppose was the point. Though … Read More … Read More

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Is there a loophole in the new Starbucks Rewards program?

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  Starbucks is changing its rewards program to reward those who spend more, rather than those who just go often. But the catch (and the deal-breaker for me) is that you have to pay using their reloadable Starbucks Card. Under … Read More … Read More

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Starbucks just changed its reward program: is it finally worth joining?

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  Just because a loyalty program is offered doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea to get involved. For example, I don’t recommend joining car rental loyalty programs. And one program I’ve looked at for a while but never liked … Read More … Read More

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