Another Clickbait Title To Coax You Into Reading Something Useful
I once clicked on an ad that said something like “You won’t believe what OJ Simpson’s daughter looks like today!”. The link took me to an article called 31 Celebrity Then and Now Photos that will BLOW YOUR MIND! (paraphrasing). Each celebrity then and now photo was on a separate page, requiring that I click […]
It’s Only Money
Every week I write about money. Sometimes in a roundabout way. But ultimately, this website is about growing wealth by making better financial decisions. Life is not about money, but money can help us live a better life. When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, unexpected expenses can be extremely stressful. The news of a major home […]
5 Things I’ve Learned From 5 Years Of Blogging
Starting a blog five years ago changed my life. Before my blog, I watched too much television and lacked self-motivation. The blog empowered me to make better use of my time. I became more productive, more thoughtful about investments and money decisions, and eventually, I replaced the part-time income my wife once earned. Through the […]
How To Manage Excess Cash Flow
In personal finance, excess cash flow is the money that’s left over in your checking account at the end of each month. Your success with money is heavily dependent on creating and doing smart things with it. If you don’t have any excess cash flow, you may need to change shit up. Each of my quarterly […]
Retire At 50. Live To 100.
I’m not one for round numbers. But I had a thought recently. What if I could retire at 50, then live to 100? Is that even possible? If so, which part is the bigger challenge? The whole basis of this blog is my goal to retire by age 55, one year prior to the age […]
8 Alternative Investment Ideas For Further Research
Diversification is said to be the only free lunch in the investment world. If your portfolio is heavily weighted toward one asset class, you may benefit from exploring other places to put your money. The alternative investment ideas in this post may be a good starting point for your search. Conventional investments include stocks, bonds, […]
The Creation Mindset – Accelerate Your Wealth Trajectory
Buying compact discs (CDs) used to be a thing. That’s how we bought music back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. I spent a few thousand dollars on CDs throughout high school, college, and my early working years. One summer, I worked in a record store to earn money because my internship at a financial services company was […]
Don’t Eat The Doughnut
Achieving success in personal finance is simple but not easy. Make more money. Spend less than you make. Invest the surplus. That’s the formula to become wealthy over time. The Nintendo fanboy in me calls this the Triforce of Wealth. But doing those things requires habit, persistence, and a steady income. If personal finance was […]
Life Without The Constraints Of Time And Money
It’s summer break for our kids. They don’t have much to compare this summer to, but life is good. No school. No homework. No job. No workday calendar. No bills to pay. They had Lucky Charms cereal for dinner Saturday night. Parenting fail. This is the best dinner ever. – My 4-year-old daughter The marshmallows are way […]
Steak Dinner For Vegans
One of my new favorite podcasts is the Animal Spirits Podcast hosted by bloggers Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson of Ritholtz Wealth Management. These guys are prolific writers and tweeters who often poke fun at investment pundits and fund managers who try to predict future market returns. Turn on CNBC and there’s always someone who claims to know […]
11 Investments I Made Last Quarter
The Portfolio page on my blog has been updated as of June 30th, 2018. This page outlines my portfolio of taxable investments and the income generated on a yearly and average monthly basis. Click here to see all previous updates. This quarterly update contains a summary of my personal investment activity for the past quarter. I’ve shared the investment income (aka passive […]
14 Months, 18 Countries, $10,000 – How To Quit Your Job And Travel The World
I’m vacationing on the Jersey Shore this week so I’m taking a short break from writing new content. This classic article is about the budget traveling I did back in 2001-2002. I’ll be joining a panel at FinCon this year in Orlando to speak on the topic. Exploring the unusual has been one theme of […]
How I Track My Dividend Income In Excel
In the almost five years of sharing my investments on this blog, I’ve never shown exactly how I track dividend income. This article lays out the steps (with screenshots) I take each month to import dividend data into my tracking spreadsheet, estimate forward dividend income, and easily capture dividend increases. My forward 12-month investment income […]
Screw Living Paycheck To Paycheck
Are you living paycheck to paycheck? Screw that! If your monthly budget is tight now, just wait until the next recession. You’re gonna be screwed much worse. Now is the time to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle and start building wealth. For years, I’ve assumed most of my readers don’t live month to month. […]