Maybe you’ve heard of universal basic income (UBI). UBI is a type of social program administered by governments to provide basic income for citizens — ideally, enough money to cover basic expenses or meet poverty level income. Universal basic income became a popular topic in the political discussion during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, promoted…
Cream and Sugar First
A former colleague once told me that if I ever started drinking coffee, I’d never stop. Frida drank ten cups a day. She was an administrative assistant in the media department at my university. I worked in the darkroom developing film and printing black and white photographs for various campus publications. The coffee maker was…
7 Streams of Income Beyond a Salary
Doing taxes is never fun. But each year, I find that our income has become more diversified than the previous. We now earn more than 7 streams of income — not counting my salary. A salary is great if you don’t mind full-time work. But it can become an unhealthy addiction. You can break the…
Future Article Ideas (Lazy Survey Results) and Personal Updates
My last post was a free book giveaway. To enter to win, I asked readers to include ideas on what kind of future article ideas you’d be interested in reading (the lazy survey) or anything else on your mind. There were 109 entrants to win the book and 77 messages about future content ideas. Many…
Things That Matter — A Free Book Giveaway
Over the life of this blog, I’ve recommended books and blog posts by an author named Joshua Becker. Joshua is the founder and primary writer of the website Becoming Minimalist, one of the leading minimalism blogs. Joshua defines minimalism as the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that…
Seek Adventure While Your Money Works for You
After two years of COVID-19 apprehension, our family is going on a real vacation — airplanes, amusements, and sit-down restaurants. Planning for upcoming trips reminds me of the kind of retirement travel that I’m ultimately working toward — month-long+ excursions on and off the beaten path — and how I’m getting closer to that kind…
The Perpetual Test of Self-Control
An organization that my son joined needed a parent volunteer for one of the leadership positions. This organization is extraordinarily demanding of its adult volunteers — training, local meetings, regional meetings, continuing education — all on top of activities with the kids. But I didn’t know that yet. I said yes, which led to a…
With FIRE in My Hands
Our family spent the dog days of COVID at home. No travels, no visitors, and zero breaks from each other. By the end of 2020, we’d had it with school and working at home. So we booked a beach house for Spring Break in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. And to treat ourselves, we…
Time, Not Trades
A young reader reached out to me about how investing and finance are underserved topics in high school. He was eager to share that he earned 20%+ returns from day trading in just a few months because he’s spent a lot of time learning how to invest and perfecting his trading strategy. Day trading returns…
Can I Still Retire Early with a Diabetic Child?
On September 13th, 2021, my nine-year-old son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes. A diabetes diagnosis has immediate impacts. Here are a few for starters: Insulin injections at least four times a day for the rest of his life Dozens of doctor, nurse educator, and specialist appointments Finger pricks and…
Yieldstreet Review 2022: Diversified Alternatives for Passive Income
This Yieldstreet review was updated on 12/28/2021 Yieldstreet empowers ordinary investors to diversify into high-yielding asset classes once reserved for the wealthy and institutional investors. Marine finance, commercial real estate, legal finance, supply chain finance, and private business credit aren’t new types of investments, but they are relatively new to retail investors. Yieldstreet’s team has…
Four Fintech Obituaries
I’ve come across hundreds of fintech startups and financial products over the years blogging. Founders and CEOs pitch me over email and in person at conferences. Marketing firms looking to drum up exposure for their clients email me constantly, hoping for a guest post or mention on RBD. I decline most pitches and never hear about…
Here’s How I’m Investing Each Month
I’ve maintained a long-term buy-and-hold investing strategy since about 1995. The month-to-month details have changed quite a lot over the years, but the basic principles are mostly the same: Invest first, spend second Max out tax-advantaged accounts first Invest in taxable accounts second Keep transaction costs and stock sales to a minimum Diversify income streams…
How to Prepare for the Next Crisis While Times are Good
Crises come around every so often — personal crises, family crises, national crises, political crises, market crises, and global. The events are often predictable, but their timing is not. Scientists predicted a virus such as COVID-19 could infect humans and cause severe health and economic consequences. But no one knew the specific date, where it…