Some exciting news to share with you today. Back in May, I was approached by US News & World Report to become a regular contributor to their On Retirement blog. Since then, I’ve been writing new content about retirement and money once or twice a month. As of today, I’ve written six articles for US…
This money post references Sunday’s Game of Thrones Season 7, Episode 4. You don’t need to be a viewer to appreciate the personal finance lesson. However, if you aren’t caught up on your episodes and want to stay in the dark, this is your spoiler alert. Season 7 of Game of Thrones is here…
A few months before the summer of 1996, I committed to a lifeguarding job at a local pool. It was supposed to be my fifth consecutive summer as a guard. Lifeguarding was an easy and stable summer job in my youth, but it never paid well. This new gig was at a private club with…
The financial firm UBS publishes a quarterly report called Investor Watch that analyzes investor behavior. One of these reports has remained on my mind since publication in 2015. The report is called When is enough… enough – Why the wealthy can’t get off the treadmill. The premise is that more than half (52%) of millionaires surveyed…
About a decade ago, I was hanging out with a good friend of mine who’s a veterinarian. At the time, I was always looking for speculative investments. So I picked his brain about the profession. When I asked if any specific companies were notable in veterinary medicine, he mentioned one called MWI Veterinary Supply. The…
Among friends and family, I’m known for being a vocal advocate for colon health. Maybe this is TMI, but since realizing the benefits of a high-fiber diet, I feel like I know a secret that everyone should be in on. My penchant for eating fiber was even mocked in the best man speech at my…
I’m super-excited to bring you a guest post today from my friend Chad Carson of CoachCarson.com. Chad primarily writes about achieving financial independence via real estate investing. But he’s also in the midst of an epic year living abroad with his wife and two daughters in Cuenca, Ecuador. I’m envious of their planning…
My rental property was a curse for many years. I bought it in late 2006 after the local real estate bubble popped but before the major financial crisis. Its value has remained below what I paid for it since then. Real estate always go up! That’s what I believed in 2006. Harsh reality, it doesn’t….
20 years ago, I was a college junior enrolled in investing and corporate finance courses. Being freshly educated about the time value of money, I knew my youth was my most powerful investing advantage. But I didn’t have much money. A few years earlier, my Uncle gifted me one share of Chevron stock through the…
I thought my timing was perfect. It was 2006. The real estate bubble had burst and property values were plummeting in the D.C. area. After years of seeing other people make a killing off of real estate, it was finally my turn. A few months earlier, I received a big raise at my job. My savings account…
We sometimes see friends on Facebook asking about local daycare facilities or looking for a nanny to watch their kids while they work. It must be stressful to find high-quality affordable daycare. We’ve never had to deal with child care because we started thinking about how to live on one income before we were engaged,…
As a kid, I always thought I’d start a side business someday. I wanted filthy wealth, a big fancy house, and to be the boss. Filthy wealth takes A LOT of work. I’m not that motivated. A big house isn’t practical. And I don’t want to be the boss of people. People are a pain…
What is a more important consideration — higher salary vs. better benefits? As someone who has experienced the best of both options, I compare two below. 14 years with one company is a long time in today’s employment market. My tenure was never been about loyalty or career advancement, and it certainly didn’t earn me…
My Mom and her sisters used to take me and my cousins on house tours. We’d visit city mansions and historic homes that were preserved for viewing or opened to show off antiques and interior designs. I loved walking through the old homes. I remember exquisite stone exteriors and unique customizations like hidden doors, secret…