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…
The U.S. tax code is filled with a mind-boggling array of tax-avoidance tools including tax-friendly accounts, loopholes, and special favors to various constituents. The primary intent of the tax code is to collect money, but the politicians who shape it add in a bunch of cheats and easter eggs that lower the amount of tax they…
Mrs. RBD’s brother proposed to his long-time girlfriend in 2016. Shortly after the jubilant celebration, my one-track mind started thinking How much is this wedding going to cost me? The answer: A lot. Other people’s weddings can be expensive, travel required or not. As a couple, traveling for a wedding is a nice getaway. As a…
After two years of begging, I finally received a classic Nintendo NES Game Console from Santa in the sixth grade. One of the original video games for the system was the masterpiece, The Legend of Zelda. The Zelda franchise is an enduring global video game phenomenon enjoyed by gamers worldwide. To date, Nintendo has produced 18 titles…
I saw a tweet recently that read like a blunt kick in the butt. “The Vast Majority of Baseball Cards are Worthless” The tweet came from a Twitter handle and blog called Unusual Investments. The blog post was inspired by a recent Wall Street Journal article about a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card going up…
One striking revelation from the 2016 presidential election process was the sharp contrast between people who think the U.S. is in pretty good shape and those who feel the country never recovered from the last recession. Politics aside, the U.S. was in an epic economic expansion until COVID-19. The longest post-World-War-II economic expansion WAS from…
A few months ago I was cleaning out my basement and uncovered a 25-year-old autograph. It’s from one of the most competitive and influential athletes to ever represent a sport. His words were inspirational to my 16-year-old self, and reading over his simple phrase today reminds me that we’re all capable of accomplishing extraordinary things…