Author: Craig Stephens

Craig is a former IT professional who left his 19-year career to be a full-time finance writer. A DIY investor since 1995, he started Retire Before Dad in 2013 as a creative outlet to share his investment portfolios. Craig studied Finance at Michigan State University and lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and three children. Read more.
Cream and Sugar First

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…

With FIRE in My Hands

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

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…

Yieldstreet Review 2024: Diversified Alternatives for Passive Income

Yieldstreet Review 2024: Diversified Alternatives for Passive Income

This Yieldstreet review was updated on 01/01/2024. 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

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…