Having your first child is a truly life-altering event. Far more-so than marriage, a new job, or a trip around the world. Parents make extraordinary sacrifices for their children. But few realize the extent of those sacrifices until becoming a parent themselves. When I think back to my life before kids, I still can’t get […]
Today’s post is in coordination with #FinHealthMatters Day, an awareness campaign spearheaded by the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI). CFSI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to improve the financial health of Americans, especially the under-served, by shaping a robust and innovative financial services marketplace with increased access to higher quality products and practices. See […]
This week’s article is a guest post featuring Beau Mueller. Beau is from Hawaii and a proud father of two young boys. He is also the founder of The Moneywise Teacher, a site where educators can find useful information, advice, insights, resources, and inspiration to help them make and save more money. I’m personally looking […]
My latest article on U.S. News & World Report recommends tips to simplify your finances in retirement. Retirement isn’t the only time to simplify. Anytime is a good time to simplify. But I’m a bad role model for simplifying finances because I’m on the far side of the spectrum with multiple personal investment accounts and bank […]
Last April on a long solo drive, I listened to the Mad Fientist’s interview with Vicki Robin on the Financial Independence Podcast. Vicki Robin is the co-author of , the book that popularized the term financial independence. The 2018 version includes a foreword by Mr. Money Mustache, who in 2012, wrote about the book causing a […]
The warning signs grew more obvious over the course of last summer. But I still thought I’d survive the impending funding cuts that my IT project was facing. By the time fall arrived, I had already dodged a few rounds of layoffs. But it wasn’t much longer before my number was up and I was […]
Six years ago, we moved to the suburbs from a one-bedroom condo in a densely populated and walkable area. We wanted more space, risk-free parking, better schools, a yard for kids to play in, and a friendly neighborhood. We got all of those things. But moving to the suburbs came with a bunch of financial […]
In the intro to a recently published blog post, I mentioned that there’s been some turbulence at my nine-to-five workplace. Funding was tight, but it looked as though I’d survive any downsizing. Well, things got worse. My project was hit hard, and the surrounding projects were hit even harder. I found out two weeks ago […]
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 […]
Eight days ago, I received a devastating phone call about the health of a loved one. When you receive a call like that, your heart sinks. Then it thumps while you attempt to listen to the details. This wasn’t completely out of the blue since some issues have lingered for the past few weeks. But […]
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, […]
13 years with one company is a long time in today’s employment market. My tenure has never been about loyalty or career advancement, and it certainly won’t earn me a gold watch. The company pays me a salary above the market rate for the job I do. That’s why I’ve stayed. The benefits have always lagged […]
I moved in with my parents when I was 27. The football wallpaper in my bedroom was gone and the bed was bigger. But it was still the room I slept in for the first 18 years of my life. While most of my friends were married and starting high-salary jobs after years of graduate […]
Mrs. RBD’s brother proposed to his long-time girlfriend early last year. Shortly after the jubilant celebration, my one-track mind started thinking How much is this wedding going to cost me? The answer: A lot. However, by taking advantage of travel rewards credit cards to receive sign up bonuses, we acquired enough points to fly cross-country […]
