Whooah, We’re Halfway There
Seems like yesterday my daughter was only three months old and I was putting together my list of financial goals for 2014. She’s nine months old now and I’ve never been busier in my life, mostly chasing kids around. Somehow I manage to get on the computer once a week to write about investing, personal […]
The Holy Grail of Travel
When it comes to time, money and travel, people fall into one of four categories: Backpackers – Lots of time, but a finite amount of money Vacationers – Enough money, but not much time Broke People – No money for travel and very little time Financially Independent Travelers – All the time and money needed […]
Spousal Roth IRA – Double Your Tax-Advantaged Savings
We opened a spousal Roth IRA in my wife’s name in 2013 and contributed $5,500 to both her’s and my Roth that year. We’ll continue to contribute the full amount to both of our IRA’s every year going forward, as long as we don’t hit any income limits. Mrs. RBD works her ass off as […]
Transferring Stock From Computershare to TD Ameritrade
Note: This same process holds true among other brokerages. For transferring shares to M1 Finance, the no-fee online broker for long-term investors, contact the transfer department in the FAQs for concierge service. M1 Finance is now 100% free. Read my M1 Finance Review here. I recently made a simple move that increased my passive […]
Myanmar And The Ugliest $1 Bill I Ever Spent
A while back I read a cool guest post by Money Graffiti on Budgets Are Sexy about the legality of writing on dollar bills. You can read it here. It reminded me of a story from my 14-month backpacking trip about a special and very ugly dollar bill. A consistent necessity throughout my trip was exchanging […]
New Rental Property on the Horizon?
About a month ago, we had a really lousy week in the RBD household. In an effort to save some money, Mrs. RBD made a vegetable stock out of veggie scraps she had been saving. After eight hours in the slow cooker, she strained out the globs of celery, carrots, onions and potatoes to produce […]
Bye Bye Cable TV
During a long drive over the Christmas holiday, my wife and I discussed ways to simplify our lives, become more productive and save more money. In my 2014 goals post, I mentioned ways we’d simplify our financial lives, but I left out this particular money and time saving action item. We really enjoy shows on […]
Procter & Gamble DRIP – Still A Smart Invetment?
Update 06/16/2016: I received an email indicating PG has left Computershare for Wells Fargo Shareowner Services and is raising fees. I find this disappointing as we’ll need new accounts at WF. Because of the fees I no longer recommend the Procter & Gamble DRIP. Revolt Against Fees! For information on how to transfer shares out of a […]
Retirement Strategy Revisited
Back in September 2013 when I started this blog, I wrote a short post about retirement strategy. It was my third post, and it listed out my basic retirement strategy while serving as an outline for what I’d write about on the blog. This post is an updated version digging deeper into my strategy. A […]
My Merrill Lynch Internship Experience
Early on in college, I designated the summer of 1997 as the time to get an internship in finance. Other summers I spent working at the beach or goofing off in my home town. Headed into my senior year, it was time to get serious and start building my career. Merrill Lynch offered me an […]
Proxy Voting and The Worst Job I Ever Had
Prior to a company’s annual meeting, shareholders receive a package in the mail or via email. It contains an invitation and some documents known as proxy voting materials. The proxy voting package outlines upcoming proceedings that will take place at the annual meeting. Usually this includes voting on the Board of Directors, confirmation of the […]
Utilize the Roth IRA for Early Retirement
Are you interested in learning about using the Roth IRA for early retirement? Anyone seeking financial independence must understand how to utilize the Roth IRA for early retirement in the context of their own retirement plan. Its usage will not be the same for everyone. Government incentives and laws consequently shape and complicate all of our […]
The Details of My Rental Property
Every month I update the Investment Income page to show how my passive income streams are fairing. Included is the amount of money I make on my rental property. In this post I’m going to give you some background and crunch the numbers to show you exactly how I calculate my cash flow. The property […]
Aqua America DRIP Investment Initiated
Update – Still buying $100 per month in the Aqua America DRIP. Check out my most recent Investment Income Update for the latest buys. Or click here to see my entire investment portfolio. I’m now using M1 Finance instead of opening new DRIPs. It’s a more intuitive platform for beginner to intermediate investors. Highly recommended. On January […]