Author Archive
As discussed in a previous post, one of the quickest ways to build a financial portfolio that will carry you (and your loved ones) into a successful future is to cut some of the expenses that add little to no value to your life. Some things, such as rent and insurance, are required (though…
First, a disclaimer: What follows is a regular guy’s very general interpretation of some pretty complex federal financial regulations. Take it with a grain of salt, and if it interests you further, do your own research or talk to an expert, which I am not. I’m just a guy who’s spent a boatload of time in…
We’ve all heard the stories: people win the lottery and are broke five years later, famous athletes and musicians file for bankruptcy; and the concept of “high-income poor people.” The fact is, many middle-class Americans are woefully unprepared for their golden years, though they may lead a relatively well-off lifestyle. When we begin our financial livelihood (usually as teenagers),…
Like Penicillin, sometimes the best ideas are discovered by accident. This was the case when I stumbled upon an insurance hack to money management. Up until this point, I’d been mostly talking in hypotheticals, but this turned out to be the real deal. I wasn’t trying to optimize my finances when I bought my participating…
What if I told you there was a way to spend down your savings and still earn a yield on it? You’d probably roll your eyes and wonder when the sales pitch was coming. Clearly, there’s no way your savings could continue to earn interest if it’s depleted, right? Well, actually. . . . I’m…
“Would you like to donate to the Oso Relief Fund?” the cashier asked as I boxed up my Costco run. When I politely declined, the woman behind me piped up, “You really should consider helping out, the people there need your help.” Yes. Yes, they did need our help, which was why I’d just spent…
From time to time, I geek out on spreadsheets, especially when I think I can prove a bogus idea wrong. On my recent cruise to Alaska, while the missus and kids snoozed, I would rise early, hit the library, and …. work on spreadsheets for the heck of it (see: geek). I decided to tackle…
So, Summer is about to roll around again in the Seattle area, which is usually something most people here celebrate. However, as a volunteer with Community Emergency Response Teams, I think of wildfires. Already, as I write this, a massive complex fire has devastated at least one city in Alberta, Canada. Other blazes are raging…
So, full disclosure. I do not like cruises. I used to hate them, now I tolerate them. The idea of being stuck on a ship with thousands of people, on a vessel that pitches and rocks, did not sound like my idea of a vacation. And getting into a port of call with several thousands…
Growing up, I was always fascinated with languages. Even as a child, the idea of communicating with people from a different culture seemed terribly exciting to me.
As discussed in a previous post, one of the quickest ways to build a financial portfolio that will carry you (and your loved ones) into a successful future is to cut some of the expenses that add little to no value to your life. Some things, such as rent and insurance, are required (though…
First, a disclaimer: What follows is a regular guy’s very general interpretation of some pretty complex federal financial regulations. Take it with a grain of salt, and if it interests you further, do your own research or talk to an expert, which I am not. I’m just a guy who’s spent a boatload of time in…
We’ve all heard the stories: people win the lottery and are broke five years later, famous athletes and musicians file for bankruptcy; and the concept of “high-income poor people.” The fact is, many middle-class Americans are woefully unprepared for their golden years, though they may lead a relatively well-off lifestyle. When we begin our financial livelihood (usually as teenagers),…
Like Penicillin, sometimes the best ideas are discovered by accident. This was the case when I stumbled upon an insurance hack to money management. Up until this point, I’d been mostly talking in hypotheticals, but this turned out to be the real deal. I wasn’t trying to optimize my finances when I bought my participating…
What if I told you there was a way to spend down your savings and still earn a yield on it? You’d probably roll your eyes and wonder when the sales pitch was coming. Clearly, there’s no way your savings could continue to earn interest if it’s depleted, right? Well, actually. . . . I’m…
“Would you like to donate to the Oso Relief Fund?” the cashier asked as I boxed up my Costco run. When I politely declined, the woman behind me piped up, “You really should consider helping out, the people there need your help.” Yes. Yes, they did need our help, which was why I’d just spent…
From time to time, I geek out on spreadsheets, especially when I think I can prove a bogus idea wrong. On my recent cruise to Alaska, while the missus and kids snoozed, I would rise early, hit the library, and …. work on spreadsheets for the heck of it (see: geek). I decided to tackle…
So, Summer is about to roll around again in the Seattle area, which is usually something most people here celebrate. However, as a volunteer with Community Emergency Response Teams, I think of wildfires. Already, as I write this, a massive complex fire has devastated at least one city in Alberta, Canada. Other blazes are raging…
So, full disclosure. I do not like cruises. I used to hate them, now I tolerate them. The idea of being stuck on a ship with thousands of people, on a vessel that pitches and rocks, did not sound like my idea of a vacation. And getting into a port of call with several thousands…
Growing up, I was always fascinated with languages. Even as a child, the idea of communicating with people from a different culture seemed terribly exciting to me.