5 things to get done before the end of the year. Then kick back with some holiday cookies! The holidays are my favorite time of the year. They combine year-end reflection, financial analysis, and mountains of baked goods – three of my favorite things in the world! For others who are also thinking...
Save Money
Money Diaries: One Week In Lives Across The Country From $15K-$500K A Year
From a $267K legal sex worker in NV to an $85K management consultant in Hong Kong to a $30K food technician in Chicago, here’s a sneak peek into how others live. I love reading about other peoples’ lives and how they prioritize their spending. If you’re like me, Refinery 29 has put together...
Ebates: Have Some Free Money For The Holidays
We cover a tool I use to passively earn 2-5% back on all my online purchases. It’s a nice start to the holiday shopping season and should passively generate a few hundred dollars a year. Back in May, I wrote about a tool I had discovered called Ebates. With the holiday shopping...
Four One Percenter Couples Share How They Manage Their Money
Four married couples in the one percent answer questions about how they manage their money. From investment allocations, to credit cards, to what’s currently in their pockets … here’s a look into their money lives. I always find it interesting to peek into how others manage their money. So today I’m profiling four...
Former Insurance Salesman Explains What Insurance You Should Buy, Consider, and Avoid
A former insurance agent shares his run-down on which insurance products to buy, consider, and skip, and most importantly why. Cheat sheet on different products, with my own comments added. I always like hearing from specialists in an industry. They have the scoop on what gets approved and what doesn’t, where corners are...
9 Lifestyle Hacks to Feel Like You’re Living In Luxury
Folks weigh in on some of the most inexpensive hacks they use to feel like they’re living a life of luxury. Spend your next $20 in the right place to maximize the cushiness of your lifestyle. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that $20 or $50 spent on one item can bring...
Secret Price History Data: A Tool For Making Holiday and Big Ticket Purchases
I talk about one of my favorite free tools to optimize the holiday and big ticket shopping experience. How to find price history for an item to determine whether you’re actually getting a good deal. Data that will help you determine when the best time to buy is, plus price tracking features to alert...
What The Average American Family Spends In Each Category
The Bureau of Labor Statistics just released the results of its 2016 American expenditure survey, and the results are fascinating. Here are a few of my observations. Housing Is Your Biggest Opportunity Housing remains the single largest expense, easily double any other category, and often more than 10x other categories. If...
Four Steps To Crush Your Student Loans
Four steps to crushing your student loans. How to optimize your payments, how to think about extra payments on your student loans vs investing, and more. I get a lot of questions about student debt. 44 million Americans are tackling student loans as part of their financial journey, and those loans total to...
Knowledge Blindness: Expensive and Avoidable
Expensive aspects can sneak past the “research” flip in your brain. Wherein I share my recent big money mistakes, how to avoid them, and the three best questions to ask when you don’t know where to start. I’ve had an interesting (and expensive) learning experience I thought I’d share. I would consider...