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My happy hour conversations rarely go into personal finance but on some rare occasions, people do like talking about investing. And when that happens, inevitably someone shares a story about how they made a bundle on some stock pick. It’s like trips to Vegas. People love hearing about some crazy streak you went on (good […]

Budgeting is the foundation of your finances. It’s about control, security, and freedom. A budget isn’t about restriction, even though it may seem like that at first. A budget allows you to see where you are currently spending your money, which allows you to make changes so that your spending aligns with your values. You

There are many paths to earning your first million dollars. But don’t listen to those who tout get-rich-quick schemes. Making a million dollars requires hard work and years of diligent saving. Some people inherit money or benefit from a high salary, but those are exceptions to the rule. Below are 10 tried-and-true principles you can

We have four lovely kids, the oldest of which is becoming a teenager this year. When each of them was born, we opened a 529 plan and have been making regular contributions. Our hope is that they each get into their college of choice and, with a mixture of financial aid and parental aid, they

It might come as a HUGE shock to you, but I was not in the top 1% of my high school. We had 495 kids in my graduating class and so you’d have to be top five (technically, top four I suppose) in the class to be in the top 1%. I wasn’t in that

How much of my monthly budget should I be spending on food? Am I eating out too much? What about rent? Am I spending too much on rent or maybe utilities? These are all difficult questions. It’s hard to know if we’re spending too much or too little unless we’re constantly in the red, but

Reader Mike sent me an intriguing certificate of deposit offer from Navy Federal Credit Union – their Limited-Time Offer: 18-Month EasyStart Share Certificate. It’s a no-penalty add-on CD with an 18-month term, coupling two features I’ve never seen together (yet). I have no relationship with Navy Federal Credit Union, so I can’t speak to the

We have two HVAC systems in our home that are likely within the last few years of their working lives. They’re both A/C only using coolant that’s been “outlawed” (R-22) and were installed in the 1980s. They work fine, with the occasional replacement of their coke can sized capacitors, but we’re getting close to needing

Tribes are fun. It’s why sports are so popular. We identify with a team. It’s your team vs. my team. Or it’s our team vs. the world. We call them our teams but we don’t play on the team or have ownership. We just watch the games. Why they’re our team is rooted in something,