During the fall of 2020, the United States federal government allowed a deferral of payroll taxes (Social Security taxes) from paychecks from September 2020 through December 2020. If you had payroll taxes deferred during these months, you’ve likely been paying […]
How Much are Your Investments Costing You?
You’re paying fees to invest. Even if you don’t think you’re paying fees to invest, you are still paying fees to invest. All mutual funds and all exchange traded funds (ETFs) have management fees called expense ratios. It is okay […]
What If…You Won the Lottery?
Sometimes the incredibly unlikely (or near impossible) happens, like winning the lottery. It is unlikely that anyone reading this will win a huge lottery jackpot, but bear with me. Hopefully, this short blog post can get you to really think […]
What If… You Become a Centenarian?
For the third post in the “What If” series (here are the first and second posts), I’m asking about becoming a centenarian. Do you know what a centenarian is? Don’t worry. I didn’t know exactly what the word meant until […]
What If…You Could Keep Your Kids From Repeating Your Money Mistakes
Although it is becoming more commonly taught, personal finance is a topic largely lacking in our public education system. That leaves the responsibility on families and kids themselves to either learn about personal finance or repeat the mistakes that millions […]
What If… You Were Completely Debt Free?
Following up on the last post, “What is the Money Value of Your Time?”, I’m moving into a series called “What if.” This series will explore various topics in personal finance in a different way. Each post will start with […]
What is the Money Value of Your Time?
Today, I’m going to take a traditional phrase and flip it around. Many of you have likely heard the phrase “the time value of money” as it pertains to spending, saving, or money growing through compounding interest. By flipping the […]
How Much Does Psychology Affect Your Money?
Just recently, I finished reading The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness by Morgan Housel. It is easily one of the best books I’ve ever read about personal finance. It isn’t your typical ‘how to’ personal […]
Risks: Debt, Income, Housing & Inflation
Following up from my last post, I want to cover the potential risks that could affect everyone for the rest of 2021 and into 2022 regarding the economy and financial markets. Overall, the biggest risks fall into four areas: Debt, […]
You Made Money in Stocks, Now What?
It is no secret that there has been a massive surge of retail investors buying stocks during the pandemic. Between ‘meme’ stocks, a ‘YOLO’ (You Only Live Once) / FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) environment, massive government spending, stimulus checks, […]