Well, good for some of you Fannie Mae has removed its minimum credit requirement from desktop underwriting of home loans (previously was 620). The last time this happened, it culminated in the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 because people who should never have been given loans took out 5 of them So, uh… stormy weather … Continue reading Good news everyone /s

This government shutdown is the longest in US history and millions of workers are now on their third zero-dollar paycheck with no end in sight. They’ll probably get backpay when this is over, but that’s no consolation to the people who have bills knocking at their door and didn’t have the foresight to save for … Continue reading This govt shutdown proves nothing is totally safe

Today there was a sudden, all hands on deck Teams meeting (that’s like corporate Zoom) with the president of the company I work at. We were going to be merging with another subsidiary of our parent company, with the intention to cut costs and combine functions These mergers generally necessitate the culling of the herd, … Continue reading I may lose my job

My 2007 Corolla has 261,000 miles and is going on 18 years. In the last year, I’ve had to spend more money than usual on repairs, which got me wondering: should I repair my old car or buy a new one? A mechanic I recently graced with $950 worth of business imparted the following wisdom … Continue reading Should I repair my old car or buy a new one?

Having access to cash is essential. Almost everyone needs an emergency fund, and most financial advisors recommend keeping between three to six months’ worth of expenses in a savings account or similar. If you have a significant purchase coming up, you should also have some cash waiting for that. In my opinion, money that you … Continue reading Cash Isn’t the Enemy – How to Make It Work for You

I’ve always been frugal due to the pressure of poverty and uncertainty about the future – saving money and not spending it was easy because the alternative was so dangerous. Over time, my life has calmed down somewhat, and my savings have provided some stability, but it’s always important to remember this pressure – in … Continue reading Don’t forget the pressure

Today is Giving Tuesday, a day where people around the world give generously to transform their communities and the worldI don't often talk about giving (donating) but I think it's good practice. Giving of your time or money to help others and to make a change in the world is good for you - it's … Continue reading Donating is good for your wealth

It's Thanksgiving and a big theme this time of year is being thankful for the things we have in life. We only really talk about being thankful this time of year, but gratitude is a powerful tool on the path to FI We often consume in an attempt to replicate the lives we see on … Continue reading Gratitude

A recent study tested whether knowing future economic news could help traders make money. They set up a game where participants, including both experienced traders and beginners, had advance info about big economic events. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crystal-ball-breaks-traders-fail-114603440.html The results were surprising: even the best traders only guessed the right market moves about 63% of the time. Beginners … Continue reading Why I invest in index funds and which ones I use

Most investors believe in selling at some point. Whether it's the day trader who buys 1,000 shares of AAPL with the intention to sell a few hours later, after he has earned a dollar per share, to the financial advisor who would have you sell some of your winners quarterly to rebalance toward the underperformers, … Continue reading Buy and hold, never sell

What a title huh? I bet it got some people's attention. I'll explain: Whole life insurance, IUL, being your own bank, and whatever other fancy names Wall Street has come up with for a life insurance policy with an investment component, is generally a bad idea for most people. To be fair, there are some … Continue reading Whole Life Insurance is Trash

Today was leg day at the gym for me.  I knew that if I cranked out a bunch of squats, I might not have enough energy left to work the lower legs.  So I worked my calves first.  If I left them for later, they might not get done. I might have forgotten, or changed … Continue reading If you want to make it happen, do it first

I thought of a good analogy to explain mutual funds vs ETFs, tell me what you think: Mutual funds are like a bowl of soup and ETFs are like cans of soup. They both contain the same ingredients (the same component stocks), but how much you can invest into them differs. You can only buy … Continue reading What’s the difference between a mutual fund and an ETF?

You may already know how powerful compounding can be and you may have wished you started investing when you were much, much younger.  You can't go back, but you can certainly set your children up to reap the benefits of an early start.  Generally, there are 3 accounts that can be opened for your kids: … Continue reading Investing for your children’s future

I’m a millionaire and I still live like I’m broke. My house is a 1 bedroom apartment. My car has 240k miles on it and will turn 17 years old this year. Both meet my basic needs so I feel no need to upgrade at this point. Some people may think I live a life … Continue reading If you want to be a millionaire, stop spending like one

This is the S&P 500 over the past 5 years. You see that little dip around March 2020? That was when Covid was shutting down the world, the market dropped by 30% in just a few weeks and the world was ending. You may or may not remember it, but there was panic. The future … Continue reading When in doubt, zoom out

Always spend less than you earn and don’t start spending more every time you get a raise Keep your monthly expenses as low as possible.  Don’t trap yourself into expensive car or mortgage payments each month. Nobody is impressed and now you're broke Prioritize saving part of every paycheck. Make it automatic, so you don't … Continue reading 19 Tips for a Wealthy Life

The following is an ever-growing list of money quotes I find useful, wise, or interesting Spend less than you make and invest the difference Never spend more than you make Invest early and often Pay yourself first Stack cash. Buy assets, not liabilities. Keep your bills low. Act broke. Stay positive VTSAX and chill Earned … Continue reading Quotes and Wisdom

July 7, 2023 Chronicles of the sort-of-wealthy but kinda broke: I am going to see how long I can make it before I have to draw money from savings to pay the bills. A big tuition bill for my wife's nursing school in May caused me to go into credit card debt I couldn't immediately … Continue reading Monthly update

Did you know that if you have $100k invested by age 35, you’ll retire a millionaire by 65 without adding a penny more?  That’s because of something called the rule of 72, which is a quick mental calculation you can use to estimate how long it will take for an amount to double.  You’d divide … Continue reading Rule of 72

Live as cheaply as you can, ignore what your peers are doing in terms of cars, going out, etc. Eat at the chow hall whenever possible. Save your money. If you get BAH, rent the cheapest housing you can find and save the difference. Live like a college student for longer than is socially acceptable. … Continue reading Advice for military folks

I discovered FIRE (financial independence retire early) back in 2011 thanks to Mr Money Mustache, a financial blogger who retired after nine whole years of work at the ripe age of 30.  The basic premise is this: you can afford to retire once your investments produce enough passive income to cover your expenses.  The number … Continue reading Who wants to be a millionaire

I'm usually an anxious person and don't like arguing or conflict, so I'm scared of fighting back at work if the boss is unreasonable or yells about something that isn't your fault (I work in a UPS shipping facility). Today I snapped back at my him effortlessly, consequences be damned. And truthfully, there weren't any. … Continue reading Money gives you the freedom to stand up for yourself

Again, the obligatory disclaimer that I am not an investment adviser, and anything you do with your money is at your own risk. Investments carry with them the risk of losing money, sometimes all of it. Past performance may not equal future results. Everyone is different, and everyone's investing strategy is different. The majority of … Continue reading How I would invest in each stage of life

Your buddy just told you about a hot stock that can't lose and will make you 10x your money. He was right about bitcoin, you have to jump in! Before you do, though, ask yourself these questions to see if you can afford to speculate in the latest bubble: 1) Are you out of debt? … Continue reading Can you afford to speculate?

Disclaimer Let me start out by saying that this is in no way meant to imply that I have found the secret to stock picking. Nothing I say here should be taken as an investment recommendation, and anything you do with your investments is at your own risk. (Disclaimer over) Summary for the lazy members … Continue reading How I went from Zero to $1 Million in 11 years

2020 has been a crazy year. I won't go into all the weirdness that has been my life this year, but Tesla saw a meteoric rise in 2020 after five straight quarters of profitability and inclusion in the S&P 500. What that means is that every mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500 (meaning, they … Continue reading Tesla, pt 2

How much money do you need to be truly happy? Some people may give you a number, but most people will all tell you the same thing - a little more. When they get there, the goalpost moves and the amount is greater, yet surprisingly still the same - a little more. And it’s always … Continue reading True wealth

(Originally published in Sep 2017) I went to the USS Midway museum with my wife yesterday.  It’s a giant Navy battleship docked in the San Diego port that you can walk through and it’s pretty cool, even if you’re not really into WW2 history. On one of the decks, there was an interactive flight simulator, … Continue reading Financial independence through deferred gratification

Let's imagine you're in a rowboat on a lake.  Your rowing speed is about 5 mph, and that's exactly how fast the boat is going.  The faster you row, the faster you go Now imagine you're on a river whose current is about 2 mph.  If you're rowing upstream, your overall speed will be 3 … Continue reading Interest – the rowboat analogy

This semester I've been taking a speech class, and all of my speeches have revolved around personal finance.  The kids in my class are all between 17 and 21, so I figured I'd try to reach as many of them as possible.  It's been pretty successful, and at least a dozen of them have told … Continue reading Keys to success

I know a few people who share my zeal for money. Some, however, don't have the patience to play the long game. They know they're destined for wealth and think of themselves as entrepreneurs (or may have started on the path), but may not have concrete ideas on what to do exactly. So they hatch … Continue reading Entrepreneurship

Today, I'd like to share with you the true secret to creating wealth, and that is trading.  Buying stocks low and selling them high at key points, getting out before it goes down.  Buying and selling constantly is the true key to creating fast wealth. Lol, no it isn't. Just kidding I have read thousands … Continue reading Day trading is key to wealth

About a week ago, I finished buying 50 shares of Tesla Motors, a plan I’ve had for some time.  I believe in Elon Musk’s vision, and I think the company will do very well.  My goal was to get them for $200 each, for a total of $10,000.  There’s no science to this choice.  I’ve … Continue reading Tesla Motors

Is your boss a jerk?  Do you hate your job?  Legal troubles?  Medical issues?  Creditors?   Sounds like you need Fuck You Money. You may never have heard of it, but you probably understand the concept. 'Fuck You' money means having enough money to tell almost anyone to fuck off. Most people would call it … Continue reading ‘Fuck You’ money

I've previously talked about the different kinds of life insurance and how term is best for most people.  I say most because I'm sure there are people out there who could benefit from the other kinds.  Getting to the point of this post, here's an illustration of a real insurance policy one of my friends was kind … Continue reading Life insurance

Recently, the stock market took a pretty big dive. Plenty of people thought this was The End. The start of another Recession. You should have bought gold when Glenn Beck yelled at you. The market hit a peak in May, then dropped over 10%, and bottomed out on August 25. Since then, it's been steadily … Continue reading Successful investing

In 1906, a British smart guy named Francis Galton attended a fair and there was a contest where people would try to guess the weight of an ox. Being a statistician (and therefore presumably single), he wondered how the crowd as a whole would do, and he figured that since most of them were not experts in … Continue reading The wisdom (and foolishness) of crowds

A few years ago, before I really got into finance, I was in line at a Walmart, listening to a lady talking to her friend about going through the process of getting a house built by Habitat for Humanity.  These houses are built with donated labor and some donated materials, and the lucky homeowner generally … Continue reading Credit scores

In 2002, a man named Jack Whittaker won over $300 million in the lottery. He was already a millionaire at the time, but like many other lottery winners, his life took a turn for the worse. He did donate 10% to churches and even more to charity, but he had a bad habit of leaving cash in … Continue reading The lottery

I was at a bar in Temecula last night with a couple of friends from work, and they had a 300-inch TV on the wall playing hip-hop videos.  We watched it for an hour or so, providing commentary the entire time. Every now and again, I'd see a rapper I'd never heard of come up … Continue reading Rappers and wealth

If you work for a company, chances are they offer a 401(k) retirement plan.  Some companies even offer a Roth 401(k).  Or maybe you're just looking at a traditional IRA vs a Roth IRA and don't understand the difference or which one you should invest in. In a nutshell, when you invest in the traditional … Continue reading Traditional or Roth retirement accounts?

Congratulations.  You're probably reading this because you realized you had an issue with debt and googled the phrase (or I kept sending you the link until you clicked on it).  Either way, you want to do something about it.  And much like the platitudes they spew at your AA meetings, the first step to recovery … Continue reading How to get out of credit card debt

The stock market has taken a precipitous dive in the last few days, which leaves many people worried about their money and causes some to try to cut their losses and get out as soon as they can.  The problem is; after the market drops, it's already too late. In this week's episode of 'Ow … Continue reading Don’t panic

If you're in the military (or in some other kind of government service), you will undoubtedly have been asked to contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan, or TSP.  Much like many other things government, the TSP is a three-letter agency.  And like most three-letter agencies, they can be pretty insistent.  My first experience was when … Continue reading Thrift Savings Plan

I try to keep an open mind in life; basically, as the facts change, my opinion changes.  Over the past few years, I've been studying investing and related topics, and believe me, there are thousands of people out there, each of whom claim to have found the secret to making it big in the stock … Continue reading Index Funds

Did you know that student loans are one of very few kinds of debt that can't be discharged in bankruptcy?  As in, you're so poor and in so much debt, that you can't afford to make the minimum payments, or it's seriously affecting your life (or both), and decide that filing for bankruptcy is your … Continue reading Student Loans

Credit cards.  They're portable, they're accepted almost everywhere, and you're less likely to get robbed on your way to a furniture store if you're carrying a card versus several large in cash.   You may think credit cards are pretty awesome.  Or they're terrible, no-good tools of the devil designed to ruin your life.  All … Continue reading Credit cards

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm pretty good with money. Whenever I tell anyone how much I have saved up, I tend to get a few raised eyebrows, a nod of approval and one of these: But I wasn't always good with money. When I returned to the US at the … Continue reading My financial philosophy