Personal Finance ABCs

A wise man wrote “There is a huge gap between the skills and knowledge each and every one of us needs to manage our financial lives, and the formal training that we’ve received.”  That was me.  It’s on the about page.

I have lots of posts to help with this.  The latest posts are on the home page, but there are many more.  Click on the category links in the header to explore!

I started with some ideas on how to save more money and create a budget, herehere and here.  Once we’ve managed to save some, we need to start investing.  Check out the posts on  compoundingasset allocationmutual funds and ETFsstocks and bonds. I’ve also got posts to help understand financial products and how they work, and how to use them to your advantage.

  • My company has a 401k. What is it, how does it work, and how can I participate?
  • My credit card gives me points. What am I giving up in exchange?
  • I’d like to invest in stocks but I don’t understand them.

I’ve also got tips on car buying from a former car salesman and a comparison of hearing aids.  

And you can always get back to the home page by clicking the dancing dollar sign guy at the top left of every page.

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Covered Call Option Thoughts
A while back I wrote a post on covered call options so I wanted to provide an update with a real example...
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Everything You Need to Know About Taxes and Investing
Who doesn’t love a long-winded discussion on taxes??? OK, I promise it is not that and I promise...
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How to Buy Treasury Bonds
Today as I walked Rosco, I started thinking about inflation and the best ways to keep our money safe...
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How Much Do You Spend?
How much do you spend each year? Most people don’t know this number, and I would argue that it’s...
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Car Warranty Scam - Watch Out!
Car warranty scams have become a popular way of bilking car owners. I’ve gotten a couple of these,...
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Retirement Stinks, but it doesn't have to
OK. that’s a horrible title, but I felt horrible after reading this article today on CNBC. Here’s...
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You Really Need a Password Manager
In today’s post we’ll talk about what a password manager is and why you need one. I have...
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Rough Day for Starbucks - Evaluating an Investment After a Dip
Today is turning out to be a rough day for Starbucks. And that after a pretty uninspired last few years....
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Who Has My Personal Data?
Who has my personal data? It turns out everyone. Read on to see why this is not cool, and steps you...
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Should I Buy An Annuity?
Should I buy an Annuity? Good question. Annuities are complex financial products. In this post, we’ll...
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Measuring Security Performance
As investors, we put our capital to work by buying securities in the expectation that they will increase...
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Investing Success - Avoid Disaster
Reflecting on some of my investments, it has occurred to me that investing success is as much about avoiding...
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Being Right Takes Time
Odd title for an article, but important for us as investors. We all make buy and sell decisions. Hopefully...
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Social Security - Now or Wait? A Follow-Up
Earlier this week, I posted some info on social security planning. This is a follow-up to answer a reader’s...
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Is NVIDIA On Sale?
This morning, CNBC Reported that Nvidia is in correction territory. Read here. Nvidia, ticker: NVDA,...
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When Should I Take Social Security?
For all my friends who are either close to, or in retirement, this is a common topic of discussion....
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Customer Service Stinks
I had lunch with Tony on Wednesday. Our usual spot, BYOB and mounds of good food for reasonable prices....
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The Dangers of Anchoring on Price
It’s easy for us to get stuck on a price for something. We get it in our head, and we never want...
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Roof-top Solar Panels - Worth It?
After years of debating, I finally decided to go with roof-top solar. I’m almost year in. Let’s...
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Investing - What if I Make a Mistake?
What if I make an investing mistake? In this post, we’ll talk about mistakes, how they happen...
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Please Save for Your Retirement
First off, easy for me to say. 78% of Americans report that they are living paycheck to paycheck. If...
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