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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A Beginner's Guide to Buying Stock
I write a lot about evaluating companies and tracking performance, as well as the wealth building track...
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Thesis Check-in - Tesla
It’s hard to go a day without reading a news story about Tesla’s struggles. Yesterday was...
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Most Actively Managed Equity Funds Underperform
That’s a shame. But it’s true. Today’s post is a follow-on to yesterday’s...
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If Your Equity Investments Haven't Gained 24% in 2024, You Need To Make Some Changes
That’s harsh. I’m not trying to make you feel bad, but we need to dig into this. Why...
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Deciding a Company Is Not Worth Investment (To Me)
I talk a lot about finding great companies in which to invest my hard-earned money. But today I thought...
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Stop Spending Your HSA
Today’s good news! Trump’s ‘big beautiful’ bill expands access to this ‘powerful, yet underutilized’...
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Another Dividend Favorite
I just finished writing about dividend aristocrat Fastenal here. The post was about how important it...
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Boring Is Beautiful
As an investor, there is nothing more exciting than when I buy shares of a company and I’m immediately...
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3 Steps to Better Finances
I was reading an article the other day about saving. From the title, it looked like crap. Typical click-bait...
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Pretty Good is Good Enough
I had 2 co-workers on a project. Wendy was a perfectionist. She was great at her job and she always wanted...
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They Love Us in Germany!
I was shocked and pleased the other day to see my # readers spike. I usually get a handful every day...
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The Robots Are Coming
There’s a lot of worry and concern regarding AI. Some folks happily ignore it while others wonder...
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How Dumb do They Think We Are?
The mainstream news media is dying. Newspapers don’t sell. Why would they? Remember when we...
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I Love Worx Tools
In prior posts I’ve written a love letter to the S&P 500 and one to Costco. Love is a strong...
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Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is - July 4th Update
Happy July 4th. We’re celebrating independence day for us and for our nation. Burgers, dogs,...
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I love the S&P 500
This is my 2nd post today. My earlier post was Get Angry. So now it’s time to take a deep breath...
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Get Angry!
Everybody’s angry. Whether it’s the latest round of tariffs, the rising national debt, or...
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Dog or BMW?
Pick one. Which would you choose? Let me back up and explain how I arrived at this question. Allergies My...
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past performance....
Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. We see this, or words to that effect in every mutual...
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The Importance of Financial Independence
My wife and I are financially independent. We live in an average home, in an average town, and we take...
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What's Going on With Equities?
Whether we’re invested in individual stocks or we hold some nice low-cost mutual funds and ETF’s...
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