Beware: AUTHOR HAS BEEN TRIGGERED I am strangely enraged by people who defend this weird desire to have a big tax refund. They tend to say, “I like knowing there’s something coming my way in April.” This is largely anecdotal, but I hear it all the damn time. Earth, to you Big Refund People: Your argument is terribly flawed and this is a supreme example of what’s wrong with personal finance in America. Disclaimer: None of this massive rant applies to lower-income folks who may have tax complications due to the Earned Income Tax Credit or other various matters related to income uncertainty. They have it hard enough and don’t need me sending bad karma their way. No, this is …
About That “Consider Firing Your Male Broker” Op-Ed
Hopefully you’ve also fired your Mail Broker by now. Stamp prices are at record levels this week and he’s just sitting around doing nothing about it! This aggression cannot stand. In all seriousness, I’m actually referring to the controversial New York Times opinion piece penned by a financial advisor in New Orleans this month. To sum it up, she makes the case to fire your “male broker.” Wading into this topic is fraught with peril, but I’ll do it anyway because it’s my blog. Don’t mistake my maleness for generating my reaction. It’s my status as a fellow fiduciary fee-only advisor (and also a fellow CFA Charterholder!) that draws out my serious criticism here. Ms. DuQuesnay says she didn’t write …
Three Obscure Personal Finance Hacks
Not to be confused with Three Personal Finance Plaques. I admit to doing weird stuff to save money sometimes. You (and especially my wife) might say I have a particularly George Costanzan approach. Season 3, Episode 2, “The Truth” Elaine (speaking to George): You’re extremely…careful with money. George: What?! Elaine: Forget it. George: I’m cheap? You think I’m cheap? How could you say this to me, I can’t believe it! Anyway, the truth about this post is that I only have one obscure “personal finance hack.” And it’s not really even a hack, so much as it’s literally about a kitchen utensil. I only told you it was three items because that’s called clickbait. Again, this is a post about …
Let’s Chat About This Frightening Times Article
Do I have your attention? Yes, the previous post here was about a scary data breach. No, the blog isn’t pivoting into doomsday-prepping( sorry, Preppers). But given the recent Anchorage earthquake the subject couldn’t be more timely. There’s not a distinct and direct financial planning angle here, but I can’t get over the headline of this stunning Seattle Times piece out today: You can read all the juicy details for yourself – like how they won’t release all the details of the study for fear of exposing infrastructure vulnerabilities – but it’s kind of shook me to the core when thinking about my own disaster preparedness. Personally, we have some basics on hand but are nowhere near prepared for up to …
Remember That Credit Freeze Post? Hotel Edition
This credit freeze post. Today we woke up to news about a massive data breach at Starwood Hotels, as announced by parent company Marriott, which may affect as many as 500 million people. It’s reported to be the second largest breach in history. Why am I mentioning this? Well, it’s a perfect opportunity for self-indulgent told-ya-so-ism. I recently wrote about how being able to freeze your credit with the three major credit bureaus — for free — is a game changer when it comes to protecting your personal information, and your financial future. While freezing your credit is not a perfect firewall, it sure makes it less scary when you see headlines like today’s Starwood breach. That’s pretty much financial …