You may or may not know if you’re a ISFJ or a ESTP, but those are not the personality types we’re looking at here. According to Ken Honda, author of Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace With Your Money, your money personality type can help you understand your relationship with money and see […]
If you were born to wealthy parents, reading this article is probably a waste of your time. If, like almost all of us, you weren’t, read on… Anyone who’s been reading about wealth knows that rather than income, it’s about net worth – the difference between what you own and what you owe. Building significant […]
If you’re like most of us (or at least most who read personal finance topics), knowing how much it takes to be wealthy is at least somewhat of interest to you. Does a High Income Make You Wealthy? First, we need to be clear on what counts as being wealthy. High income, say 6 or […]
The year after you graduate college is as good a time as any to get your personal finances on the right track. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you do. It doesn’t hurt to keep living like a student The idea that graduating is the start of your adult life doesn’t […]
Personally, I probably spend way too much time projecting our income and expenses for the years between now and retirement, tweaking our plan, and working on our retirement budget. If you saw my massive Excel workbook, your eyes would probably glaze over (my wife certainly does ?). Having said that, there’s that well-known quote often […]
How Much Does Your ETF Really Cost? Let’s Discuss an Active ETF Expense Ratio vs. Index ETFs vs. Mutual Funds One of the most important factors to consider when analyzing and comparing ETF investment options is the expenses of the fund. The ETF arena now has so many investment options, that many areas in the […]
And what the comparison means, beyond our natural vanity It’s just human. Unless we’re struggling to survive, we care a lot more about how we’re doing compared to others, especially those we consider our peers than about our objective situation. Really. Don’t believe me? OK, let’s do a thought experiment. Ever hear of Maslow’s hierarchy […]
Social Security is a critical part of making retirement even somewhat affordable for many Americans. According to Fool.com, Social Security can replace over half of career-average wages for low-income Americans, and about 40% for middle-income Americans. By the time you reach the maximum Social-Security-taxable income, benefits replace just over a quarter of your career-average income. […]
Personal finance experts will tell you that budgeting well is at the heart of good money management. It’s true, but any budget is only as good as the method you use to make it. Sloppy budgeting could even be worse than no budgeting at all. If you leave important categories out of your budget, you’ll […]