I was recently reading an article in The Atlantic titled The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans. I’ve got to be honest, I was feeling pretty disgusted by the time I was done. How many times are these stupid, upper class yuppies going to complain about where the economy is but take little responsibility for their own actions? Does he take some level …
Texas Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday
If you live in Texas, this is a good weekend to indulge your inner prepper (particularly if your in Houston like me and have been hurt by the storms). I’ll be making the smart decision to head to Costco this weekend and pick up a few things we could use for the next hurricane, storm, or everyday problem. More information …
The Sunk Cost Fallacy – Don’t Keep it Because You Own It
The human brain is a funny thing. While we like to think that we are these logical machines, with a cool and calculated ability to look at things, the reality is that we are pretty poor decision makers. Our systems that were designed for the a different era aren’t always naturals for modern day decision making. That’s why it’s so important …
Hell Ya or No – A Spending & Time Manifesto
I’m a huge fan of Derek Sivers. Startup aficionado, deep thinker, author, and more (read his blog or check out his books). He’s the founder of CD Baby and one of my favorite people to read. He has an essay that’s made the rounds, so I’m not sharing anything novel, but it’s something I’ve come back to again and again …
8 Steps to Simplify Your Finances (And Life) in 2016
I hate that people find their financial life stressful. I understand why it’s the case if your income doesn’t meet your needs or you’ve got a pile of debt to think about. But this problem seems to exist even among the “mass affluent” with their outsized incomes and Automatic Bill Pay If it can be autopaid, do it. There’s no …
2015 – A Year in Review
We set some lofty and quite varied set of goals for 2015. We didn’t hit them all, but I feel pretty good about another year. I switched companies, it’s rough times in Houston, and we’ve had a lot of other changes (like most years I guess), but we’ve managed to get a lot of good things done. More good things …
Book Review: The Index Card by Helaine Olen and Harold Pollack
I just finished up the The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to be Complicated by Helaine Olen and Harold Pollack. If you haven’t heard of Harold (or his famous index card), it’s a fun story. Harold was challenged to share his best financial advice on a single index card. What he put together was about as good as …
The Frugal Christmas Gift Giving Guide
If you’re anything like me, Christmas can be painful on the pocket book. I have my parents, grandparents, siblings and Caitlin has the same. Beyond that my parents have 10 SIBLINGS COMBINED and most have spouses and many have children. I would need to look, but I believe over the last few years our gift list has been in excess of 30 …
Index Card Challenge – Part 3
This is part 3 of the index card challenge. To check out the earlier submissions head over to Part 1 and Part 2 or head to the Index Card Challenge. Definitely check it out if you came over from my collaboration with J. Money over at RockStar Finance since we didn’t post all the cards there and you don’t want to miss …
Another Craigslist Win
As I’ve mentioned before there are 2 keys to winning at Craigslist: Patience If you need something in less than a month, Craigslist isn’t for you. It’s not full of deals to be had. It’s mostly junk and usually overpriced. In order to snag the real deals that I love to find, you have to be willing to wait and …