As we stand today in early 2017, the performance of the US stock market since 2009 has been pretty impressive with only a few minor hiccups. I am not calling a market drop, but the best time to prepare is before an emergency or crisis occurs. … [Read the rest]
Do you recommend Wealthfront? Betterment? WiseBanyan? Schwab Intelligent Portfolios? Vanguard Personal Advisor Services? The upstarts like to bash on the competition, making it seem like they are your digital savior while everyone else is … [Read the rest]
It's been more than a decade since I started this site because I had no other outlet to talk about financial independence. Talking about your money in public remains a mostly taboo topic. The idea of financial freedom through an aggressive saving … [Read the rest]
Here's a one-year update on my $2,000 investment through RealtyShares, a partial interest in a loan backed by a 6-unit apartment complex in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. RealtyShares is restricted to accredited investors only. Here are the highlights: … [Read the rest]
Fidelity Investments has a few different bonuses if you transfer a certain levels of new assets over to them. These are handy if you want to move money out of an old 401(k) plan or are looking to try out a new broker. Besides a cash deposit, you … [Read the rest]
Dollar Shave Club and Harry's are supposedly "disrupting" the shaving industry. Honestly, I don't get it. Buying a razor is like buying shampoo, soap, or toilet paper. In other words, I bought a bulk set at Costco for $1 per 3-blade razor and it … [Read the rest]
Here's an update on my $2,000 investment into the Fundrise Income eREIT. Fundrise is taking advantage of recent legislation allowing certain crowdfunding investments to be offered to the general public (they were previously limited only to … [Read the rest]
Here's a Vanguard Blog post called Mind fund details, not labels by Frank Kinniry that includes some good reminders about the mutual fund and ETF industry: Low-cost vs. high-cost is more important than actively managed vs. passively managed. … [Read the rest]
When we had our first child, it seems like we were prepared for the apocalypse whenever we stepped out the door. Below is a visualization taken from Pinterest, while we actually had this $60 SkipHop diaper bag filled to the brim. Compare … [Read the rest]
(Update: The card application page is no longer available. USAA is not longer offering this card to new applicants.) USAA, which serves members of the U.S. military and their immediate families, has a new cash back rewards card called the USAA … [Read the rest]
In a continued attempt to better explain the 2017 federal income tax brackets, here is a graphical breakdown of a simple scenario for a married filing joint couple with 1 dependent. See also my previous examples for a single filer with no … [Read the rest]
Allan Roth has a new ETF.com article called Why ETFs Won’t Replace Mutual Funds. Inside, he offers the following reasons why if you are buying Vanguard funds, he typically recommends the Admiral Shares mutual fund over the ETF. Vanguard Mutual … [Read the rest]
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