The general consensus on Reddit from many investing subreddits is to “just buy VOO” set it and forget it. I have long been troubled by that mindset but I’m a different kind of investor. To be fair though, I decided to ask AI and create this new ETF Fight Club. I asked AI to create…
Category: Money Culture
My Sinister Water & Gas Bill
As I continue to declutter this year I came across some old water bills from the city and I was a bit shocked at what I found. My water bill has grown 115% over 8 years for the exact same amount of water although the “sewer” charge has grown and we have less people living…
Will Gold (Jewelry) Put You In Danger?
The current price of gold as I type this post is about $4500 an ounce (~$145/gram). A typical gold wedding band has about 3 grams of gold so if you’re walking around with your wedding band, you are flashing a small portable easily steal-able $435 object. Add in earrings, gold necklace and/or bracelet and you’re…
Inflation Is The #1 Killer of Quality of Life
On of my “secrets” to eating out cheaply has been to visit overlooked ethnic restaurants in my city. I am blessed to have access to many different types of cultural restaurants and one of the place recently visited is one in which I keep detailed receipts because what we order is not actually on the…
Got My Deferred Compensation Funds
Well call it a triple whammy of blessings but I got my deferred compensation funds in one giant lump sum. I was dreading getting this money because it will push me into a higher tax bracket and I honestly don’t know what to do with all the cash anymore. The stock market is over-valued, housing…
Christmas Gifts – Shares of Stock
This year I have decided to give my nieces and nephews cash to invest in growth and dividend ETFs. I will be granting them $500 with the intent that they open a brokerage account, deposit the money and buy shares that I recommend to them. Of course, it’s their money and they can spend it…
My 11th Year Kiva.org Anniversary
My anniversary with Kiva was actually in February but I’m moving it to December because it’s easier to do a year end summary at the end of the calendar year than February. I have now loaned out money to hundreds of people in 48 countries. As of today, Kiva has a limit of 71 countries…
What Happened To Black Friday?
I had two Thanksgiving celebrations this week, one on Thursday and one on Friday for different parts of the family. In years past, part of the discussion around the dinner table were things people intended to buy on Black Friday. I remember some family members saying they were getting up at 4 am to go…
Early Signs of Credit & Banking Crisis?
One of the observations I’ve made over the years is how banks change my credit limits on my credit cards from time to time. What I’ve discovered is when banks are feeling stressed they start cutting credit lines or start asking how much people are earning to adjust those credit lines. I’ve written posts about…
Crazy 401k Enrollment Rules, Why?
As part of onboarding my new job, I was eager to get my 401k setup so I can get back to reducing my income to avoid another horrible tax situation but was shocked to learn that I would have to wait 30 days to enroll or maybe 60 or 90 days. People weren’t sure what…