It’s that time of the year when company’s start their health insurance enrollment for next year and I got a big surprise when I logged on to check what the cost would be next year. The health insurance premiums went up 7 percent. This was on top of about 7 percent from the year before…
The Great Retirement Debate: 4% or More?
I read and watch a lot of videos on retirement because that’s the next big stage in my life so I want to maximize my knowledge around the topic. The big debate for the past year has been about what is the safe withdrawal rate for your portfolio. Dave Ramsey thinks it can be 8%…
Financial Regrets: Kitchen Stuff
I love to cook. I have hundreds of spices in my pantry right now from all over the world. I also have kitchen stuff that’s now turned into a financial regret so here are some lessons from my mistakes for all the cooks out there. Pans Our family became a fan of Ozeri pans largely…
Wall Street Gobbling Up Trades – Rental Owners Beware!
The Wall Street Journal had a recent article entitled, “America’s New Millionaire Class: Plumbers & HVAC Engineers” that is a must read for every property owner. Here is a key quote: Private equity, however, is no foreign player in the skilled trades these days. PE firms across the country have been scooping up home services…
Financial Planning Software Overview
After several disappointing discussions with “financial advisors” I decided to take matter into my own hands and start researching the software these firms use and look for my own Do-It-Yourself apps. Here is a list of what I’ve come up with so far after visiting dozens of websites and watching dozens of YouTube videos. Professional…
ETF: SCHD and 3 for 1 Split
One of my favorite ETFs that sits in my tax deferred bucket is SCHD and on Friday 10/11/2024 it will undergo a 3 for 1 split. In essence, after Friday I will have triple the number of shares although the share value will drop down to 1/3. I actually have been planning on buying more…
SPY All Time Highs – I’m Buying More Puts
Every time SPY spikes to all time highs, I tend to buy PUTS on SPY as a hedge. It’s no different this week and you can read about my past SPY Put buying in August here and and September here. So what did I buy? I bought $570 Puts for June 2025. A few of…
Will Real Estate Property Rentals Be Viable In The Future?
I had yet another problem with one of my condo rental units and it got me thinking about the long term viability of rental properties for small operators. I’ve written several posts now about the Pareto distribution and how 80% of the wealth (or properties) end up in the hands of the top 20% of…
AI: Spend Less Than You Earn or Earn More Than You Spend?
I don’t know why I hadn’t asked AI the age old question in personal finance around spending less than you earn or earning more than you spend. Here is the answer that AI spat out. Both spending less than you earn and earning more than you spend are essential strategies for building financial security, but…
CNBC’s “Official” NFL Team Valuations – Wrong!
Regular readers of this blog know that I like to dive into the numbers behind different things such as this recent post on Olympic gold medals, or this one on stock market exchanges or this one about U.S. state’s prosperity. All three of those posts have something in common, it’s the Pareto Distribution. When I…