This post was motivated by two very different conversations that I have had in the past week. The first was an idiotic approach to Emergency Funds that people told me was savvy, and the second was a chat about returns from bank bonuses. What I like about keeping the conversation on the emergency fund/loose cash […]
Archives for January 2014
Actually giving a crap about Fiduciary Responsibility
Certain people within professions are given ‘Fiduciary Responsibility’ and it has been my experience that they can use this to betray our trust. This post will explore what being a Fiduciary means, why it is flawed, and how it can be used against you.The term Fiduciary is given to people who act in a position […]
Emotional Finance – Two steps backwards, one step forward
I’ve been hearing a lot of the same questions recently when it comes to money and investment strategy, it is most evident in couples, but is equally present in single people. I’ll focus on the couple scenario since that is an easier way to highlight the battle which is present in everyone.The question I am […]
What is an Emergency Fund?
An Emergency Fund is arguably the single most important feature of your saving and investment plan. There are all manner of articles talking about the fund, and how to be savvy with it, but if you don’t under what is an Emergency Fund you will not have the knowledge to know when a strategy is […]
Small Victories – changing habits one step at a time
I recently spoke with the Director of the Pro Bono Committee for the Financial Planning Association of New York, and we shared some stories on volunteering. The Pro Bono committee is a fantastic group of people who go out into the community to help support the vulnerable by providing financial education to them. It has […]
Taking an Early 401(K) distribution can be a savvy move with the Net Unrealized Appreciation Tax Rule
Common thinking with regard to 401(k) plans is to roll them over into low cost IRA’s as soon as employment has ended, thus allowing assets to grow with the least bite taken out of them both in terms of fees, because most 401(k) plans offer higher fee mutual fund options rather than lower cost index […]
Flat Fees and Percentages
Maybe this is obvious to you, but a core part of pricing strategies and profitability is how a fee is built into a sales price. Even though it may be no surprise, understanding this concept better, and internalizing these pricing strategies can save you considerable amounts of money, and allow you to negotiate like a […]
Financial Boat Drill – what to do in the event of a real emergency
I hate boat drill. It’s that time when on a cruise, just after you have got to your cabin and are ready to plop yourself down on a deck chair with a whopping portion of ice-cream and a bucket of beer that an alarm sounds, and you must go to your muster station.Life Boat Drill […]
Things You Didn’t think you could buy from Staples
I love Staples. There, I said it. The reason I do is that if I need anything ‘officey’ they have a solid selection, I can earn my 5x from the Chase Ink Bold, and I can Plink them too. If was actually seeking to buy something with real money the rebates are pretty insane there: […]
Contrarianism
I’m a strange one, I hope that you are too. We all have our quirks and my own sometimes surprise even me. A concept that I broached recently in my post ‘Knowledge Must Be Stolen‘ was that there is good in many different philosophies, and you can take the best of an idea and leave […]