Become a Patron! I consider it an inevitable misfortune that conversations about investing begin and end with "what should I invest in?" An unsophisticated questioner might mean "what stocks do you think will go up?" while a sophisticated one means "what should my allocation be to low-cost stock and bond ETF's?" but both questions skip over the much more important question: … [Read more...] about “Use it or lose it” is the most important feature of retirement accounts
Archives for April 2020
Personal finance during the plague: self-employment (2)
Become a Patron! Earlier this month I wrote about some of the advantages of replacing work lost to the coronavirus pandemic with self-employment. I want to continue that discussion today with some questions to ask before and as you get your self-employment up and running. Is your self-employment a business or a job? This question confuses people in the United States due to … [Read more...] about Personal finance during the plague: self-employment (2)
Personal finance during the plague: what I’m watching for
Become a Patron! As we near the end of the beginning of our public and private response to the coronavirus pandemic, there's obviously a lot to keep track of, and as we saw with the quickly-exhausted Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection Program funds, waiting to act can be an expensive mistake. With that in mind, I thought it would be useful to organize … [Read more...] about Personal finance during the plague: what I’m watching for
Personal finance during the plague: self-employment (1)
Become a Patron! I've been self-employed for a long time now, and loyal readers know I'm a relentless advocate for self-employment. As I never tire of saying, not everyone should be self-employed because not everyone wants to be self-employed, but a lot more people should be self-employed than currently are. Since I'm writing this series on personal finance during the … [Read more...] about Personal finance during the plague: self-employment (1)
Personal finance during the plague: real estate
Become a Patron! Assuming you've already read my March 22 introduction to personal finance during the plague, you're already well on your way to getting approved for unemployment insurance, SNAP, Medicaid, WIC, and any other welfare programs you might be eligible for. So in today's edition of "personal finance during the plague," I want to take a look at an issue that … [Read more...] about Personal finance during the plague: real estate