As a follow-up to my post on choosing your hard things, I decided to share what I came up with. Keep in my these are MY hard things. You could have the two lists completely swapped, and that would get no judgment from me. The entire point is … [Read the rest]
My Hard Things + What I’m Willing to Give Up
PSA: Cuisinart Recalls 8 Million Food Processor Blades
In case you missed it during the holiday rush, Cuisinart has issued a recall of over 8 million food processor blades in the US and Canada. This covers a huge chunk of their machines sold in the last 20 years, including the one in my kitchen. The … [Read the rest]
Choose Your Hard Things: You’ll Never Be Productive Enough for Everything
I was catching up on some longreads and enjoyed Why time management is ruining our lives by Oliver Burkeman of The Guardian. Here are some quick notes. Inbox Zero. I'd heard of "Inbox Zero" where you keep your e-mail inbox completely empty, but … [Read the rest]
Free Estate Planning Guide and Workbook from American Red Cross
If one of your New Year's Resolutions is to create an estate plan for you and your loved ones, here's a good starter kit. The American Red Cross has a free Estate Planning Guide and Workbook which comes in both electronic fillable PDF form or a … [Read the rest]
What If You Invested $10,000 Every Year For the Last 10 Years? 2007-2016 Edition
Instead of just looking at one year of returns, here's an annual exercise that helps you look at the bigger picture. You may know the 10-year historical return of the S&P 500, but most of us didn't just invest a big lump sum of money in 2007, and … [Read the rest]
Investment Returns By Asset Class, 2016 Year-End Review
Although I am not always successful, I've been trying to pay less attention to the daily, weekly, even monthly movements of the markets. Once every few months, I will update my portfolio spreadsheet and make sure that I am investing new money … [Read the rest]
Spare5 App Review: Earn Less Than Minimum Wage In Your Spare Time
Find yourself bored on this holiday break? Spare5 is a new entrant in the world of "earn money in your spare time". You sign up and do short tasks on either their smartphone app or desktop web browser. They pay cash via PayPal weekly or donate … [Read the rest]
ETF Tax-Loss Harvesting: 70% Overlap Rule of Thumb for Substantially Identical
Tax-loss harvesting (TLH) is a common practice used to improve after-tax returns by realizing losses to either offset realized capital gains or to defer capital gains into the future. Many robo-advisors including Betterment and Wealthfront offer … [Read the rest]
Happy Holidays from My Money Blog
Earlier this month, we welcomed a third wonderful child into our family. (Yes, I know, the picture on the sidebar is really old...) We are truly blessed. I am also grateful for many other things, including your continued readership. While … [Read the rest]
Year-End Portfolio Rebalancing: Impact on Returns vs. Risk
As we close in on the end of the year, it is a good time to take stock of your investment portfolio. If you haven't already, you should consider rebalancing your portfolio back towards your target asset allocation. Overall, this means selling … [Read the rest]
Free Gillette Razor With Picture Upload
Here's a throwback to when free razor samples were everywhere - Gillette is running a Welcome Back promotion where if you share your story about how you tried Harry's, Dollar Share Club, or another razor brand and want to come back to Gillette, … [Read the rest]
Andrews Federal Credit Union Application and Account Opening Review
I keep a portion of my cash reserves in certificates of deposit. I decided to open a share certificate from Andrews Federal Credit Union during their 2016 Holiday Promotion. The review information below should apply to anyone trying to open any … [Read the rest]