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Download Free App, Get Free $10 AppStore Amazon Credit

Seems easy enough. If you have an Android device including Amazon Fire Tablets, download the Hay Day app for free and get $10 Amazon appstore credit. I have no idea what the game is about, but if the credit is indeed only for apps then I can buy … [Read the rest]

Home Country Bias in Stock Market Investing

Vanguard has a new research paper about global asset allocation. One of their findings was that market-cap-weighted indexed portfolios provided higher returns and lower volatility than the average actively managed fund. Thus, they suggest that a … [Read the rest]

Parting.com: Funeral Price Comparison Website

Talking about death is always an awkward topic (even though it will happen to all of us), but this is my version of the many similar PSA-type funeral articles you'll come across in personal finance magazines and columns. The standard advice: If … [Read the rest]

The Power of Default Settings: 401(k) Auto-Enrollment

A new ProPublica article by Lena Groeger discusses the power of default settings in our life - from organ donations to computer font settings. Included was an interesting case study of a company who implemented automatic enrollment into the company … [Read the rest]

Housing Investment Returns = Price Appreciation + Rental Dividends

Professer Robert Shiller has a new NY Times article entitled Why Land and Homes Actually Tend to Be Disappointing Investments. He computes the historical, long-term inflation-adjusted returns for both farmland and housing: Over the century from … [Read the rest]

Lifetime Allocation Pie Chart: Learning, Earning, and Returning

You always see pie charts used to illustrate asset allocation for portfolios. Stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, etc. How about a pie chart for deciding how to allocate your lifetime: This was one of the "life lessons" provided by … [Read the rest]

US Stock Ownership in Taxable vs. Tax-Deferred Retirement Accounts

If I was going for a clickbait title, I'd say "No one invests in taxable accounts anymore". The Tax Policy Center has a new report by Rosenthal and Austin about how the share of U.S. stocks held by taxable accounts has dropped significantly over the … [Read the rest]

Comcast Internet Essentials Review: Affordable Internet Access For Low-Income Households

Comcast offers an affordable internet access program called Internet Essentials that provides high-speed internet service for $9.95 a month + taxes, a subsidized $150 computer with Microsoft Office, and free digital literacy training to eligible … [Read the rest]

The Continued Decline of Cooking at Home

Quartz published an article with the provocative title No one cooks anymore, noting that for the first time Americans are spending more money eating out (including bars and restaurants) than at grocery stores. The trend has been very steady for the … [Read the rest]

Ally CashBack Credit Card Review: 2% Cash Back on Gas and Groceries + 10% Relationship Bonus

If you have an Ally Bank savings or checking account, you've likely been pitched their new Ally CashBack credit card recently. Here are the highlights: $100 bonus when you make $500 in eligible purchases during the first 3 billing … [Read the rest]

Infographic: 401(k) Plan Participation Stats

As we pass the halfway mark of this year, it was time for my quarterly check-in on my 401(k) account. The best-case scenario for a 401(k) plan is: Company match. A little extra help from your employer is always nice. Good default … [Read the rest]

Google Fi: Simple, Pay As You Go Cell Plan With High-Speed International Data Included

We recently returned from a family trip to Europe, and I found myself missing my data plan more than ever before. I kept thinking about the slow 2G data that T-Mobile includes in their postpaid plans and how it might power data-light apps like maps, … [Read the rest]