Money Diaries: Anthony Bourdain, Spike Lee, Kylie Jenner, and Other Interesting People

It's been more than a decade since I started this site because I had no other outlet to talk about financial independence. Talking about your money in public remains a mostly taboo topic. The idea of financial freedom through an aggressive saving … [Read the rest]

RealtyShares Review 2017: Wisconsin Apartment Loan One-Year Update

Here's a one-year update on my $2,000 investment through RealtyShares, a partial interest in a loan backed by a 6-unit apartment complex in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. RealtyShares is restricted to accredited investors only. Here are the highlights: … [Read the rest]

Fidelity Brokerage and IRA Bonuses for New Asset Transfers

Fidelity Investments has a few different bonuses if you transfer a certain levels of new assets over to them. These are handy if you want to move money out of an old 401(k) plan or are looking to try out a new broker. Besides a cash deposit, you … [Read the rest]

Dollar Shave Club vs. Dorco USA Razor Price Comparison

Dollar Shave Club and Harry's are supposedly "disrupting" the shaving industry. Honestly, I don't get it. Buying a razor is like buying shampoo, soap, or toilet paper. In other words, I bought a bulk set at Costco for $1 per 3-blade razor and it … [Read the rest]

Fundrise Income eREIT Review 2017: One Year Update

Here's an update on my $2,000 investment into the Fundrise Income eREIT. Fundrise is taking advantage of recent legislation allowing certain crowdfunding investments to be offered to the general public (they were previously limited only to … [Read the rest]

High-Cost Index Funds and Low-Cost Actively Managed Funds

Here's a Vanguard Blog post called Mind fund details, not labels by Frank Kinniry that includes some good reminders about the mutual fund and ETF industry: Low-cost vs. high-cost is more important than actively managed vs. passively managed. … [Read the rest]

More Experience = Less Complexity?

When we had our first child, it seems like we were prepared for the apocalypse whenever we stepped out the door. Below is a visualization taken from Pinterest, while we actually had this $60 SkipHop diaper bag filled to the brim. Compare … [Read the rest]

USAA Limitless Cashback Rewards Visa Signature Card Review: 2.5% Cash Back

(Update: The card application page is no longer available. USAA is not longer offering this card to new applicants.) USAA, which serves members of the U.S. military and their immediate families, has a new cash back rewards card called the USAA … [Read the rest]

2017 IRS Federal Income Tax Brackets Breakdown Example (Married w/ 1 Child)

In a continued attempt to better explain the 2017 federal income tax brackets, here is a graphical breakdown of a simple scenario for a married filing joint couple with 1 dependent. See also my previous examples for a single filer with no … [Read the rest]

Vanguard ETF vs. Mutual Fund Admiral Shares

Allan Roth has a new ETF.com article called Why ETFs Won’t Replace Mutual Funds. Inside, he offers the following reasons why if you are buying Vanguard funds, he typically recommends the Admiral Shares mutual fund over the ETF. Vanguard Mutual … [Read the rest]

How to Buy or Sell an ETF: Real-World Best Practices

In this ETFdb interview with Rich Powers, Head of ETF Product Management at Vanguard, there was a useful bit about the practical mechanics of buying an ETF in your brokerage account. Found via Abnormal Returns. ETFdb: What would you say are … [Read the rest]

2017 IRS Federal Income Tax Brackets Breakdown Example (Married No Kids)

In a continued attempt to better understand the 2017 federal income tax brackets, here is a graphical breakdown of a simple scenario for a married filing joint couple with no dependents. Again, I'll try to explore the differences in terms such as … [Read the rest]