LivingSocial: BJ’s Wholesale Club Membership Discount

LivingSocial has a new deal: $50 for a 1-Year BJ's Membership + $20 BJ's Gift Card & $55 in Coupon Savings. Offer expires on 3/12. New members only (you could get your spouse or partner to sign-up). Valid at all BJ's Wholesale Club locations (East … [Read the rest]

2017 IRS Federal Income Tax Brackets Breakdown Example (Single)

Income taxes can be hard to visualize with just a table of numbers. Below, I try to explain the 2017 tax brackets and exemptions system with graphics and simple example of a single worker. What is the difference between gross income, taxable … [Read the rest]

Dimensional Fund Advisors Profile + 529 College Savings Plan Access

Institutional Investor has an interesting profile of Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). Since DFA doesn't do much marketing, there are very few articles about them in the mainstream financial media. A rare example is this 2007 article (backup copy) … [Read the rest]

T-Mobile vs. Verizon New Unlimited Data Plans Comparison

(Update 3/31: T-Mobile's 2 unlimited lines for $100 now no longer includes free HD video and 10 GB of LTE hotspot data.) Competition is good. Without the popularity of the T-Mobile unlimited data plan, we wouldn't have the reluctant, new Verizon … [Read the rest]

Schwab Matches Mutual Fund and ETF Expense Ratios, Now $4.95 Trades

Update: Schwab has matched Fidelity's price cut at $4.95 per trade + $0.65 per options contract, effective March 3, 2017. See press release for details. Everyone is battling for your assets and the ability to scale. (TD Ameritrade also announced … [Read the rest]

How to Minimize Investment Returns – By Warren Buffett

At the bottom of the Berkshire Hathaway 2016 Annual Report, you may not have noticed that Warren Buffett republished a previous article from the 2005 annual report titled "How to Minimize Investment Returns". A version become the first chapter … [Read the rest]

Fidelity Investments Stock and ETF Trades now $4.95

Fidelity Investments has announced their online stock and ETF trades will now cost $4.95, down from $7.95 previously. The press release also points out that they also do not accept payment for order flow (unlike TD Ameritrade, Schwab, and E-Trade), … [Read the rest]

Berkshire Hathaway 2016 Annual Letter by Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) released its 2016 Letter to Shareholders [pdf] over the weekend. Although the financial media will create some catchy headlines, I recommend reading it for yourself. It is only roughly 30 pages long and is always written in … [Read the rest]

Food Rankings: Most Protein Per Dollar, Caffeine Per Dollar

A while back I did a post on What Does 200 Calories Cost? The Economics of Obesity, where I found that you can find the cheapest calories in things like flour, pasta, oil, bread, and doughnuts. Meanwhile, the most expensive calories included all … [Read the rest]

Infographic: It’s Never Too Late To Start

There's a new movie out about Ray Kroc and McDonald's called The Founder. Did you know that Kroc was selling milkshake machines into his 50s until he stumbled on a pair of brothers buying a ton of milkshake machines for their new hamburger … [Read the rest]

Amazon Promo: $8.62 off $50+ Order (2/22 Only)

In case you don't visit every day (which is probably a good thing), Amazon.com is giving $8.62 off $50+ orders with promo code BIGTHANKS. Valid until 11:59pm Pacific 2/22 only. Must be shipped and sold by Amazon. If you need filler ideas, you … [Read the rest]

Municipal Bonds vs. US Treasury Bond Yield Comparison

As a follow-up to my post on the risks of investing in bonds, I should share that a slight majority of my personal bond holdings are in short-term and intermediate-term municipal bonds. Why? Well, here are some considerations if you are choosing … [Read the rest]