Back in 2020 (and 2021), we refinanced our mortgage to get those really low interest rates. At first we refinanced our 30-year down to a 15-year because the rates were low. As the rates lowered more, we refinanced back out of a 15-year to a 30-year. The reason was simple, the rates were below 3%…
Owning a home is part of many people’s financial dreams. But we often see the same question over and over again, which is “how much house can I afford?“ So we decided to include this one in our money shorts series that quickly answers the question for you. So, How much House Can Your Afford?…
Five years ago, we were able to pay off the last of our credit card debt. I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since that last payment was sent and we were credit card debt free! Really, time has been flying by. We’ve done a lot of stuff since breaking the chains of debt, and I’m…
Have you ever ordered something just to find out the price dropped just a few days after you purchased? If you’re lucky, you can go back into the store and ask for a price adjustment refund. Yes, some of the bigger stores do that sort of thing. The issue is, it can be very difficult…
Who hasn’t heard the saying “the early bird gets the worm?” It’s been one I’ve heard over and over again my entire life. The premise of this saying is those who get up early get more stuff done and have more opportunities throughout the day. Whomever starts first has the best chance for success. I…
My friends over at Motif Investing created this great infographic on how to grow your wealth with simple investment strategies. As regular readers know, I’m a fan of infographics. I feel they are easy to follow and some of them provide awesome visuals on a topic which might be boring otherwise. If I get a…
I have had a Capital One 360 checking account for some time now, so I figured it would be time to provide a review of the service. Many of you might know of this service, but Capital One bought ING Direct and relabeled the banking service to Capital One 360. They offer both a checking and savings account, which are online only. They are essentially an electronic checking and savings account. I have really enjoyed the service and Capital One made it extremely easy to setup. Here is my Capital One 360 review.
One of the longer running pieces of personal finance advice is to never buy a new car. Seriously, most experts use the word “NEVER!” I am cool with that, especially as someone who has purchased quite a few new cars, I have learned my lesson. The justification of this advice is you can save a lot of money by just buying a car one or two years old. The majority of depreciation happens within the first year. After that, most cars depreciate on a sliding scale. Some do it slower than others, but I am not getting into that. So, let’s talk about this “never buy a new car” advice.
Over the past decade, more and more people have found themselves deep in financial debt. While there may be some obvious reasons why some people have gotten into debt, there are also many other overlooked factors that could have led to their accumulation of debt. I have spent a good amount of my adult life in debt. I know how it feels. There is nothing fun about it, but that doesn’t mean it has to define you. Remember that you are the one in control of your money, so don’t let it take control of you. We all make mistakes and debt should be one that you only make once. I don’t plan on making the debt mistake again, so I hope you do the same.
Ever since July 2012, I have been focusing on building my savings account, my investments, and my net worth. Everything that I do has been focused on building my wealth and getting on track for retirement. I have been so focused on making more money, saving money, and getting on track that I have forgot to focus on things that I enjoy. I have kept a sharp eye on finances and got blurry vision on my hobbies. I need to get back on track and open my eyes completely. I need to refocus my energy toward my hobbies. Are we too driven by money?
I’ve long been a proponent of Amazon for buying all items for my house and generally everything. I was an Amazon Prime member for years because I liked the convenience of Amazon and the Amazon app. Unfortunately, my stance on Amazon has changed slightly for my personal buying decisions and I wanted to explain here…
Happy Father’s Day! I hope all of you get to celebrate with your family and maybe have a chance to relax. I know I will be having fun on my golf weekend, but I will miss the opportunity to celebrate Father’s Day with my dad. It upsets me a little bit because as a new father, I would love to celebrate with my father. Oh well, there will be others. I am taking this time to write a letter to my father. I hope he gets to read it.
