The best way to limit the amount of money you spend is by sticking to a budget. You don’t have to love budgeting. Most people don’t. But it can be extremely effective. Today we are combining two of my favorite topics: spreadsheets and money. The advantages of using a spreadsheet instead of a budgeting […]
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I’ve used many rewards programs, but none of them compare to Chase Ultimate Rewards. The Chase Ultimate Rewards program has made it possible for my wife and me to fly to St. Martin, Aruba, Fort Lauderdale, New York City, Houston, and Charleston all free of charge. A couple things I love about the program […]
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Today I have a simple hack to help you save money on allergy medicine. Let me start by establishing some credibility: I have bad allergies. I’ve had sinus surgery and the underlying issue is partially due to my bad allergies. After my sinus surgery I went to an allergist and found out I was […]
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The tax code is complicated. A complicated tax code means filing taxes can be a headache, or for some of us a migraine. The one good thing about the complicated tax code is that it creates opportunities to pay less in taxes. Legal opportunities. In fact, the government has intentionally built in these opportunities […]
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When it comes to budgeting there are monthly budgets and then there are one-off budgets for big life events. Big life events that need their own budgets include a vacation, a home remodel, and yes – a wedding. Weddings aren’t cheap. The average wedding in 2015 cost $32,641 according to TheKnot.com. Not cheap! Whenever you […]
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“Cut back on everything as much as possible, and don’t even think about taking a vacation!” This is the advice many personal finance experts will give. You should completely deprive yourself until you are out of debt. They want you to feel ashamed of your debt. In reality feeling ashamed isn’t healthy and can […]
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Wouldn’t it be great to have enough money to be able to do whatever you want the rest of your life, never working another day unless you chose to? That’s the driving force behind the FIRE movement that has gained in popularity the past decade. FIRE stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. Those who […]
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In the months before our international trip to Vietnam and Thailand my wife and I spent a lot of time looking for products that would make travel easier for us. Our trip involved long flights from the United States and back, as well as multiple flights across Vietnam and Thailand. We wanted to be […]
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Vietnam is quickly becoming a top place for Americans to visit in Asia. My wife and I stayed in Hanoi Vietnam towards the end of 2019 and it was one of the highlights of our trip to Asia. Vietnam is a couple of decades behind Thailand as far as tourism is concerned and that […]
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I went to a private four-year university for undergrad. Some of the people I met throughout my time there were education majors. It’s very common to leave my alma mater with tens of thousands in student loans. It’s also common for teachers to make very little at the beginning of their careers. Not surprisingly […]
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