On this website, I’ve often challenged the prevailing notion that the economy is booming and everyone is going to retire a millionaire. That happy narrative seems to apply to only a very narrow slice of the population. According to a 2017 CareerBuilder survey, 78% of US workers live paycheck-to-pa… Continue Reading

If you’re an investor, you’re probably aware of exchange traded funds, better known as ETFs. Every bull market in stocks creates new wonder sectors. In the 1990s, it was tech stocks, and the mutual funds that invested in them. Back then, it was an article of faith that you couldn’t go wrong wi… Continue Reading

If you’re a gig worker, do you ever worry about retiring? The gig economy is growing, and so are the number of gig workers. It now encompasses 34% of the U.S. workforce, and is projected to rise to 43% by 2020. This takes in freelancers, contract workers, temporary workers, and probably even the s… Continue Reading

Every investor wants to turn thousands into millions. Making this type of gain in the stock market IS certainly possibly. But it still takes knowledge, skills, and the right mindset to accomplish such a feat. Instead of going after this accomplishment on your own, it’s best to look at what success… Continue Reading

In the financial world, your Fico score determines your eligibility for the type of funding you have access to and at what interest rates. Unfortunately, those who have a low Fico score tend to fall in between a rock and a hard place when it comes to getting the loans they need to fund their purchas… Continue Reading

The Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency camps are still divided. Bitcoin supporters advocate investors embrace the digital currency mainly due to its decentralized nature. Critics point out that these currencies are like dust in the wind with no intrinsic value and only fueled by vague speculation. Moreo… Continue Reading

Another of those disturbing reports about Americans not saving money came out on Fortune last week. The U.S. Economy May Be Booming, But Americans Aren't Saving gave the usual litany of dismal saving statistics: 23% of Americans have no savings whatsoever; another 22% have less than three month’s … Continue Reading

Self-employment is a world that you have to create, and in order to do that you have to be relentless in making it happen. You can never give up no matter what. Continue Reading

Dealing with addiction. Now that's not a topic I thought would ever be on this blog. Why? The story is too personal. It's too painful. And it's too darn difficult to talk about. Yet here we are. What does this have to do with personal finance? Plenty! Read on to learn how and why this is the c… Continue Reading

You’re doubtlessly familiar with the many retirement strategies that say something like this: If you invest X dollars per year for the next Y years, at Z percent, you’ll have N dollars by the time you’re ready to retire. That’s certainly true in theory (though most people won’t even get cl… Continue Reading