We just had an offer accepted for a new home a couple of days ago. As such, there’s now a flurry of excitement and financial activity going on in our household now, and there will continue to be excitement even after our current house is sold. Part of this excitement involved taking the first steps … Read more
No really, that isn’t a joke: Some people did get bonuses this year, and they weren’t even bank executives! Got a tip to this CNN Money feature on how seven people will spend their year-end bonus. (One of the featured people is Danielle Liss, also known as The Frugal Lawyer.) The bonuses for these seven … Read more
One of the most important rules of investing is this: Don’t invest in anything you don’t understand. If you don’t understand stocks, don’t invest in them. If you don’t understand options, don’t invest in them. If you don’t understand futures contracts, don’t invest in them. If you don’t understand credit default swaps, well … don’t … Read more
I do software development at work. A term that gets thrown around a bit is code smell. It’s a catch-all for any number of programming practices that indicate more serious underlying problems, or that indicate that quick fixes were made that will be more costly to maintain down the road. Basically, the code smells a … Read more
A few weeks ago I met “J” of BudgetsAreSexy.com, and Nicole of Breaking Even Communications, up in DC. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and in the process I really got a feel for what generous hearts they both have. Subsequently J gave me a sneak peek at another charity project … Read more
This economic downturn hasn’t been kind to a lot of people. Jobs that haven’t been taken away from people have had their hours cut, their workload increased, or their cost of living allowances taken away. Jobs that people used to be able to count on are on very fragile ground. If this US Debt Clock … Read more
On last week’s post on whether you should be able to put your tithe on a credit card, I received a well thought-out response from commenter Brian. I’ll reprint it here, and discuss it. I work with more than 800 mainline protestant churches in Ohio. I say the credit card issue reflects larger issues in … Read more
Getting a bolstered emergency fund is a great idea now. (It usually is, but now especially.) One way to get to a decent cushion is to spend less so that the extra can go into savings. Many kinds of expenses can be cut, but the easiest ones to eliminate are ones that you probably won’t … Read more