Girl, You Can Be Anything You Want, as Long as it is a Teacher or a Nurse My Mom was born in 1911, the youngest of eight, on a farm in middle Tennessee. She had her sights set on being a doctor, but her father laughed at the idea. He said, “Annie Ruth, you can
It’s More Than Money
Quarter in Charts – Q2 2020
So, How Was Your Day? Your Quarter? Your Year? It’s hard to wrap my mind around the wildly different experiences we’ve all had over the last four months. For every quarantined person who has learned to bake sourdough, many more kids aren’t getting their school lunches. For anyone who has realized they can do their
PSLF: The Best Student Loan Program for Non-Profit and Government Employees
The most advantageous program for non-profit and government employees is PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness.) It features the shortest payoff period (10 years!) and tax-free loan forgiveness (which could be worth tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars!) PSLF sounds good, but the process for forgiveness can be complicated. And considering that only 2%
Working From Home: Can I Deduct That?
This summer as I’ve flipped the April, May, and June pages in the 2020 paper calendar, filled with photos featuring kids’ and grandkids’ events from 2019, I’ve wondered what photos will fill my 2021 Shutterfly calendar: making sourdough bread, more photos of dogs than grandkids, and photos of finally finished jigsaw puzzles? Who thought we’d
Kids & Money – Greenlight: A Solution to Help Kids Save, Spend, Give & Invest
A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post about how my wife and I are teaching our three kids about money. I covered the basic principles we’re trying to instill (Simplicity, Giving, Discipline, Compounding, Enjoyment, Responsibility, and Hard Work) and how those show up practically. While we have loved teaching these principles, the
Should I Refinance My Home?
In case you haven’t heard, mortgage rates are the lowest they have ever been. The chart below shows average mortgage rates over the past 49 years, from 1971 to 2020. Currently, the 30-year mortgage has an average rate of 3.17%. You can view the chart above and edit the timeline yourself in order to see
The Price Is Right, Or Is It?
The Price is Right has been running on TV for 48 years, can you believe it? Watching the show with my 84-year old Dad, after he moved from Chattanooga to Greensboro in 1992, is one of my favorite memories. We would roar with laughter at our correct guesses, and stare at the TV in wide-eyed
Quarter in Charts – Q1 2020
From an economic and investment perspective, saying that the first quarter (particularly March), was without precedent is an understatement. Investors experienced the fastest bear market (from Peak to -20%) ever recorded in US stocks. But it wasn’t just down days that we experienced; we had plenty of dramatic positive days as well. As Nick Maggiulli
What Do We Do, Now That We’re Home?
Thanks to Marie Kondo, the “Tidying Up Department” that looks after our home, yard, garden, tool shed, garage, basement, and the attic has grown. And I thought the Stay At Home directive would give me more than enough time at the end of my workday to put a big dent in my growing to-do list.
Three Financial Planning Strategies During a Down Market
I remember the first time I had the wind knocked out of me. The day was unseasonably warm, and I was 8, lying in my dad’s arms in a hammock. I started to doze off and rolled out of the hammock, falling back-first onto the Mexican tile. I remember gasping for air, but I had