Good Luck or Bad Luck? Maybe, It’s Hard To Tell

Reading children's books to my kids has become a regular source of new wisdom. I guess that's not surprising, if the goal is to teach kids about life. Here's one that came across recently and keeps popping back in my head. I first read it in … [Read the rest]

Everyone Worries About Money, Even The Wealthy

Here's a refreshingly blunt quote from Scott Galloway's article Yay Capitalism via It Is Always About The Money via Abnormal Returns: Wealthy people claim they don’t think much about money. That’s bullshit; they are obsessed with money. The notion … [Read the rest]

Vanguard 10-Year Expected Asset Class Returns (2018)

I was surprised to read the NY Times article Vanguard Warns of Worsening Odds for the Economy and Markets. Everything is written very carefully using odds so that there is no "prediction" that could be called "wrong" later on, but at the same time … [Read the rest]

Five Wishes: A Living Will That Goes Beyond Just Prolong / Do Not Prolong Life

People don't like talking about money. That's why I started this site. You know what people like talking about even less? Death. My wife and I have already filled out a generic advanced health directive, but I recently ran across something … [Read the rest]

Are You Quietly Losing Money via Your Brokerage Cash Sweep Account?

A recent WSJ article by Jason Zweig calls attention to one of the hidden ways that brokerage firms make money from you. As interest rates rise, they go out and earn the highest market rates while giving you a lot less on your idle cash. The … [Read the rest]

How Did Total Bond and Treasury Bond Funds Perform During the Largest Stock Market Drawdowns?

If you own bond mutual funds or ETFs, the most popular benchmark is the Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond Index (AGG), which basically tracks all U.S. taxable investment-grade bonds, including US Treasury government bonds, investment-grade … [Read the rest]

Should I Break My Bank CD Early and Pay The Early Withdrawal Penalty?

Interest rates continue to rise, and holders of existing certificates of deposit (CDs) may be wondering if it is a good idea to break their current CDs in order to take advantage of a new higher rate. Most CDs impose an early withdrawal penalty if … [Read the rest]

Best Interest Rates on Cash – August 2018

Here is my monthly roundup of the best safe rates available, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to get an idea of how much additional interest you'd earn if you are moving money between … [Read the rest]

Fidelity Investments: Zero Expense Ratio Index Funds, Zero Account Fees

Fidelity Investments announced a bunch of "zero"-themed price and fee cuts across nearly all of their products: Zero expense ratio mutual funds (two new Fidelity ZERO Index Funds) Zero account minimums, zero account fees, zero domestic money … [Read the rest]

Are You Worried About Investing at an All-Time Market High?

Maybe folks are worried about the yield curve, maybe it's the political drama, or maybe they just feel it in their bones - I've been getting more questions about if I think now is still a good time to invest. Well, here are some articles that may … [Read the rest]

Atom Movie Tickets Promo Code: Buy One Get One Free

Atom is a "social movie ticketing" app and website. Sign up and enter the promo code WEGOTYOU in the mobile app checkout to get two tickets for the price of one ("Buy 1 Get 1 Free"). US only. Offer valid from July 31, 2018 (8:00 am PT) through … [Read the rest]

American Airlines AAdvantage® Mile Up® Card Review

The American Airlines AAdvantage® Mile Up® Card is the no annual fee co-branded American Airlines credit card. It replaces the former and not-very-publicized Citi/AAdvantage Bronze card and adds a few new features. Here are the card highlights: … [Read the rest]