Flash Boys by Michael Lewis: Book Notes and Highlights

If you've read any financial news at all over the past month, you know that Michael Lewis has a new book out called Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt. I finished it over a week ago, but it's rather intimidating to write a review when everyone else … [Read the rest]

Lyft Promotion Credit Codes: Free Ride Credits

Lyft is a smartphone-based ride service that competes with traditional taxis. They are similar to Uber, but Lyft calls their fares "donations" and aggressively recruits casual drivers who can apply directly from their app. (Uber does a similar … [Read the rest]

Kayak.com Airfare Price Prediction Tool: Don’t Bother

In 2007 I wrote about a site called Farecast.com that used past data to offer a prediction on whether airfares would rise or fall in the future. I even used it to book tickets a couple times. It was soon bought and absorbed by Bing Travel … [Read the rest]

Retirement Portfolio Spending Strategy – Withdrawal Order Flowchart

According to research from the Vanguard Group, another area where a skilled financial advisor is supposed to able to add value is helping retirees manage withdrawals from their portfolios in order to minimize taxes. According to their … [Read the rest]

How Good Portfolio Management Can Improve Real-World Returns

Vanguard has released a research paper called Putting a value on your value: Quantifying Vanguard Advisor's Alpha, which provides the data and methodology behind its previous statement that a good financial advisor should be able to affect the … [Read the rest]

Employer Health Insurance Wellness Programs: Helpful Feature or Profit Center?

Like many other folks, I have the majority of my health insurance premiums paid by my employer. I appreciate this and value it as part of my "total compensation" (a fact that they keep reminding me about). My employer and health insurance … [Read the rest]

Target Mobile Coupon Text Codes: $10 off $50 in Food Purchases & More

Attention Target shoppers... Target is offering some special coupons if you text specific messages to them at 827438 (TARGET). They'll reply with a link to a unique coupon code that you just show the cashier on your smartphone. This week there is a … [Read the rest]

Daycare Costs vs. In-State College Tuition

There are many articles about rising college tuitions and how to best save for college. But according a recent study, in 31 states the annual cost of day care for an infant exceeds the average cost of in-state tuition and fees at public colleges. … [Read the rest]

Vanguard Managed Payout Funds and Safe Withdrawal Rate Strategy

A key component of retirement planning is figuring out how to draw an income from all that money you've invested. "Create your own paycheck." The trick is figuring out how to take a stable amount out every year without running out of money. This … [Read the rest]

Free PDF of Rich Dad Poor Dad Book

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter is probably one of the most controversial best-selling personal finance books out there. Some people love it, others hate it. I am bringing this up because until 4/13 you can download a PDF … [Read the rest]

Free Starter Personal Finance Book: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly

William Bernstein, author of several books on investing, has recently released a short book targeted at giving young folks a primer on saving for retirement. The title is If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly (Amazon link for the … [Read the rest]

Free eBooks on Real Estate Investing and Renting Out Your House

BiggerPockets.com is a popular discussion forum for real estate investors. Founder Joshua Dorkin and Senior Editor Brandon Turner have also written a couple of books about the subject. For a limited time, they are free in Amazon Kindle format. … [Read the rest]