Managing Money
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Is it Worth Opening a Credit Card Just For the Bonus?
Over the past several years, my interest in credit card rewards has grown tremendously. As this has happened, I’ve also backtracked on a couple of positions I held earlier on. A key example of this evolution is how I went from thinking I’d never want a credit card that charged an annual fee to applying…
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A Crash Course in Starting and Growing Your Retirement Savings
Between the different accounts, contribution limits, taxes, and more, there’s a lot of confusion that surrounds retirement savings. However, when you break things down, it’s really not all that complicated. In fact, you can start saving for retirement with just a few dollars and grow it into something much more sustainable by the time you…
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The Lucrative Amex Offers I’ve Used So Far ($800+)
It’s now been about a year and a half since I took the plunge and decided to apply for the Platinum Card from American Express. Since then, I’ve been making use of plenty of the card’s perks, from the included credits to the hotel status and airport lounge access — in addition to some of…
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5 Tax Time Retirement Savings Options You Should Know About
With Tax Day 2018 just around the corner, now is the perfect time to consider your retirement savings options. In fact, in some cases, there may still be time to take advantage of the tax benefits these accounts offer in a bid to reduce your 2017 tax bill.
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The Hassles of Moving: What We Did Right and What I’d Change Next Time
It’s now been six full years since my wife and I moved to Springfield, Missouri — a place neither of us had been to before we decided to relocate. In that time, we’ve lived in just one apartment, which also happened to be the only apartment we viewed during our exploratory visit to SGF in…
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Packing and Tossing: Decluttering as We Prepare to Move
A couple of weeks ago, I shared that my wife and I would be moving to a new apartment next month. While this move marks an upgrade for us, it’s also a downsize as we’ll be going to a one-bedroom unit from our current two-bedroom floorplan. Because of this, as we’ve been getting an early…
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My Moving Dilemma — Is it Still Downsizing if it Costs More?
Over the past several months, I’d imagine that most people have been spending a lot more time in their homes. In turn, I’d be willing to bet that little things that may have only slightly irked them about their abodes previously have since been upgraded to full-on annoyances. That’s kind of been the case for…
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Money at 35: Assessing and Appreciating My Financial Life
Yesterday, I turned 35 years old. I find this significant for a couple of reasons. First, it means that I’ve advanced to yet another box on most demographic surveys. Second, and likely more importantly, it means I’m now halfway to aging out of this website moniker! Kidding aside, this minor milestone comes at a time…
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My 2021 Goals — Personal, Professional, and Money
Welcome to 2021 — it doesn’t seem that different, does it? Half-jokes aside, while the ghost of 2020 continues to haunt the start of this year, there is some hope on the horizon. And now that the year is officially underway, I figured it was time to share some of what I hope to accomplish…
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10 Shopping Tools to Try This Holiday Season (and Every Day)
What’s that sound I hear? Could it be jingle bells? Nope, sorry — it’s just the sound of cash registers scanning away as the holiday shopping season is officially upon us. Given the current circumstances, fewer people are cruising around town looking for deals and are, instead, doing the majority of their shopping online. Luckily,…
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5 Ways to Be More Generous (When You Can)
In the past, I’ve covered all kinds of what I call “money milestones” on this site. These range from having an emergency fund to starting investing, to buying a house and beyond. However, perhaps one of the biggest money milestones is having the means to be generous. Given the rough year that nearly all of…
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The Top 3 Banking Accounts Options I’m Currently Keeping My Cash In
As I’ve bemoaned several times on this site before, I have too many bank accounts. That’s because, when I review these products for Dyer News, I like to get hands on and really test them out for myself — not to mention keep up with the numerous updates. Truth be told, I actually don’t mind…