Dying without a will
Financial Planning
4

Dying Without a Will Could be Your Ultimate Horror Story

My first real encounter with death occurred while I was in Manila many years ago. I was riding a cab on my way to the City Hall when I was awakened from my short nap by the driver who was frantically exclaiming in Tagalog, “May tao, nasagasaan ng trak!” A man …

Net worth update
Financial Planning

Net Worth Update: Four Years Later

While this might come off weird for people outside the FI community, sharing our household net worth over the internet is a Labor Day tradition that I’ve observed since I started the blog four years ago. It’s all for transparency, accountability, and validation that the lessons I’ve been writing about …

Preparing for the invevitable: Death of a Loved One
Financial Planning
4

Preparing for the Inevitable: Death of a Loved One

Over the course of two weeks, I’ve learned several things that must be done when a family member is dying, which I plan to share in this post.

Net worth update
Financial Planning
4

The Road to Riches Starts Here: Track Your Net Worth

It may not be a surprise to my readers, but I have a confession to make. I’m obsessed with tracking our net worth. Every month, I update a spreadsheet to keep track of our numbers, in addition to logging into various sites that aggregate our financial data over the web. I’ve …

Net worth update
Financial Planning
2

Net Worth Update: Three Years Later (since I started the blog)

It’s Labor Day again. Do you know what that means? That means it’s time for me to share our net worth. Net worth reporting for Personal Finance bloggers is like show-and-tell in kindergarten except you’re not showing a toy— you’re showing a potentially embarrassing report card. I’m starting to doubt …

Don't let your American dream become a nightmare
American dream
2

Homeownership: Don’t Let Your American Dream Become a Nightmare

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can …

Suze Orman could be right
Financial Planning

Suze Orman Could be Right, This Calculator Can Tell You Why

If you’ve been following my posts, you probably know by now that this is not a FIRE (Financially Independent, Retire Early) blog. For one thing, I’m already in my forties when I wrote my first post.  There’s no way I could retire in my 30’s without sneaking into my sister’s time …

Net worth update
Financial Planning

Net Worth Update: Two Years Later

One reason why I share my net worth over Labor Day Weekend is that of something with symbolic importance. The holiday is meant to celebrate the achievements of American workers. To quote the U.S. Department of Labor, “a tribute to the contributions of workers have made to the strength,  prosperity, and well-being …

Achieving Financial Freedom through Investing
Financial Planning
9

How He Achieved Financial Freedom by Smart Investing

The term Financial Freedom is often used interchangeably with Financial Independence. But to me, there’s a subtle difference– Financial Freedom is a step higher than being financially independent. That’s when you can splurge on first-class airline tickets as opposed to traveling in coach, where strangers might end-up snoring on your …

Wealth By Virtue Book Cover
Books

Wealth by Virtue: a Book by Chad Gordon

Not long ago, I accepted an offer from a publisher to receive an advanced copy of Wealth by Virtue. Being a money nerd, I said yes, given that it came with a “no expectations and pester-free guarantee.” Even if the book turns out to be a dud, it could still …