Not every day do you see someone being gifted with a brand new car. You only see it in commercials— the husband brings his blindfolded wife to the garage, and carefully removes her blindfold to the sight of a shiny new vehicle. She then jumps up and down hysterically in joy before kissing him until he can’t breathe.

Yesterday, I received a vishing (i.e., voice phishing) call supposedly from one of my banks in which I have an account with: This is a call from Chase National Bank. We’re seeing unusual activity in your account. We need to talk to you as soon as possible. Again, it’s imperative …

What’s the best way to know if you’re an introvert? Attend a conference where you absolutely don’t know anyone. If you find yourself wishing you’ve gone fishing instead as soon as you hop out of your hotel room, you are one! Fortunately, I know myself enough to overcome that feeling. …

Ask any successful investor not named Warren Buffett their secrets for minimizing risk, and they will tell you it’s diversification. Not putting all your eggs in one basket is essential for preserving both your wealth and your sanity. Whenever I pack for a trip abroad, for example, I always make …

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 …

August 21st marks my third anniversary of blogging at MB-50. Still going strong after publishing over 80 articles or about two posts per month with occasional guest posts from interesting people here and there. It’s been a pleasure serving you. It has been said that it takes three years to …

Paying down your mortgage when you have an ultra-low interest rate is unpopular among many investing geniuses because the stock market has historically returned around 12%. The typical advice goes like this: “Your 3% mortgage is cheap money. Put your money on investments that will make you more money!” In …

One of the financial concerns of every couple is saving for their kid’s college education. Some end up making excuses why they shouldn’t, among them: You cannot borrow for retirement, but you can borrow for college. It promotes responsibility– they’ll work harder academically. I don’t have much money left after …

Ever wonder how long it takes to save a million dollars? The short answer is it depends how much you can save each month and how well your investment performs. Admittedly, one million dollars is not what it used to be, thanks to inflation. But it’s still a reasonable goal …

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 …