Home › The Simple Dollar

The Simple Dollar

Simple, applicable personal finance advice for the modern world.

Profile of The Simple Dollar

Latest Posts from The Simple Dollar (page 28)

The Refreshed Citi Prestige® Credit Card Is Better than Ever

Published Thursday, February 28, 2019 - 16:45 by The Simple Dollar

The credit card industry has been more competitive than ever the last few years, leading card issuers like Chase, American Express, and Citi to come up with new offerings and spice up old ones. […]

Do You Save Money By Making Your Own…

Published Thursday, February 28, 2019 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

One fairly common question I see from readers is whether or not making something on your own is cheaper than buying it in the store. First of all, most of the things you make at home actually compare in terms of quality with a fairly high end version of that item in the store. Homemade bread is going to be far better than the cheapest store bread. […]

Money and the Music of Life

Published Wednesday, February 27, 2019 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

Spend five minutes or so watching this great YouTube video, which animates a wonderful short speech by Alan Watts: Here’s a transcript, to the best of my ability: Existence, the physical universe, is basically playful. There is no necessity for it whatsoever. It isn’t going anywhere. That is to say it doesn’t have some destination that it ought to arrive at. […]

Funny Money: Gaby Dunn on Getting Your Financial Act Together

Published Wednesday, February 27, 2019 - 07:00 by The Simple Dollar

New York Times bestselling author and comedian Gaby Dunn talks a lot about money. But not because she’s good with it. She’s the host of the popular Bad With Money podcast, with topics like “Who Can Afford to Have Sex? […]

Things

Published Tuesday, February 26, 2019 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been moving my office to another room in the house. That’s involved setting up a desk and installing shelves in the new room and then gradually moving all of the stuff from my old office into the new office space (which is actually a corner in a multi-use room). […]

Car Insurance Rates Are Up – Here Are Eight Ways to Get Yours Back Down

Published Tuesday, February 26, 2019 - 08:00 by The Simple Dollar

It’s not your imagination: Auto insurance premiums are jumping higher each year. On average nationwide, car insurance rates rose 23 percent between 2011 and 2018. State-by-state, the numbers look even worse. In 15 states, the increase was anywhere from 40 percent to 78 percent, according a 2019 study from TheZebra.com. That’s the bad news. The good news? […]

Questions About 529 Excess, Multiple Roth IRAs, Cord Cutting Football, and More!

Published Monday, February 25, 2019 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Emergency fund before home purchase 2. Money doesn’t buy happiness 3. Post-college money in 529 4. Living closer to work? 5. Don’t like slow cooker food 6. Parents afraid to use 401(k) 7. […]

Should Women Be Investing Differently Than Men?

Published Monday, February 25, 2019 - 08:00 by The Simple Dollar

There appears to be some debate among financial advisors about whether women need to invest any differently than men, simply because they’re women. The notion that one’s gender might factor into their investment strategy is based on various realities women face, including that, on average, women live longer than men, make less money, and typically spend fewer years in the workforce (which results […]

You Need at Least Two Credit Cards. Here’s Why.

Published Sunday, February 24, 2019 - 09:00 by The Simple Dollar

I got mugged on my way to the first-ever Financial Blogger Conference. The thieves got my wallet, which contained a credit card and some cash. But not all of my cash, or all of my cards. After reporting the crime and calling the card issuer, I was able to get myself to the airport and fly to the conference. […]

The Road to the Fortress of Solitude

Published Saturday, February 23, 2019 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

A few years ago, a movie called The Gambler came out, starring Mark Wahlberg. It was a decent movie – I’m not here to do movie reviews – but there was one portion in the middle where a minor character played by John Goodman gives a monologue about what a person should do if they find themselves up a couple of million dollars. Here’s that speech, but be aware – it’s full of adult language. […]