The Simple Dollar

I’m a big fan of using the 30-day challenge to try out a particular daily routine or behavioral change in my life. It’s a big part of how I view life as being something of an experiment, one in which you’re constantly adjusting and trying new things. […]

During the height of my three-year battle with breast cancer, a diagnosis that required one dozen surgical procedures, eight months of chemotherapy, and eight weeks of radiation treatment five days a week, I was scraping to get by on disability payments and whatever odd jobs I completed when my energy allowed. Needless to say, I wasn’t saving a dime for retirement during those three years (which i […]

Whether I’m opening an IRA, brokerage account, or 529 savings account, or I’m simply choosing investments within a 401(k) or other investment account, I have thus far exclusively chosen Vanguard for my personal investments and I almost always recommend that my clients use them as well. To be sure, I’d be perfectly comfortable using accounts and funds offered by plenty of other companies. […]

When Sarah and I first started our financial turnaround, our long-term goals were clear. First, we wanted to buy a decent house to raise our family in and do the best job we could raising our children with the values and skills needed to be independent. After that, we wanted to achieve our own financial independence as a couple as rapidly as possible. Over the last 12 years or so, since we reached […]