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The Simple Dollar

Simple, applicable personal finance advice for the modern world.

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Latest Posts from The Simple Dollar (page 47)

Questions About Credit Scores, Account Security, Philosophy Books, TIPS, and More!

Published Monday, October 22, 2018 - 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. Divorce mediation difficulties 2. Importance of credit score? 3. Fearing money stolen from accounts? 4. Move to city or not? 5. GnuCash 6. “Bang for the buck” coat 7. Paid off student loans, then…? 8. […]

The Fight for the Right to Repair: Why It’s Getting Harder to Fix Your Own Stuff

Published Sunday, October 21, 2018 - 08:00 by The Simple Dollar

Major technology manufacturers have been making it increasingly difficult for the average person to repair the items they produce. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, it’s us consumers who demand every new generation of smartphone be faster and lighter than the last. That doesn’t happen by magic. […]

Connecting Money Management and Time Management

Published Saturday, October 20, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

I’m going to share the gist of a conversation I had with a reader a couple of weeks ago. […]

Friendships and the Financial Turnaround

Published Friday, October 19, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

Back when I was at the peak of my foolish spending days, I had a set of three good friends that I will call Manny, Moe, and Jack. The four of us got into a routine of going golfing after work at least once a week and golfing together each weekend. […]

Chase Travel Portal Moves to Expedia: Now What?

Published Friday, October 19, 2018 - 07:00 by The Simple Dollar

Chase Ultimate Rewards has long been considered one of the most valuable rewards currencies available, and for good reason. […]

Lifestyle Deflation and the ‘Low-Value’ Items in Your Life

Published Thursday, October 18, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

Over the past few months, Sarah and I have cut several expenses out of our lives. We eliminated our cable bill. We switched auto insurance after doing a bit of shopping around, cutting our premium nearly in half with no change in coverage. We cut out a couple of subscriptions that we weren’t getting any value out of. […]

How Delaying Retirement – Even by a Few Months – Can Help Erase a Savings Shortfall

Published Thursday, October 18, 2018 - 07:00 by The Simple Dollar

I’ve made my fair share of investment blunders, such as buying individual stocks at high prices and panic selling them at low prices. […]

Different People, Different Goals

Published Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

Simple Dollar reader Jennifer pointed me toward this discussion thread on LinkedIn, in which a big group of people are complaining about the idea of financial independence. The discussion starts off with this: Anyone else disagree with the constant “retire early” mindset? This dominates the retirement media newsfeed. […]

Credit FAQ: What’s the Difference Between a Charge-Off and a Collection?

Published Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - 07:00 by The Simple Dollar

The credit world is full of myths and misconceptions: Credit scores are used by employers. You only have one credit score. Closing credit card accounts can help your scores. All of these are demonstrably false, yet they seem to have a life of their own in the blogosphere. Another myth that has sprouted up recently has to do with charge-offs and collections. […]

How to ‘Front Load’ Your Financial Choices to Avoid the Impact of Decision Fatigue

Published Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

One simple phenomenon I’ve noticed over the years when it comes to my worst spending choices and financial decisions is that my worst decisions always happen late in the day. […]