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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 55)

Income Share Agreements: A Fairer Way to Pay for College, or a New Debt Trap?

Published Tuesday, September 4, 2018 - 07:00 by The Simple Dollar

New York University recently made headlines with its bold announcement that it will offer free tuition for all medical students. The school intends to begin covering the tuition of such students regardless of merit or need, because it’s concerned about the “overwhelming financial debt” graduates are saddled with. The move was lauded as a step in the right direction at a time when the cost of atten […]

Questions About Sabbaticals, Side Gigs, iPad Uses, and More!

Published Monday, September 3, 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. Afraid to invest in 401(k) 2. Cutting off child 3. Musings on a difficult house 4. Sabbatical and job risk? 5. Sharing Simple Dollar information 6. NY Times on early retirement 7. […]

Seven Renovations That Could Backfire and Hurt Your Home’s Value

Published Sunday, September 2, 2018 - 08:00 by The Simple Dollar

If you live in an area where homes are selling like hot cakes, you may be feeling exceptionally confident in the value of your property. And as a result, you may be considering a home upgrade you’ve been dreaming of for years. Perhaps you want to add a pool, or maybe you want to add more square footage to your home. […]

Inspiration from Yo-Yo Ma, Benjamin Franklin, Brene Brown, and More

Published Saturday, September 1, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

Once a month (or so), I share a dozen things that have inspired me to greater personal, professional, and financial success in my life. I hope they bring similar success to your life. 1. Mark Epstein on talking to your past self “It’s one of my theories that when people give you advice, they’re really just talking to themselves in the past.” — Mark Epstein I can certainly vouch for this. […]

When Is It Time? (and Other Hard Questions About Retirement)

Published Friday, August 31, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

Jim writes in: How do you know when it is time to retire? Also how should you invest in retirement? Advice seems to be to go more conservative with investments but what if you’re retired for a long time? Jim is actually an old friend of mine who has read The Simple Dollar almost since its inception. […]

My Home and Auto Maintenance Checklist

Published Thursday, August 30, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

One of my earliest popular posts on The Simple Dollar was a home and auto maintenance checklist that I put together with the help of my parents shortly after moving into our house and becoming a homeowner for the first time. […]

The Perfect Credit Score (and Why You Shouldn’t Obsess Over It)

Published Thursday, August 30, 2018 - 07:00 by The Simple Dollar

Working hard to earn and maintain excellent credit scores is certainly worth your time. Your credit scores impact your bottom line in many different ways, from the mortgage rates you receive to your car insurance premiums to the deposit requirements you’ll pay. […]

Teaching Children About Compound Interest

Published Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

One of the ideas that I’ve really been struggling with in terms of teaching my kids about money is the power of compound interest. They understand the value of not spending money and saving it for the future. […]

Are Coupon Books Worth the Price? It Depends on How (and If) You Use Them

Published Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - 07:00 by The Simple Dollar

Coupon books are almost an afterthought at this point: Low-tech, bulky, burdened with an up-front cost. But as consumers have learned after years of flash deals, Groupon, LivingSocial, and other discounting experiments, discounts are only worthwhile if they’re worth something to the consumer. More than a decade ago, TSD founder Trent Hamm quickly reached the conclusion that coupon books like the “ […]

Ten Financial Lessons This Summer Taught Me

Published Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

The past few months have been extremely topsy turvy in terms of finances for us. We replaced one of our vehicles. We went on a long-planned and fairly expensive family vacation. We did a bunch of smaller home repairs and did all of the planning for some home improvement projects (which are ongoing as I type this). […]