The Simple Dollar

Simple, applicable personal finance advice for the modern world.

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Latest Posts from The Simple Dollar (page 62)

Required Minimum Distributions: What They Are and How to Factor Them Into Your Retirement Planning

Required minimum distributions – or RMDs for short – definitely aren’t the sexiest investment topic. They’re dry, technical, and a long ways off for many people. But if the goal of your retirement plan is for you to have enough money to do the things you want and need to do, then RMDs are an important concept to understand. […]

This Is Why I Can’t Have Nice Things: Life Is Easier Without Them

Recently, my husband’s red Prius took a real beating on its left end side. We were at the grocery store, of course, when a little old lady’s cart blew from the corral she had just pushed it into across the parking lot at record speed. It was coming straight for us while we unloaded our groceries in the back, and I did my best to stop it. […]

How to Stop Worrying About What Other People Think

The single most powerful book on personal finance I’ve ever read is Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. I read it at my lowest point financially and it altered my perspective on personal finance more than any other book. […]

Handling Guilt After a Big Purchase

In this past Monday’s reader mailbag, I gave a brief answer to a question about an expensive watch purchase; you can go back and read my original answer here. That question, asked by a reader named Gerald, has stuck with me all week. […]

The Wisdom of Frugality: The Pros and Cons of Extravagance

This is the fifth entry in an eight-part weekly series that provides a detailed look at the book The Wisdom of Frugality by Emrys Westacott. If you’re new to the series, feel free to hop back to the first entry. What is extravagance? Westacott boils down the term to three distinct meanings. First, extravagance can refer to living beyond one’s means. […]

Do Student Loans Help or Hurt Your Credit Scores?

Preparing for college is hard work. You study diligently for the SAT or ACT. You earn the best grades possible so you look good on college applications. […]

Strategies for Fighting Frugality Fatigue

While there is no such thing as a “magic formula” for building wealth, living below your means is by far the closest thing. When you spend less than you earn and save the rest, you will build wealth — and savings — by default. […]

The ‘Butterfly Effect’ of Our Financial Decisions

The “butterfly effect” refers to the metaphorical idea that a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the world can, through a series of chain reactions, cause a hurricane thousands of miles away. I recently learned that the metaphor has its roots in chaos theory, which is an area of study that tries to work out how complex systems work. […]

The Risks of Everyday Life

My oldest son’s best friend very suddenly came down with a serious illness a couple of weeks ago. He has been in the hospital ever since, dealing with a surgery and then a number of post-surgery complications. I don’t even want to speculate as to what their medical bills will look like, even with good insurance. At the same exact time, another friend of mine abruptly lost his job. […]