I suspect most of our readers know of the FIRE acronym - Financial Independence, Retire Early. I came across a recent Pew Research report that discussed how the age of young adults reaching financial independence from their parents is shifting later, so thought this week's...
Managing money often means juggling competing priorities—giving generously, saving for retirement, helping our kids with college, paying down the mortgage—all while trying to create meaningful experiences along the way. My wife, Crystal, and I strive to be intentional about where our money goes, but it’s...
It's no secret that Social Security is in trouble. For years, the annual report prepared by the Board of Trustees for the Federal OASDI (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) program has warned us that the trust fund that bridges the gap between benefits paid...
Having never been on a pair of skis in my life, I did not realize until reading an article in Bloomberg this week what dominant forces the "Epic Pass" and "Ikon Pass" are in that world. Products of Vail Resorts, Inc. and Alterra Mountain Co.,...
Several years ago, I wrote about how we canceled our Amazon Prime membership. The decision was less about whether the cost of Prime fit into our family’s budget and was more about whether we were paying for a service that didn’t actually benefit us. It’s...
Tax season is upon us once again! The Internal Revenue Service recently announced that the 2024 tax filing season will officially begin on Monday, January 27, with returns due on April 15. On that Monday, the IRS will start accepting 2024 tax returns, marking the...
Waiting has been on my mind a lot over the holiday season. There’s the waiting of children as they see their presents under the Christmas tree, but have to wait to see what’s inside. There’s seemingly waiting everywhere you go this time of year -...
Twas the week before ChristmasAnd almost year-endAll the money’s been earnedAnd most of it spentWhere did it go, and what did it do?Who did you bless, and who did you…not?Did it move with a purposeAnd fit in the plotOr wander and sputter orWither and rot? Did...
We are close to year-end so we wanted to provide an update on 2025 tax brackets, Social Security benefits, and retirement plan contribution amounts. In addition, certain provisions of the SECURE Act 2.0 take effect next year so be sure to read to the end...
Several years ago, Spotify started a viral marketing campaign which provided music streamers with a nicely packaged summary of their year in music listening. 2024 Spotify Wrapped was released earlier this week so you may have been inundated with people sharing their personalized results. ...
