SoFi Blog is one of my favorite destinations for financial perspective. This recent post from Liz Young presents a pretty good view on the current housing sector challenges:
Continue reading →Housing amidst the wreckage
Author / Stuart
Surprising nobody
Ummm … is there anyone here?
I seem to have slipped on a timey-wimey banana peel and a whole year has passed. Whoopsy doodle.
For those of you out there who have been wondering WTF there is little to no good reason to offer. You know, stuff happens, we get distracted, some aces teevee show comes on and BANG you’ve left the oven on and now the roast is burning. Or something like that.
Continue reading →The Cash Reserve
Quite simply, a Cash Reserve is an amount of money set aside for a rainy day. Or a rainy year. Or years. You know, what we used to call “savings”. But Cash Reserve sounds so much more fancy so let’s call it that.
Continue reading →Gap Planning
Here’s a simple budget tool that you can apply all over the place. The first thing you need to do is measure your gap. The math is dead simple: subtract expenses from your income and the difference is your Gap.
Own Your Plan
Retirement plans are unique to individuals. Circumstances vary wildly, from financial position to personal goals to where you choose to live. So don’t think we think our plan will work for anyone other than us. To be honest, it’s a big assumption our plan will work at all 
I do have a core philosophy: own the plan. I get the temptation to “have a guy” that sorts it all out. There’s a ton of complexity, misinformation, and uncertainty. There’s no real way to know if you’ve got it figured out or if you’ve got it all wrong.
Continue reading →How To Make Your Money Last
This book is pretty foundational to our “own it” strategy. I found it to be full of good advice and demystified financial planning. The author is a financial journalist so the book is very approachable and even funny at times.
Inflation is a Risk
I’m fairly risk-adverse so it was a revelation when I realized how damaging inflation can be to any plan. The scary headline? Things that cost $100 today could cost twice that in 20 or 30 years!
Continue reading →Long Term Care Coverage: just “eeeeek”
Just attended a “webinar” this morning on long-term care (LTC) coverage planning. What’s that, you ask? Well, basically, it’s planning to pay for any kind of assisted living costs. And, trust me, you’re very likely to need a plan here.
Continue reading →How Does Social Security Work?
I’m really used to getting a paycheck. I’ve been working since I was 14 and truly value the security that comes from a regular income. The scariest thing about retirement (for me) was giving up that security. I’ve never been a very good saver; I’m more of a spender as it turns out. The idea of giving a paycheck up spooks the crap out of me.
Continue reading →
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