Marriage. Even in the best of times marriage isn’t easy. With divorce statistics in the U.S. stating that 41% of first marriages and 60% of second marriages end in divorce, the prospect of financial destruction due to divorce is a very real risk for those on the path to Financial Independence. Even for couples that have already reached FI…
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Another month is done, and it’s time for another monthly financial check-up! For most families, when the “Holiday Season” starts, expenses also begin their seasonal increase. Usually this happens due to an increase in partying, gift giving associated with the holidays, and the seasonal cooling of the weather…
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To a certain extent, investors like myself desire to see a steadily rising net worth. Up and only up please! Unfortunately, life and the stock market don’t always comply with what I want them to do.
There will be years where the market is down, and weeks when more cash flows out than flows in. So how do I know I’m actually building wealth?
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As the author of a blog, I get a lot of feedback about our lifestyle. Some people say terrible things, but the vast majority of commenters are kind, well-adjusted humans that don’t mind taking a peek into the life of a family that lives a little differently…
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Every year around this time I write a blog post where I rant and rave about the excessively high cost of this year’s new smartphones. I called these posts “Phoning It In” and did one for both 2016 and 2017.
The even higher cost of this year’s phones still bothers me, but this year I’ve decided to do something a little different…
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Let me just start this post by saying, “I really dislike buying sauce packets.” Sure, they’re convenient and can help make a tasty meal, but they’re also really expensive for what you get. Use of commercially made sauce packages can easily double the cost of a home cooked meal.
They’re also loaded with preservatives, food coloring, fillers, and tons of ingredients I would never willingly put into my mouth if I had a choice…
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Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the financial lessons that I’m going to hand down to my kids. They’re finally getting old enough to where they understand how to count and use money. They’ve also reached the age where they’re constantly asking me to buy stuff.
For example, I recently had this charming conversation…
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After a long hot summer in the Pacific Northwest, the clouds, rain, and cool weather are officially back. This means the Tako family’s expenses begin their seasonal increase as the garden now produces fewer vegetables, and our heating costs grow to match the falling temperatures.
It was a golden summer (probably one of the warmest in recent memory) and I spent a lot of quality time with the kids…
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Crash! That was the noise Mrs. Tako and I heard one fateful day. The loud crashing noise came from our kitchen, but it wasn’t immediately evident what had happened.
At first glance the kitchen looked fine. No pots and pans out of place, no fires, and nothing on the floor. Everything looked completely normal… until we opened the pantry.
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