Another month is done, and fall in the Pacific Northwest is well underway! That means it’s time for another monthly financial write-up!
October was a super busy month for the Tako family — filled with rain, dinner parties, Halloween festivities, school activities, flu shots, and the annual fall clean-up of our yard/garden.
We spent October very close to home, but I wouldn’t have it any other way…
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Kids these days have it easy. My son recently started kindergarten, and I’ve had the opportunity to observe both the parent and the youngling forms of the typical human family unit up-close and personal.
The kids that go to my son’s school have it really good…
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This is a post about cash. As in cash that’s waiting to be invested. The Tako family keeps our cash mainly in taxable money market accounts, and that cash pile has grown considerably over the last half decade.
How big of a cash pile am I talking about? Read on to find out just how big…
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I’d like to nickname this October’s Investing Ideas the “falling knife” edition. A new bear market may have finally begun. Why do I think this? My stock screens have been a sea of red the last couple of weeks, with values falling far from the high-water marks.
While a bear market is not necessarily bad thing, investing when 12 of the last 14 days have been negative feels a lot like trying to catching a “falling knife”…
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Stock market volatility is on the rise! At least it seems that way. The last couple of weeks have seen some series whiplash inducing stock market moves, both in the positive and negative direction.
Large enough and violent enough moves to put fear into the heart of almost any investor…
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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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In a stunning piece of news, I recently learned that a pillar of our little FIRE community has died. This individual died a tragic death doing what he loved the most… cruising and enjoying a life of financial independence.
Out of respect for the family, this news has been kept very quiet, but I thought the entire FIRE community deserved to know the details…
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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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