You are here: Home
Save Money on Gas

Pay Less at the Gas Pump This Summer

By on April 30, 2013 in Spending

Summer is approaching, and that means many Americans are making vacation plans. Parents of triplets and other large broods may not all be excited about trekking across the country with the kids in tow, but some of us enjoy a good old-fashioned road trip. Others of us also would rather not pay for five airplane [...]

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Next Generation Debt (Hint: It’s Decreasing)

By on March 29, 2013 in Debt

Several recent posts have talked about the nature of consumer debt in America.  Although older generations have recently added debt, a new article in the Wall Street Journal highlights the character of debt carried by young adults.  The good news?  It’s decreasing. (Note:  the article is subscription-only, but click the graphic and you’ll get the [...]

Read full story • Comments { 0 }
Rolling Stones

Mick Jagger Guards Against Economic Outpatient Care

By on March 26, 2013 in Spending

Mick Jagger may have some sound financial planning advice for you and your family. That may sound odd, so let me start with some background.  I’ve been a reader my whole life.  Between non-fiction and fiction, I easily read a book each week, and I’m sure I end up reading somewhere between 50 and 100 [...]

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Debt, American Style

By on March 8, 2013 in Debt

American consumer debt…what does it look like? The Wall Street Journal recently ran an interesting article titled 12 Debt Myths That Trip Up Consumers. While I intend to cover a couple of those myths in separate blog posts, the article included an infographic summarizing the nature of consumer debt in America. Definitely worth sharing.  Note [...]

Read full story • Comments { 1 }

Debt Myth: You Don’t Qualify for Student Loans

By on March 5, 2013 in College Planning, Debt

Do you qualify for Federal student loans? It’s not Breaking News that a college education is expensive and getting moreso at a rate that exceeds the inflation rate.  If you’re a parent of twins or triplets, so much the worse. How that education gets paid depends on personal values, income and assets, among other things. [...]

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

When Is the Best Time to Buy Something?

By on March 1, 2013 in Spending

Some very handy information from Mint.com and LifeHacker.

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Stuff My Triplets Say – Press Releases

By on February 25, 2013 in Triplets and Twins

Several years ago, when my kids were in Kindergarten, my middle triplet decided to offer his advice on the subject of a press release I was writing. I believe it was on the topic of a new certification I had been granted. The conversation went something like this: Me (to my wife): “Honey, I need some [...]

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Can You Live by the 30% Rule?

By on February 22, 2013 in Real Estate

When I was a student at Indiana University, I worked as an analyst in IU’s Center for Real Estate Studies. I didn’t get rich, but it was a cool college job.  Much of my effort was directed at producing the Housing Affordability Index for the state of Indiana. (In a somewhat related side note, Indianapolis was [...]

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

The Easier It Is, the More We Spend

By on February 12, 2013 in Debt, Spending

The research is pretty unambiguous – the average consumer spends more when using a credit card than when paying cash. This probably makes sense to most of us on an intuitive level, but it may seem like the gap would be small.  Furthermore, credit cards have some definite benefits over our traditional transaction mechanism, cash. [...]

Read full story • Comments { 2 }

When the Structure Breaks Down

By on January 28, 2013 in Investing

The free fall in Apple’s share price has been documented ad nauseam by the financial media in recent weeks.  But how has it impacted fixed income investors? This weekend’s Wall Street Journal (subscribers) features an interesting case study that details how investors in income-generating “structured products” fared poorly by investing in products that are linked to Apple’s stock [...]

Read full story • Comments { 0 }