What Goody Are You Willing to Give Up?

Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. —John F. Kennedy In twenty-one years of government employment, I contributed less than $10,000 to my pension. Starting last October, I began collecting that pension. Twenty thousand smackeroonies a year until Mrs. Groovy dies (Mrs. G decided she’s exiting …

Crap! Jacob Over at Early Retirement Extreme Stole My Thunder

Oh, crap! I went to Rockstar Finance the other day and saw a featured post called, “Man Saves Thousands of Dollars Just By Thinking.” The post was written by Jacob over at Early Retirement Extreme, and it’s a gem. Here, for example, is an excerpt from one of his post’s fledgling thinkers describing how transformative …

Paul McCartney Wrote Some Crappy Music: More Trash-Talking from Mr. Groovy

Someone’s knockin’ at the door Somebody’s ringin’ the bell Someone’s knockin’ at the door Somebody’s ringin’ the bell Do me a favor Open the door and let ’em in For the Millennials out there, these are the opening lyrics to a song written by Paul McCartney called Let ’em In. Mrs. Groovy and I heard …

There Is No Excuse for Being a Financial Moron

Prior to my fortieth birthday (I’m 55 now), I was a financial moron. I wasn’t good at making money, and I wasn’t good at saving money. My financial IQ was appalling. Rudimentary financial concepts such as “pay yourself first,” “build an emergency fund,” “automate your savings,” and “invest in low-cost index funds” were utterly alien. …

Nine Things Not To Do When Your Financial Margin Of Error Is Razor Thin

I’ll never forget this one particular revelation I had in college on a particular Saturday night. I was in a bar, but I wasn’t drunk. And everyone was going nuts. And I remember peering at the alcohol-fueled frenzy unfolding before me and asking, “Where are all the Asian college kids?” After all, Buffalo University was …