You’ve probably forgotten about this, but when you signed up for this Budgets newsletter, you were asked, “How did you come across this blog?” All the answers get emailed to me, and I read them to learn how people find the website. The most common replies are things like, “I was searching for free budget templates” or “I heard about your blog from xyz podcast.” Not
Dollar Cost Averaging vs Lump Sum Investing (What to Do With a Pile of Cash)
A friend of mine just admitted to me a big money problem… She has a little over $200,000 in CASH sitting in her checking account! 😳 Hot dang! That’s a lot of moolah!!! Some of you might be thinking, “What’s the problem? That’s awesome! I wish I had that much in savings!”... Well, the problem is, her money isn’t actually invested in anything. It has wicked
How Covid Is Changing Americans’ Retirement Plans
Happy Monday! Who’s ready for kick-ass week? 🙋🏼♀️🙋🏽🙋♂️ I’ve been reading a survey conducted by our friends over at Personal Capital that reveals some interesting info about how covid has affected people’s retirement plans. Some of the results are a little scary (like ~30% of people tapped
How Big Should an Emergency Fund for a Rental Property Be?
I got the following note from a reader the other day... “Joel, I noticed you keep a big emergency fund for your rental property. 2 questions for you... 1) It seems like you have too much cash because shouldn’t you only need 3-6 months of mortgage payments as a cash reserve? 2) Also why do you keep this emergency fund separate from your personal emergency fund?” Great
HM Bradley: A 3% Interest Checking Account Based on your Savings Rate
I just learned about a cool new bank that some of you nerds might like. It could be a great tool if you are currently building up an emergency fund, saving up a down payment for a house, OR, if you want to earn a decent interest rate on an existing pile of cash! This bank is called HMBradley, and they offer a 3% interest rate on regular checking accounts. Pretty dang
