Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!Like everyone on the internet, for the last few days I’ve been following the fascinating and hilarious story of the little message board that made a small dent
Author: indyfinance
Good reasons to own bonds
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!For as long as I’ve been writing about money, I’ve been saying almost everybody owns too many bonds. My argument has nothing to do with “risk” or “volatility”
Understanding one (positive) nuance of the latest federal relief
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!One of the most immediate consequences of the laziness of finance and economics reporters is that they’re incapable of exerting themselves to understand any issue that doesn’t affect
How big a deal is reinvestment risk?
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!When financial professionals talk about investing, the conversation invariably turns to the question of “risks.” This is a term of art only vaguely related to its everyday meaning.
Is investment behavior “coaching” possible?
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Ever since I took my first job in college as a sandwich artist, I’ve been suspicious of the American reluctance to talk about money. The franchisee scumbag who hired me
Unreduced Social Security spousal and dependent benefits and the family maximum
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Last week I wrote about the way age differences can play an important role in thinking about the timing of Social Security old age benefit claims. Specifically, spouses need to
The spooky effects of age differences on Social Security benefits
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!I was skimming one of the interminable posts over at Michael Kitces’s Nerd’s Eye View blog by Jeff Levine and was struck by his description of a very
Modern economic growth (and personal finance)
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!I’ve recently started listening to a podcast about economic history called, fittingly, The Economic History Podcast, and the last episode on the “Great Divergence” was so interesting it
Cheap lessons
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!One of my favorite concepts to tell people about is “affordable luxuries,” the things that barely make a dent in your bank account but immediately spark joy: cheap
Personal finance during the plague: the lean months
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!A stylized fact about the course of the current pandemic is that while the economic impact was swift and severe, the effect on personal finances was muted by
Education, advice, and evasion
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!A few years ago I wrote about one of the curious fixations I observed among the wealthy denizens of the finance industry: the need for “personal finance” education.
Affordable Luxuries #2: Filters and Routers
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!After almost 6 months of working from home (i.e., bed) in a one-bedroom apartment, I’m about 95% of the way through a move to a preposterously decadent two-bedroom
Three questions to ask as the unemployment insurance fight enters its (abbreviated) endgame
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!Back in April I wrote an overview of the state of the federal pandemic response, and said (optimistically, I thought), of expanded unemployed insurance benefits that,
“What happens next
Did the Paycheck Protection Program fail, and if so, why?
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!While billions of dollars remain available to fund new Paycheck Protection Program loans, and some banks continue to accept applications, at this point it’s fair to say that
Checking back in on the Long Game savings app
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!Several years ago there was a brief flurry of online interest in an app called “Long Game.” The flurry of online interest was presumably because of the easy
Some time-sensitive thoughts on fall higher education enrollment
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!Long-time readers know that one of my earliest recurring themes here on the blog was techniques to bring down the cost of higher education. Not by “applying for
Five profitable things to do with low-interest loans
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!I’ve written many times about my fondness for low-interest, and especially low-fee, balance transfer and cash advance credit cards, which allow consumers to borrow large — sometimes very
Mass death is a supply shock, too
Become a Patron!It became fashionable in the 20th century to distinguish between two kinds of sudden changes, or “shocks” that could impact an economy, for better or worse: demand-side shocks
Read MoreThoughts on receiving both EIDL and PPP loans
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!Last week I wrote about my successful Economic Injury Disaster Loan experience, and mentioned in passing “the programs [EIDL and PPP] are very different, and while not technically
My Unemployment Insurance Saga, or, Not All Heroes Wear Capes
Written by indyfinance @ Saverocity
Become a Patron!This is a post I’ve been looking forward to writing for 7 weeks, and had started to give up hope I’d ever be able to publish: today I