Always Use Limit Orders, Since Your Market Orders Just Become Bad Limit Orders Anyway

I don't know how everyone else does this, but whenever I buy shares of an ETF for my portfolio, I always use a limit order. But it's usually a "lazy" limit order, because I am just aiming to buy immediately at roughly the market price and the limit … [Read the rest]

Paper US Savings Bonds with Federal Tax Returns Eliminated

Goodbye, physical US savings bonds! Per this TreasuryDirect announcement, the US Treasury will no longer allow to you to buy an additional $5,000 in paper Series I savings bonds each year with your tax refund, effective January 1st, 2025. (If you … [Read the rest]

DirecTV and Disney Dispute: Request $30 Service Credit

If you have DirecTV and are affected by their failed contract negotiations and subsequent loss of ESPN and other Disney-owned channels, they are quietly offering a $30 bill credit, supposedly enough such you can sign up for Sling TV via this special … [Read the rest]

Stock Valuation Methods – Are They Historically High in 2024?

US stock returns have been doing quite well, and my brokerage statement numbers keep going up. Should I be worried? Here are some ways that people try to measure whether stock valuations are cheap or expensive, along with some current numbers as … [Read the rest]

Acknowledging Our Feelings About Stock Market Wobbles

I read far too many parenting books, and now I know it is important to acknowledge our feelings. That doesn't mean we can respond however we want, be we should be conscious and identify the feelings when they arrive. Adults could extend this the … [Read the rest]

Mint Mobile Security: Improve Login Security with Authenticator Apps & Number Lock

I still use Mint Mobile for cell service, now paying $240 a year ($20 a month) for 15 GB of data each month. (There is usually a promo for new customers, I think 3 months free if you buy 3 months.) I upgraded from the lower 5GB tier in order to let … [Read the rest]

Morningstar Target Date Retirement Fund Report 2024: Highlights for DIY Investors

Morningstar recently released its 2024 Target-Date Strategy Landscape Report (free download with e-mail address). This is mostly targeted at industry professionals as opposed to individual investors, but I still like to read through it each year. … [Read the rest]

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card Review: 90,000 Bonus Points worth $1,125 Towards Travel

Business credit cards can be used by self-employed or side-gig workers with eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Uber/Lyft, DoorDash/Grubhub, Adsense or other 1099 income that make you a sole proprietorship. The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has an improved … [Read the rest]

Berkshire Hathaway Asset Allocation: What’s Inside a Share of BRK.B?

Whether you are a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder or just curious about what Warren Buffett's "masterpiece" looks like today, here is an interesting graphic from Sherwood News. Essentially, this is the asset allocation of BRK.B, broken down into … [Read the rest]

Why I Finally Froze All of My Credit Reports

For the first time in forever, I have frozen all of my credit reports at the three major credit bureaus (Equifax Freeze, Experian Freeze, TransUnion Freeze). The balance between the guaranteed hassle of maintaining a credit freeze and the potential … [Read the rest]

Savings Bonds: Converting Paper to Electronic at TreasuryDirect (My Experience)

After dealing with the estate of a family member, I saw firsthand the benefits of simplifying my financial situation. (They need a better term than "death cleaning".) If not for me as I get older, definitely for my wife and/or kids in the future. … [Read the rest]

Huge NPD Data Breach: Check If Your Social Security Number is Leaked

Could this be the biggest data breach ever? National Public Data (NPD), a background check company, was hacked in December 2023 and they finally admitted to have exposed the full Social Security Numbers from nearly everyone in the United States … [Read the rest]