In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, I’ve heard a lot of people (including my capitalist friends) villainize businesses that raised their prices during the storm. I even came across a picture someone posted suggesting all businesses that raised their prices should be shut down (although it’s buried in Facebook history now). The general disdain and […]

My friends told me about this ‘great’ app they found called Acorns back in early 2017. They mentioned how great it was that the program rounds up all of their credit card purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the change. My first question was something along the lines of why not just put the […]

If you’re a U.S. federal employee (including the DOD), you are probably eligible to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). If you’re not sure, check your eligibility here or with your personnel office. Most people don’t take full advantage of this program and it’s a crying shame. I myself didn’t start until about 4 […]

I bought my first stock in late 2013 (2 years after I finished college). Up until that point, all of my investment money was going into mutual funds. My bank and broker (then, USAA) would stop by Ohio State each year and impress upon students the importance of investing early and how easy it was […]

A lot of people think that they can afford something if they can take it home from the store without stealing it. Sure, you can buy it, but can you afford it? This distinction is exactly what lands so many people in credit card debt. If you need to make the minimum payments on your […]

It’s never too early to start planning for your retirement. I have friends who are 8 years into their professional careers and have not put more than a few thousand dollars towards their retirement. They live pay check to pay check despite making over $70,000 each year with none (or very little) of that money […]

Stock options may sound scary and complicated, but they don’t have to be. What if I told you that you could make over 12% of the equity you have in a stock every year without the price of the stock ever changing? That would outperform most mutual funds! All you have to do is have […]

Statistics don’t lie; people using statistics lie. People can turn and twist numbers to tell whatever story they want. They do it for profit, marketing, perception, and a wide array of other reasons. Ultimately, it’s up to us to decipher what we’re being told and educate ourselves. But why is this important? As both a […]

1. First, Count What You Normally Spend Making a budget doesn’t have to start with you figuring out how much money you should spend on food, drugs, alcohol, and clothing. I have seen plenty of attempts at budgeting fail because the person making it wasn’t realistic about where his/her money was going to go. Before […]

Supply and demand. That’s what everyone has told us growing up. If the demand for a stock goes up, the price will go up, right? That is pretty true, but it’s not like someone at the New York Stock Exchange is shouting, “More people want $TSLA! Raise the price to $350!” No overseeing body is […]