thefinancebrain-blog

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Since the bull market is so old, what are you doing to protect your investments in case there is a downturn in the stock market?

Since the bull market is so old, what are you doing to protect your investments in case there is a downturn in the stock market?

The question implies that the stock market has run up for too long and is bound to go down sharply. Stocks ultimately go up do to two major forces:

Supply/demand pressures. Will demand let up? I don’t see a reduction in that any time soon given continued buy backs by companies, strong corporate growth, and the bond yields that are equivalent to dividend yielding companies (eg bond rates are still…

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The Case For A Larger Taxable Portfolio Vs. Maxing Out Your 401k

The Case For A Larger Taxable Portfolio Vs. Maxing Out Your 401k

Oy – I Just Need More Money Then X is Easier

As I shared in my blog post Cash Flow Faucets – Your Paycheck – Lessons in Life Management– our family goal is always to have all faucets off to restrict my cash flow and force my family to live off less. What this has resulted in over the years is lower debt and most money in deferred tax accounts that I can’t reach easily and leaving us” without…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Debt Management Math - the Accelerator and the Destroyer of Wealth we all know in Action

Debt Management Math – the Accelerator and the Destroyer of Wealth we all know in Action

Debt

I have it and you likely have it to. Managing your debt load on your personal finances is something that always should receive attention to minimize your interest paid as well as risk of getting into serious financial trouble. This post summarizes some things I have learned over time a out managing our family’s debt.

Debt Is An Accelerator When Used Effectively

Being a finance professional…

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Short Term Portfolio Strategies For That Extra Cash - Diversification Strategies to Increase Yield of Your Short Term Portfolio

#buildthatbase #yieldstrategies #income #getrichfaster

I Have Some Extra Cash but… 2%.. eh?

Ok so you are in a spot to have extra cash to put into Emergency Funds or stash for a bit but you are unimpressed with the yield. What’s the best way to, relatively, safely increase the yield? The age old answer lies in… Diversification. Likely no surprise to many but how little risk you need to take to boost your yield was kind of surprising even to me.

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Tax Refund and Bonus Time - What to do With that Stack of Cash?

Tax Refund and Bonus Time - What to do With that Stack of Cash? #refundtime #extracash #personalfinance

What to Do With That Surge of Cash?

It’s that time of year again where a lot of people will be getting Tax Refunds and/or Bonuses from the prior year. When a lump sum comes in – you should be doing something smart with it. This post shares some simple spreadsheets that help cut through the noise from the numbers point of view and some reflections at the end.

If you are not getting a tax…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Tax Time - I Did My Taxes Already and Some Saving Links

Tax Time – I Did My Taxes Already and Some Saving Links

I Did My Taxes!

As I have long advocated in personal circles as well as on this site – I overwithhold my taxes. As a result – I file my taxes ASAP once I have all of my documents in hand… I’ll admit over the holiday break I download the software ahead of time and prep as many things as I can.

You can see my stance on over withholding here:The Case For Over Withholding on Your Taxes

Som…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

I'm Back For The New Year / Reflections on Blogging for the First Year

I’m Back For The New Year / Reflections on Blogging for the First Year

And I’m Back…

I was posting at least once a week throughout the end of 2018 but took a month off in January…. work was just a bit too crazy! I’ll be back in action with at least a post per week moving forward.

Reflections on Blogging for the First Year:

Setting up the blog was easier than I thought : See My Post on How to Start a Blog or eCommerce site

I am not going to make gobs and…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

The Case For Approaching Your Personal Finance Brain as a Finance Professional - Not An Accountant

#getrich #personalfinance #money The Case For Approaching Your Personal Finance Brain as a Finance Professional - Not An Accountant

It’s All About Mindset

As I talk to multiple people at work and in my neighborhood and read various blogs it constantly occurs to me that everyone seems to pride themselves on backward looking personal finance insights. I find all of this to be short sited and also a constant struggle I have with my team at work – to truly better your personal finances I encourage you to be a finance professional…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Controlling Your Finance Brain: The Concept of a Sunk Cost

#personalfinance Controlling Your Finance Brain: The Concept of a Sunk Cost

Sometimes it’s hard to let go

This post will walk through the economic concept of sunk cost and how it should impact your decision making process. Not everyone has heard of this financial term but everyone has likely dealt with the topic.

A Formal Definiton

Sunk cost is a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be reimbursed or recovered in part or in full. The money is spent and gone…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Advice on How to Control Your Finance Brain

#financebrain #getrich Advice on How to Control Your Finance Brain

Self Reflection, Plan, and Then Action

This post will walk though advice on how to control your Finance Brain that I have picked up over the years. After countless hallway conversations at work, my best advice to control your Finance Brain circles back to: realization your brain isn’t a calculator, slow down, self reflection and planning, and then action.

Your Brain is Not a Calculator (Yes even…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Rich Guy at Work Advice: $5 Will Always be $5

#getrich #personalfinanve Rich Guy at Work Advice: $5 Will Always be $5

Money Advice From the Rich Guys at Work

I get in conversations at work with Rich Guys and often at work and this adage came up: $5 will always be worth $5 or 5 cents will always be 5 cents.

But Wait…

So of course my finance brain jumped to – “that’s not true” – there’s inflation, time value of money, compound interest and all those fun topics.

Slow Down…. what he meant was

What he was trying to…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Making Easy Fast Money: Credit Card Sign Up Bonus Side Hustle

#getrich #fastmoney #lifehacks Making Easy Fast Money: Credit Card Sign Up Bonus Side Hustle

As Easy And Fast As It Gets

This blog will walk through how to make easy money off credit card sign up bonus offers if you qualify for them from the credit card companies. This is one of the easiest ways to make money or side hustle as long as you can manage your temptation to not misuse the credit and focus on this as a business. This side hustle or idea isn’t new but I have outlined all the…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Awesome Easy Money - Passive Income Deep Dive - Bonds

Awesome Easy Money - Passive Income Deep Dive - Bonds #bonds #getrich #personalfinance

Bonds

As you read a lot of investment and personal finance advice on what to invest in – the sentiment is heavily skewed to stocks or equities. The reality is that almost everyone should have some bond exposure and bonds are one of the best income generators. This post is going to walk through all things bonds – what they are, different types of bonds, how you should use them etc…..

I love bonds…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Finance Critical Thinking Videos: The Future of Retail #getrich #reflect #personalfimance I am not a big pod cast or video guy as I like to read more about financial topics but as I see videos or content that made me stop and think for a bit I am passing them along.

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Making Easy Money: 0% Credit Card Interest Arbitrage Side Hustle

#sidehustle #getrich Making Easy Money: 0% Credit Card Interest Arbitrage Side Hustle

As Easy As It Gets

This blog will walk through how to make easy money off 0% credit card offers if you qualify for them from the credit card companies. This is one of the easiest ways to make money or side hustle as long as you can manage your temptation to not misuse the funds. This side hustle or idea isn’t new but I have outlined all the steps in one place for you….. this really took off in…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Valuation 101 - The Finance Class Boiled Down to an Actionable Understanding

#valuation #getrich #personalfinance This post will focus on boiling down the concept of valuation into actionable advice.

Valuation

This post will focus on boiling down the concept of valuation into actionable advice. If you are planning on investing at all you should have a high level understanding of the following concepts and how they relate to stocks, bonds, real estate, and other investment vehicles.

My Background

I have worked in a Corporate M&A department for 6 years and worker directly with Wall Street…

[thefinancebrain-blog]

Cheap Healthy At Home Meals That Don’t Involve Ramen Noodles

#cheapeats #personalfinance Cheap Healthy At Home Meals That Don’t Involve Ramen Noodles - Wannabe Foodie Approved

Food is Our Number One Cost Driver

This post will share with you my cheap healthy at home meals that don’t involve ramen noodles. Food is our family’s number one cost driver outside of my wife’s fun money (which happens to include all clothes for the kids) so I constantly challenge it. This is my second of two posts on food in this series.

Food is a problematic cost for us given the size of the…