Hi All, I’ve been thinking about this post for a while, but haven’t had a chance to get everything down on paper. There’s been a lot of discussion in the popular media rece… Read More

Hello All, If you’re interested in personal finance, you’ve probably thought about stocks. Naturally, when you thinks about stocks, you think about how to avoiding loosing money… Read More

My husband and I have been married for almost 23 years. From the beginning, we agreed to merge our money and that I would be the one to pay the bills and make and keep the budget. We both p… Read More

I was reading Loral Langemeier a few years back. She’s a big advocate of direct investing in business opportunities like self storage, rental real estate and oil wells. The idea of bu… Read More

Everyone is looking for a fast buck in the stock market these days.  However, what most people find over time is there just isn’t any substitute for following following the perso… Read More

Reading together can be a wonderful way to bond with your significant other and strengthen your relationship. Whether you both enjoy fiction or non-fiction, there are plenty of great books… Read More

Its Memorial Day Monday and I’m banging away in my home office here in Portland, Oregon.  Earlier this month, I picked up some silver on Amazon, I ended up buying a few grams of… Read More

When a couple marries or moves in together, they need to negotiate many personal details—how they’ll spend their free time, what time they’ll go to sleep, whose friends an… Read More

Gone are the days when the only investment advice you could find was in a book. Now, you can search social media and YouTube for finance experts. If you want to learn more about money manag… Read More

Good health is an important part of a good overall life. This is the reason why you should do your best to ensure that if you need medical treatment, you’re in a position to get it for… Read More

My husband and I plan to travel internationally in a few months, so we’re trying to spend as little as possible this summer. Then, we can use all the money we usually spend on recreat… Read More

Since Neil Armstrong took his first step on the moon, space missions have fascinated people. That fascination has grown, and now, thanks to technology and investors with deep pockets, ordin… Read More

Living with Alzheimer’s is challenging, and if you have a family member with this disease, there are several ways to make life easier for them. Every house has unique furniture, colors… Read More

My husband and I have combined finances, and I’m the budgeter/bill-payer in the family. Recently, we sat down for our budget meeting, and he asked why I don’t put bills on autop… Read More

The DINK (dual income, no kids) lifestyle has become the envy of most people, especially those hoping to settle with their partners soon. Every time you use social media, there’s that… Read More

Reading together can be a wonderful way to bond with your significant other and strengthen your relationship. Whether you both enjoy fiction or non-fiction, there are plenty of great books… Read More

One of the most difficult financial aspects of getting married is learning how to manage money together. Of course, the most apparent chore is determining the logistics. You’ll need t… Read More

Fifteen to twenty years ago, my husband and I were newly married and living in a large city. I was working full-time but earning a low salary, and my husband was in graduate school. We live… Read More

The environment for LGBTQ+ individuals has improved in the last ten years thanks to the Supreme Court Obergefell ruling in 2015, which says the fundamental right to marry also applies to sa… Read More

Athena goddess of wisdom.Today is Monday January 16th, Martin Luther King Day here in the US.  I am working from home, banging away on emails. Since this is a personal finance blog, I w… Read More

Like many, I used to set New Year’s resolutions and quickly abandon them within the first week of the new year. My resolutions were dreams I would like to accomplish, but I never made… Read More

In an ideal marriage, you can trust your spouse completely. You know your spouse will be faithful, financially responsible, and a helpmate. However, not all relationships are that way. Fina… Read More

My mom comes from a large family; she is the 8th in a family of nine children. Her oldest brother, my uncle, used to tell his childhood stories when we went to family parties. I loved heari… Read More

For decades, until their retirement, my aunt and uncle successfully worked together in two different businesses. First, they owned a dry ice company, and then they worked together as realto… Read More

We met with our financial planner last week for an end-of-the-year chat to make plans for 2023. Our financial planner is intent on securing our future, but he also wants us to enjoy our liv… Read More

Sixty to seventy years ago, couples had a rather strict path from the first date, to courtship, to marriage. Thankfully, social standards have relaxed, and couples can determine their relat… Read More

Healthcare is one of the essential benefits your work provides. After all, a car accident or appendicitis when you’re not insured can devastate your finances. However, healthcare has… Read More

All, This video popped up on my youtube feed.  For those of you who love bonds, you’ll love this video. Its the story of a 367 year old bond that is still paying interest.  T… Read More

My husband and I are generally safe, middle-aged drivers who drive older cars, so our auto insurance is reasonable. However, we recently moved from Arizona to New York. When we transferred… Read More

When I worked a traditional job, I would bring my lunch to work. However, often that lunch sat in the refrigerator while I went out to lunch instead. What happened? Why did I spend money on… Read More

When I was in high school, my friend’s dad, Jerry, inherited a large sum of money. He promptly invested all of the funds in certificates of deposit, earning around three percent. His… Read More

All, I am blissfully in the middle of getting ready for my annual hunting trip in Eastern Oregon.  So, today’s posting is a quick roundup of some fun apps that are working for me… Read More

My husband and I make almost all of our meals from scratch. We rarely go out to eat and only rely on convenience foods such as frozen burritos or chicken nuggets once or twice a week. The r… Read More

As DINKS, you may put off estate planning. After all, you don’t have to worry about who will raise your children when you pass. You don’t have to worry about creating generation… Read More

Hi All, Ignorance is a major barrier that holds people back from making good financial decisions.  The U.S. is a tremendously prosperous and well educated country, but most Americans do… Read More

Pro tip: Ask for a discount on products with damaged packaging. Hi All, Here is a bit of a story, and a pro tip for you all. I was in my local Kroger store last night, stocking up on groceri… Read More

When we first married, I was employed full-time, and my husband was in graduate school full-time. Our time was at a premium, so we often neglected cooking. We ate too much ready-made food a… Read More

All, Inflation is rearing its ugly head all over the US. Since money supply issues and interest rates are usually outside the bounds of what most people can influence, I thought I’d s… Read More

When you and your significant other are creating your budget, you may wonder how much should couples allocate for their hobbies? After all, hobbies make life more enjoyable and can be a gre… Read More

Folks, Everyone needs to eat, but eating doesn’t have to break the bank.  One of the easiest expenses to reduce is the amount you spend on food.  Reducing your grocery bill m… Read More

My husband and I have been married for more than 20 years, but we’ve never both worked full-time. Instead, only one of us works full-time, and the other works part-time. Although that… Read More

Here is a quick thought. A major cause of conflict in marriages is money. However, an important factor to remember is that most issues around money, aren’t really about the money at al… Read More

“Remember, that money is of the prolific, generating nature. Money can beget money, and its offspring can beget more, and so on. Five shillings turned is six, turned again it is seven… Read More

Some couples can’t spend too much time together, or they fight. These couples happily spend all day apart and then enjoy spending time with one another in the evenings and on the week… Read More

Hello Dinks, I came home this afternoon to a pleasant surprise. I’d received an old fashioned letter with five bucks in it. The five bucks was from a survey I’d done for Nielsen… Read More

All, In honor of yesterday’s inflation numbers showing a year over year increase of 8.3% I am posting a bit of inflation humor for your enjoyment: Since inflation has a massive econom… Read More

Hi All, So – every time I go shopping, I’m reminded that the US is living through a period of high inflation. I went to my local Kroger last week, and picked a few boxed of Kroge… Read More

For the last couple of years, my husband has been interested in finding a new job. Between the two of us, we’ve developed a system that helps us decide if a job move is worthwhile. Ru… Read More

Hello Dinks, If you are a couple looking at retirement in the next few years, you might be wondering the required minimum distributions for couples are.  And you might want to calculate… Read More

All, For this posting, I’m sharing a couple of neat finance sites I found, as well as a personal wealth update. Here are the two sites I found: So I was looking around for additional… Read More

Over the last two years, thanks to the pandemic, more and more Americans started working from home. While some people eagerly returned to the office, not everyone is excited to do so. … Read More

Now that I’m in my 40s, I meet a lot of single people. Maybe they’re divorced or what have you. A lot of them seem totally focused on staying single, yet they want to be financia… Read More

I’m part of a Facebook group for women, and lately, I’ve noticed a trend. Several women have posted about their spouses, specifically how they are not pulling their weight at ho… Read More

Here is a pro tip for you: tracking your finances works. This is because what gets measured, gets managed. If you want to improve your investing returns, track how your investments are doin… Read More

“Mom, can I have $20 bucks to go to the movies and get some snacks?” Kids are notorious moochers. Why work hard and learn to budget when some kids just ask their parents for mon… Read More

Like a lot of you, I’m full time employed, but I’m still cash constrained.  So, I’ve been looking for ways to that are truly passive to supplement my income.  Th… Read More

Its Sunday – so it’s time for a round up. Here are a couple of articles that struck me this week, and so here is our Sunday Round Up. If you’re not familiar Nick Maggiulli… Read More

Do you have life insurance? Many adults only buy it after they have kids so the kids will be supported if a parent passes. However, buying life insurance is a responsible decision for each… Read More

I came across this story this morning and wanted to share it here on dinks. According to data from the Federal Reserve, Millennials are significantly poorer than Generation X or Baby Boomers… Read More

Religion is one of those topics that’s unexplored when it comes to personal finance. If you surf the web, you won’t find much discussion of it. If you read the Wall Street Journ… Read More

Those who want to invest in precious metals most commonly look to gold and silver. However, palladium is another, lesser-known option. Used in the car industry, specifically for catalytic c… Read More

Aaron and his wife, Makiko, are DINKS living in Oregon. Originally, both had full-time jobs. Then, Aaron’s mom suffered from failing health and decided to move in with them. Aaron dec… Read More

“The Knotted Gun” by Fredrik Reutersward.As you probably know, Americans love guns. Since the dawn of our country firearms have played prominent roles in politics and society. Cu… Read More

Hi All, Unless you’re hanging around the Crypto space in blockchain.com you probably missed this. It’s a $430 Million transaction in bitcoin. I’ve been noticing more a… Read More

During the pandemic, Americans were on the move. Many moved to be closer to family. Others moved because they were working remotely and could choose locations with a lower cost of living. B… Read More

Part of the fun of being a DINK couple is that you can be spontaneous. You don’t have kids’ schedules or routines to worry about, so if you feel like having a quick weekend geta… Read More

Okay so I sat down and calculated my net worth last weekend. I’m up 2.48% from May. July’s wealth total was $386,959.70, up $9,377.09 from May’s $377,582.61. The major long… Read More

. About 15 months ago, we decided to refinance our home. The interest rate was lower than when we had bought our house six years earlier, and our house had appreciated enough that we could d… Read More

The more time you spend on the planet, the more you realize that even smart money is fallible. Here is a graphic that is making the rounds on the web. Its a stock recommendation issued by Go… Read More

Are your credit cards maxed out? Does your spouse continue to shop even though you’re deep in debt? Are there clothes with the tags still on them in your closet? Does your spouse have… Read More

It’s definitely summer here in Portland, Oregon.  Last weekend was the hottest on record. The temperature hit 116. It was so hot in fact, that the multivitamins in my apartment me… Read More

Costco is known for gigantic packs of toilet paper and bulk size food items. If you’re a DINK, you may think Costco has no place in your life. After all, you don’t need to buy e… Read More

The Beatles sang, “All you need is love,” but when it comes to a successful marriage, you need much more than that.  Finding a spouse who matches your lifestyle and beliefs… Read More

People – don’t forget about bonds! Everyone is going nuts over cryptocurrency and the stock market, but bonds have been a viable investing vehicle since 2400 B.C. (here). And, c… Read More

Craigslist has been part of American culture for over 25 years.  You’d be hard pressed to find an American who hasn’t heard of it.  If you’ve never used Craigslis… Read More

When Ronald married Shayla, they agreed to keep their finances separate.  Shayla knew that she made less than Ronald, but she didn’t know how much less because he wouldn’t… Read More

Perhaps, you have the mindset that adopting a household budget will prevent you from living. This is simply not true. In fact, a budget will open the door to a better quality of life. Listed… Read More

It’s a new year and a new proposal is well underway for a third stimulus check to struggling Americans. While the economy is showing signs of a slow recovery, millions of Americans rem… Read More

Since it’s March and you’re reading a personal finance blog, you’re probably considering starting on your taxes. Well, it looks like you may have an extra month to file you… Read More

When I was young, my grandparents lived next door to us.  I watched my grandma wash out sandwich baggies and used tin foil; I saw her clip coupons for groceries and the occasional meal… Read More

So, it’s mid-March, which means it’s time for a monthly update. This month hasn’t been too sexy, mostly I focused on consistent debt and cost reduction. Here is the breakdo… Read More

Time shares can be a great way to take a vacation to the same destination every year and know that you will have comfortable accommodations.  However, sometimes you’re not able to… Read More

Long time Dinks readers will know that we’re not shy about Fintech investing opportunities. A few weeks ago I found a neat little start up in California called SMBX. They’re bui… Read More

Long time Dinks readers will know that we’re not shy when it comes to talking about Fintech investing opportunities. A few weeks ago I found a neat little start up in California calle… Read More

Abuse comes in many forms.  While most people think of physical or emotional abuse, there is often a more subtle form of abuse that happens first—financial abuse.  Financial… Read More

If you’re like us DINKs, you’re probably wondering how to improve your financial bottom line. The recent covid related economic slowdown has torpedoed some people budgets, so som… Read More

Have you ever wanted to buy something and then decided not to because it was just too much money?  Or at least you thought it was.  This is the spend vs. save dilemma that many pe… Read More

I was chatting with a friend the other day, and her sister messaged her on Skype. Her sister was curious as to about how much she should be spending on common household expenses. Well, I was… Read More

The phrase “the grass is greener where you water it” means that the more you work on your personal romantic relationships, the better they become. However, properly watering the… Read More

If you are preparing to enter a marriage with substantial assets, you likely will want to have a prenuptial agreement to protect those assets.  Having witnesses is not required when yo… Read More

I spend a lot of time on the internet, especially on personal finance blogs.  Over this weekend I came across this posting. Evidently its written by a couple from Alaska.  The inte… Read More

Everyone is looking for a fast buck in the stock market these days, but they forget there just isn’t any substitute for following good basic advice.  So here is a list of persona… Read More

In 1758, Benjamin Franklin, the original blogger, wrote an essay called The Way To Wealth.  The essay is basically a collection of advice and adages from 25 years of Franklin’s Po… Read More

The biggest thing to happen in the markets this year is the action on GameStop, Inc.  You’ve probably heard whats happening, but briefly summarized small traders, using internet f… Read More

A few weeks back, I took some of the holiday gift money I’d received and put it into small business bonds.  I did this via a neat, if not somewhat risky fintech I’d discover… Read More

More and more couples are living together before they marry.  While many of these couples may start out in apartments, the longer they live together, the more they may think of buying… Read More

Here is an example of a K-shaped chart for you.  This shows the long time divergence of the amount of financial assets held by the top 10% versus those held by the bottom 50% of wealth… Read More

If you know you’re likely headed for divorce, you may want to protect yourself by selling assets such as property, personal items, cars, etc.  However, there are many aspects to… Read More

Thought I’d update all of you on what I’ve been doing to build wealth in the new year.  I’ve been focusing on the basics (paying down debt, investing, etc.). However… Read More

The perfect DINK formula is a couple with two incomes and no children.  These couples may remain DINKs forever, or being DINKs may just be a stop on the way to having children. … Read More