I have a policy that I never answer my cell phone if I don't know who's calling me. If a call is actually from someone I know, they'll leave a message and I'll get back to them. But 9 times out of 10 it's a tele-marketer or scammer of some sort. So why bother answering? It can't lead to anything good, right? The IRS Calls Me I got a call a couple months ago that I … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2017
An Investment Gone Bad
This site often seems like a brag-fest to me. Many of the posts are about how I did this well or did that well. Of course, I have had my successes and they are worth learning from. But as we've seen now and then, I've also made a lot of mistakes. Fortunately these have been limited in number and not that large. But they do happen and are just as worthwhile to learn … [Read more...]
Millionaire Interview 21
Here’s our latest interview with a millionaire as we seek to learn from those who have grown their wealth to high heights. If you’d like to be considered for an interview, drop me a note and we can chat about specifics. My questions are in bold italics and his responses follow in black. Let's get started... How old are you (and spouse if applicable, plus how long … [Read more...]
My Response to the Equifax Breach
Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past couple weeks you've heard that the credit reporting company Equifax was hacked. If this is new news to you, sorry to be the bearer of bad news. You can find details as well as recommended solutions from the FTC. In this post I'm going to detail what we did in response to this nightmare. Equifax Is Evil Before we get … [Read more...]
Financial Locker Room Talk
If you've been reading ESI Money for more than 15 seconds you know that I am not a big fan of financial advisors. This stems from a couple issues. First, I'm a big believer in DIY finances. The concepts that will make you rich are not that hard to learn, so anyone can do it. And there really aren't that many things you need to master to become wealthy, so it doesn't … [Read more...]
Millionaire Interview 20
Here’s our latest interview with a millionaire as we seek to learn from those who have grown their wealth to high heights. If you’d like to be considered for an interview, drop me a note and we can chat about specifics. Today's millionaire was actually profiled in Money magazine in 2002. At that point the couple had a net worth of $185,412. Boy, how things progressed … [Read more...]
Help a Reader: How to Invest for College
Here's the latest email from a reader asking for some suggestions on a financial situation. Please read below and give him your thoughts... My daughter is about to head off for her first semester in college. About 16 years ago, my wife and I started her 529 fund and contributed $800/mo. during this time. We stopped adding to it about a year ago as I semi-retired from the … [Read more...]
All about Coin Collecting: Is It an Investment or a Hobby?
One of the great joys of blogging is the friends I've made over the years. I have a few who I communicate with on a regular basis and have been for many years (from when I started my former blog). Some have even written guest posts for me. One of those friends is a coin collector of sorts. I don't think he's really into it like some, but he does buy coins now and then and … [Read more...]
Millionaire Interview 19
Here’s our latest interview with a millionaire as we seek to learn from those who have grown their wealth to high heights. If you’d like to be considered for an interview, drop me a note and we can chat about specifics. My questions are in bold italics and his responses follow in black. Let's get started... How old are you (and spouse if applicable, plus how long … [Read more...]
How to Reach Financial Freedom and Retire Early Serving in the Military
The following is a guest post by Hank Coleman from Money Q&A. Hank is an Army Major on Active Duty with four years left until early retirement. When I retire from the Army in four years, I don’t plan on getting another job. I don’t plan on coming back to work for the federal government as a GS (government scale…we love our acronyms in the military, right?) employee or … [Read more...]
