The Inertia of Inaction A few years ago, my wife and I watched The Way Back, a “based on a true story” account of prisoners who escaped the Siberian Gulag on foot, finding their freedom in India. The following is a conversation between two of the escapees: JANUSZ: He has a plan. SMITH: Who? JANUSZ:… Continue reading May 2021 Update
Recently, while reading Lifecycle Investing by Ian Ayres and Barry Nalebuff, I wondered how to calculate my relative risk aversion(RRA). Financial advisors often ask their clients a series of questions to calculate their risk and determine the suitability of different types of investments. These questionnaires are challenged because many people often say one thing but… Continue reading How much risk will I tolerate?
It’s official! This is the first year I’ve filed for a tax extension. Every year I use the FreeFillableForms to fill out and submit my taxes. I was slightly concerned that I’d have to restart the process to file the extension. That was until I saw the nifty “File an Extension” button in the upper… Continue reading April 2021 Update
Spring has sprung! At this time of year, we love swinging downtown to check out the cherry blossoms. However, this year with the pandemic in play, we may skip our annual tradition. Here’s a picture from last year’s blossom excursion: Despite paying zero attention to organized sports, I did fill out an NCAA March Madness… Continue reading March 2021 Update
I finished 63 books in 2020, three more than 2019 but eleven fewer than 2018. Of those 63, only two of them were physical, paper books. Twenty five of them were audio books, but the remaining thirty six were on my Kindle Paperwhite. I love my Paperwhite. It’s my second e-ink Kindle, replacing my Kindle… Continue reading I love my Kindle Paperwhite
Tax Season – In Progress I finished filing the tax returns for both of my oldest two children. Both made well under $30k for the year. I laughed at how simple they were and also the sheer number of dark patterns that Turbotax employed to trick us into paying for what should have been a… Continue reading February 2021 Update
January 2021 Update The tax forms are starting to trickle in. Probably won’t start reviewing them until mid-February once the brokerage statements all land. We’ll see if we have any drastic changes to the tax code to account for in 2021. Covered Calls Update I’ve written before about the covered calls that I’ve been writing… Continue reading January 2021 Update
Happy New Year! I hope you had a merry Christmas and are ready for 2021! I know I am. Busting The Myths of Plastic Recycling This month I listened to Planet Money’s episode on recycled plastic, titled Waste Land. I remember hearing their earlier episode on how recycling of plastic has never been very viable. … Continue reading December 2020 Update
During the presidential election, one proposal put forth by the Biden campaign was to switch traditional 401(k) contributions from a tax deduction to a tax credit. With today’s current tax regime, when you make a contribution it reduces your taxes at your marginal rate, which for me is 22%, or 22 cents for every dollar… Continue reading 401(k) Deduction-vs-Credit
November 2020 Update Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! I started this blog a year ago. We were in the middle of our family DIY study abroad in Spain (remember when traveling was a thing?). After reading Jeremy’s suggestion to “do interesting things and share them publicly” in his Selling the Dream post, I decided… Continue reading November 2020 Update
