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I have been writing about money for nearly 20 years and believe that personal finance is one of those subjects that is made complicated because it benefits a select few. Our aim is to help make it easier to understand so that regular folks can use what we teach to take control of their money and build wealth.
Good morning Reader! A few general purpose news items to share with you this week: This cyclospora thing is nuts. It's been going on for weeks, there are thousands of cases across 34 states, and we still don't know the root cause other than it's fresh produce. Michigan thinks it might be lettuce or salad greens. All advice says cook your food and avoid fresh produce (for now). We also might be saying bye to changing our clocks. The House of Representatives approved a bill to make daylight...
Good morning Reader! Question: I've been experimenting with AI (specifically LLMs like Claude and ChatGPT) to analyze my finances. Is that something you'd like me to write more about? If so, what would you want to learn? We're seeing interest rates creep up a few basis points over the last week or so. 12-month CDs that used to be 4.10% APY and now are in the 4.15% or 4.20% range. π If you use Vanguard, they recently added a way to stop unauthorized ACATS transfers (previously you had to call...
Good morning Reader! It can be confusing to see the stock market at all time highs but not feel like you're doing well. That's because the "stock market" isn't the economy. It's just a collection of publicly traded companies, organized in a way that makes it easy for pundits to talk about. The S&P 500 is up close to 10% and it's mostly because of AI related stocks - tech companies, chips, etc. How much AI related spending have YOU been doing? So the market looks great but the economy might...