Using Empower As Your Financial Aggregator

I frequently find in both my financial literacy class for educators and when talking with people one-on-one that many folks don't really have a good handle on their various financial accounts. They have a general idea of what they have, but are pretty vague on the specifics (and more often than you might expect discover … Continue reading Using Empower As Your Financial Aggregator →

You May Not Be Middle Class

There are many articles/posts/discussions in the media (traditional, new and social) that use the words "middle class." Similarly, in the financial literacy for educators class I teach, the words "middle class" often come up in our discussions. But, as with so many things these days, people rarely define what they mean by the term. While … Continue reading You May Not Be Middle Class →

Self-Driving Money

Two caveats about this post.1. I'm thinking out loud here. I don't think I've quite communicated the idea(s) I wanted to with what I've written, but I still felt like it was good enough to share.2. As with almost everything I write on this blog, there is a lot of assumed privilege. This is because … Continue reading Self-Driving Money →

The Library Ask

I have a favor to ask. I would love to get a copy of the TL;DR series of books in public libraries (and possibly school libraries). This is not about selling books or making money. While it's true that I'll get $2 - $3 per sale, the goal is to make it easy for educators … Continue reading The Library Ask →

Roth Conversions and Filling Up Tax Brackets

The topic of Roth conversions and filling up your tax bracket came up at this month's meeting of the Southern Colorado Mustachian group. While I've previously written about the related topic of capital gains harvesting, this is a bit different and has some interesting nuances. What is a Roth Conversion? A Roth conversion is when … Continue reading Roth Conversions and Filling Up Tax Brackets →

Our Heat Pump and Heat Pump Water Heater

Last winter we replaced our gas furnace and air conditioner with a heat pump, and our on-demand (gas) water heater with a heat pump water heater. As a result, our house is now fully electric - no gas usage at all (we've even had the utility shut off gas to the house). Heat pumps and … Continue reading Our Heat Pump and Heat Pump Water Heater →