Frugal Professor

Intro Well, thanks to the $1.9B Coronavirus stimulus bill (#3), there are some pretty major changes to the tax code this year: Child tax credit (temporary changes for 2021 only): Fully refundable this year Phases out at 5% above $150k of income for MFJ, $…

Giant Disclaimer While I pretend to vaguely understand some aspects of frugality and the US tax code, I don’t pretend to be an investing guru.

Well, the politicians are at it again.

First, a note on asset ALlocation I don’t pretend to know what the “right” asset allocation is.

Another month, another update.

I started regularly rock climbing at my campus gym about 3 years ago, about a year after I arrived at my current job.

I did an internship for Delta Airlines a little over 10 years ago in which I left my wife and 2 1/2 kids for 10 weeks to live with 5 single men in a filthy Atlanta home (story at the end of the post).

Another month, another update.

I’ve been doing a bit of benchmarking retirement plans lately.

Here’s the second instance of the state-of-the-blog post.

Goodbye 2020.

Well, that happened pretty fast.

The Not-Terribly-Astute Observation I frequently marvel at the grand 401k experiment that we’re embarking on.

Frustrating (but Important) Committee Work I was asked by my university to serve on a committee to help select “an expert consultant” to tell us what is wrong with our 401a/403b/457 plans.

Another month, another update.

I tend to check out a lot of books from the library.

Unless you have been sleeping under a rock for the past decade or two, you may have noticed that interest rates have fallen quite a bit.

A friend of mine who reads this blog emailed me recently for advice about tax loss harvesting (abbreviated TLH in this article).

The 2020 edition of FreeTaxUsa is now live (link).

Another month, another update.

Overview 2020 is almost over (good riddance!)

So you want to be a millionaire?

A few weeks back I indicated that it was a good time to refinance because: Rates are historically low, and For refi’s funded on/after December 1, there will be a 0.5% one-time surcharge to refinance which will make refinancing less appealing from that arb…

My senator was among the unmasked buffoons at the September 26 White House super spreader event.

Another month, another update.

I bought our house a little over 4 years ago.

Another month, another update.

It is pretty widely known that the HSA is the best savings account in the U.S. because contributions, growth, AND withdrawals are tax-free.

Obligatory trip report for my 2020 backpacking trip to the Wind Rivers.

Another month, another update.

Offer Summary On June 23, I got the following email from BoA offering to give me free money via their Premium Rewards card.

It looks like the nation is gearing up to reopen.

About 5-10 years ago a friend of mine called me out for being “overfocused” on money.

I put together a debt repayment calculator tonight.

Nov 2020 update: Doctor of Credit discussion that the 75% BoA Platinum Honors bonus might be killed: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/survey-bank-of-america-might-eliminate-75-platinum-honors-bonus-2-62-5-25-etc/.

Another month, another update.

With the chaos in the country/world right now, I acknowledge that everything I could write about on this silly blog is entirely inconsequential.

Another month, another update.

Succinct Version of the Blog Post (TL;DR) : If you have a high deductible plan: and haven’t hit your deductible (and are thus price sensitive) and have an ailment that can be treated via telemedicine Then this is a worthwhile tool that helped us out recen…

June 2023 update: A reader sent me the following email today.

I’m not a huge fan of wasting money, but my goal for the year (and life) is to let kids blow money as they see fit.

Since I don’t have anything wise or profound to say about the pandemic, how about another (trivial?)

Another month, another update.

I’m fortunate to have a job that allows me to work from home.

Another month, another update.

It seems like a lifetime since my last post.

Another month, another update.

Another month, another update.

FC2 has the flu.

In the process of writing this blog, I’ve connected with several really smart people.