Rethinking Retirement

Today is the first in a multi-part series about what we think of when we think of “retirement.” In today’s discussion we analyze what “retirement” means colloquially, how it differs from “financial independence,” and we’ll touch on re-thinking it entirely. Let’s get started shall we?

How Much That Splurge REALLY Costs You...

Full disclosure time here at The Bill Stark Blog: I suck at staying in my budget for my weekly personal spending. Time and again when it comes to Budget Night at the Stark household my wife has chastised me for not being able to stay within the boundaries of my budget for eating out at work and buying the things I want. One solution to my over spending problem? Looking at the math behind what those added expenses truly cost. The results led me to change everything.

Would You Drop Cable for $40,000?

When my wife and I paid off over $100,000 in student loans in four years we didn’t do it simply because it felt good or for some moral purpose. When we paid that debt off we saved ourselves thousands of dollars in interest. That’s not noble, it’s self-serving. Today we’re going to look at what happens when you spend just a few more dollars each month on your mortgage (hint: you get rich faster!). Let’s go…

Stop Paying Your Boss So You Can Work

How much would you pay your boss for the chance to keep working your current job? $10,000? $20,000? $30,000??? If you’re like most Americans you’re unwittingly paying your boss thousands of dollars to work your job and not move up in your career field. Today we’re going to put a stop to that and put a plan in place to get you your money.

Budget Night at the Stark Household

For many it’s a day filled with such dread that most families skip it entirely. But there’ a way to make using the most powerful financial tool in your arsenal into an enjoyable highlight of your month. So how do the missus and I make budget day one of our favorite parts of the month? That’s what I’m here to discuss today!

Has the 401k Failed Americans?

The Economic Policy Institute recently released a report and detailed study posing the question, “Have 401ks failed Americans?” As the United States has shifted from a pension-based retirement society to one in which workers rely on their own 401ks we’re experiencing a first in our history: the majority of workers’ retirement savings are self-directed. That poses new challenges for the nation as a whole. So have 401ks failed Americans?

You're Not a Bad Person

It’s easy to work on your personal finances once you’ve had a few successes. The adrenaline and endorphins you get from doing something right snowballs into wanting to do more things to help your situation. But getting to that point? It’s a psychological mess of guilt, fear, and paralysis that prevents perfectly reasonable people from making seemingly obvious financial decisions. I know personally: that was exactly me only a few years ago. Ignoring my mail, refusing to take calls from numbers I didn’t know, assuming that whatever my money troubles were they’d be dealt with if I just ignored them long enough. When I finally realized the downsides to that approach I felt immensely guilty. But you know what? None of those decisions made me a bad person. And no matter how much you’ve f*cked up your finances, they don’t make you a bad person either.

How We Paid $110k in Student Loans in Just 4 Years

March 12^th, 2016 is a momentous day for the missus and me. Why? Because it marks our official debtfreeniversary: today we conclude paying off all the debts we owe. The bulk of our debt, $100,000 in student loans, we managed to pay off in just four years and before a single payment was actually ever due! So, just how did we manage to get rid of our debt? I’ll tell you…

The Casino You Visit Every Week

Casinos are master classes in the art of getting consumers to spend. Their labyrinthine designs force non-gamblers to walk the farthest distances through them in order to find their way out, all to maximize the likelihood you become a gambler. The things you’re most likely to need sit deep inside the centermost areas lest you simply skim past the slot machines and card tables to grab something easily on your way to the hotel. The things you walk by are designed to entice with lights, sounds, and a sense of wonderment to get your purse strings loosened. There isn’t a clock to be found to indicate whether you’ve reached the time you said you would leave, and oxygen is pumped inside to help you remain refreshed and energized for longer so you never get too tired to stop gambling.

For those of us pursuing the path of financial fortitude casinos are not a place we’re likely to spend much time. But there is a place we go to nearly every week that is designed much the same as a casino to keep you in it as long as possible, to maximize the amount you spend, and to overwhelm you with billions in psychological research to ensure they get the most of your bucks. That “casino”? Your local grocery store.

Marketing, The Bill Stark Blog, and I Give you $5

Like many websites, The Bill Stark Blog is all about making money. Unlike most other websites, however, the person who this blog makes money for is not me, the owner, but you, the reader. The only cost you pay is typing in the URL to your web browser. I have a nice job and a comfortable lifestyle thanks to the 10 Steps, protecting my family’s life from lifestyle creep, and using the most powerful financial tool in the world to keep us honest so I don’t need a side hustle of a website when I can instead return the favor to the people who taught me how to get my financial life on track by paying that knowledge forward.

From time to time I’ll be able to hand you special deals you may not be able to get anywhere else that can save or earn you money. Sometimes to get those deals I have to get paid as well. I’m going to explain how you can always be certain I’m looking out for you, why I might offer something like this, and prove that at The Bill Stark Blog it’s always about you coming away more financially happy than when you arrived. After all, the highest “payment” I get is when you post a link from us on Facebook or share us with your friends.

Plus, at the end of today’s piece I’m going to give you $5.