Three weeks ago today, I had a major health scare. Because it was Monday, I was at the family box factory. I had just finished running payroll and had taken paychecks out to the shop. I exited the building and *bam* my chest just sort of seized up. “Ouch,” I thought. But, being a Roth, …
March was a mixed month in my financial world. I ended March with a slightly higher net worth (up 0.6%) but my spending was the highest it’s been this year: $5989.10. Yet, that spending was mostly mindful. I wasn’t frittering away money on silly things. If I wasn’t buying dumb stuff, then where did my …
One of my goals in 2019 is to get back to basics. I feel like I’ve succumbed to lifestyle inflation, so I’m taking the time to track my money in detail (using my fave tool: Quicken 2007 for Mac) in an attempt to identify problem areas. When I find money leaks, I need to decide …
You know how sometimes you let chores and errands and obligations pile up until there’s nothing left but to ignore what you want to do and take time to actually do what needs to be done? Yeah, well that’s what the past week has been like for me. I’ve spent most of my waking hours …
Earlier this week, I lamented the fact that my net worth plunged by more than 15% in 2018. Although much of this was due to accounting quirks (buying back this website and remodeling the house, neither of which get tracked by my personal net worth) and larger economic forces (the stock market declined by 6.2% …
Across the web, I see other financial bloggers sharing their year-end financial summaries. Some folks had good years. Financial Samurai’s net worth increased by 6.5% in 2018. Others had mediocre years. Fritz at The Retirement Manifesto saw his net worth decline by 2.1% thanks to a volatile stock market. Me? Well, I’m embarrassed to share …
It arrived. I opened the box and held it up to enjoy it. It was a new wireless speaker. It was solid black, a beautiful piece of technology. I couldn’t wait to listen to it. I plugged it in and for some reason I couldn’t connect my phone to it. I googled it. I found …
Greetings from Prague! I’m just over halfway through my European vacation, so I thought it’d be fun to share some of my adventures and to take a glimpse at the financial side of this journey. This trip is unusual for me because I’m traveling with a party of six. My cousin Duane has terminal cancer …
I’m not the only semi-celebrity J.D. Roth. For more than fifteen years, I’ve been receiving email and tweets and Facebook messages intended for the other JD Roth, the former executive producer of The Biggest Loser — and tons of other television shows. Apparently the other JD Roth has a lot of fans. Actually, I’m one …
This morning, for the first time in more than eight years, I weighed in at 200 pounds. I am not proud of this fact but it’s the truth. I own it. I got to this point through my own actions, not because some cruel tormenter force-fed me cheeseburgers and beer. When I’m overweight, I tend …