personal finance

The Minimalist Guide to Finances: Tidying Up Your Finances by Paco de Leon

Ladies, gentlemen, non-binary friends and humans of all identities, yes you can tidy up your finances. Sรญ se puede, guys. Trust me. And once it's there, it's all about maintenance. Getting there could require some effort and energy, but it's worth it. Gone will be the days of you expending mental bandwidth thinking about an old 401(k) account you know you should rollover but you haven't. 

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The Minimalist Guide To Finances: The Anti-Budget by Paco de Leon

Most of American society has had a pendulum swing from rampant consumption to mindful curation. The reasons are likely both by design and by default (The Great Recession). If you're like me, you've at least haphazardly implemented the KonMari method in your home. You've thrown out all your 8-year-old underwear and dusty text books. Now it's time to overlay this philosophy in your financial house. 

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Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself: Understanding Your Credit Score by Paco de Leon

Knowing your credit score is straight forward. You can sign up for an app like Credit Karma and they'll give you credit score. If you apply for a mortgage, the broker will run your credit and they'll tell you your credit score.

Getting your score isn't the problem, the allusiveness lies in understanding how your credit score is actually calculated. The exact formula used to calculate your credit score is like Coca Cola's secret recipe; it's not public information. We do know that calculation consists of five different elements and the weight or level of impact each elements has.

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Everything You Need to Know about IRAs: The Definitive Guide by Paco de Leon

You've probably heard your accountant or that one friend who totally has their shit together talk about how you should be saving for retirement in an IRA. And like a good adult, you probably make all the right noises at the right times to suggest you understand what the hell they're talking about. In case you've been living a lie because you don't really know what the hell an IRA is, I'm here to free you from the shackles of your own confusion. 

So let's go balls deep into the non-sensical world of IRAs.

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What Business Expenses Are Tax Deductible? by Paco de Leon

Disclaimer: I'm not an accountant and this isn't tax advice. 

Alright, alright, alright. Nothing signals the start of tax season like a bunch of creative freelancers emailing me questions about what they can write off on their taxes. But first, maybe you're wondering, "What is a tax write off? And what's the difference between a tax write off and a tax deduction? Is there a difference?"

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