Introduction Virginians have elected Democrats to the governor’s mansion and the Attorney General’s office before but this year is different. The candidates are different, the Democratic Party is different, and the political climate in Richmond is different. The situation is so bad that I have had the very real thought of moving out of state in response to… Read More »
I’ve recently written some posts about evaluating income based on the number of household members and about assessing the cost-of-living to income ratio. It is more accurate to think about your income per person relative to your neighbors than to simply compare overall household income numbers. We also talked about the 50/30/20 rule that says that your cost-of-living… Read More »
I’ve been trying to find a cost-of-living to income ratio that will define the ability to be financially healthy (meaning: pay all your bills, save properly, invest properly, and stay out of debt). If you make $100,000/year but the cost-of-living is $100,000/year then you aren’t able to save or invest. When expenses arise that exceed the usual cost-of-living,… Read More »
I don’t know about you, but I can get mentally and emotionally stagnant. Life goes on and I tend toward a sedentary existence where laziness leads me to the path of least resistance. I need a way to break out of the chains of habit. One thing I have started doing in recent years, is seeking out external… Read More »
When you read, watch, or listen to a creative work, you are having a mind-sharing moment with the creator of that work. It’s a good idea to not spend too much time or perhaps to not spend any time at all in the mind of a bad person. I have come to view books and movies not as… Read More »
When I was in community college studying information technology, most of my classes were at the Woodbridge campus not too far from the National Museum of the Marine Corps where I worked. However, one of my classes was at the Manassas campus and it wasn’t even the main campus in Manassas but rather a satellite location off of… Read More »
How Much Money Do You Need To Make? (Eventually) How much money do you need to make per year to function as an independent adult? To figure this out, I start with the 28/36 mortgage rule. The 28/36 mortgage rule says that your mortgage payment should be no more than 28% of your gross monthly income. So, look… Read More »
I find the household income per household member to be more helpful in assessing income health than simply comparing household incomes. In 2023, the median household size was 2.51. For the same year, the median household income in the US was $80,610. That results in a household income per person of $32,115. Now, I’m not factoring in expenses,… Read More »