Clever Dude founded CleverDude.com in June 2006 while working as a technical analyst in the Washington, D.C. area. A Penn State graduate, he built the site as a side project alongside a white-collar career that included earning a master’s degree and multiple promotions.
In five years he wrote nearly 1,300 articles on personal finance and life lessons drawn from his own experience. The blog grew from a hobby into a recognized early voice in the personal-finance community and generated meaningful revenue. He sold the site in 2010, continued as a guest contributor through 2015, and returned in 2023 after further career advances, paying off his home, and extensive travel.
I got my monthly email from Bank of America to notify me of a new eBill from Verizon Wireless. Since the only thing that fluctuates is our text/pix costs, I opened up the email and was surprised with the wireless bill. We have 1000 shared family … [Read more...] about Unexpected Verizon Wireless 20% discount
No, we don't own a home in Malibu. Rather, we sold our 2005 Chevrolet Malibu this past weekend and are now down to 2 vehicles: a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am with 126,000 miles and a 2006 Honda Ridgeline RTS with about 17,000 miles. We actually did the … [Read more...] about Final Malibu Sale Update: What a relief!
Back in June, I asked "what's our next early payoff challenge". We have credit card, auto and student loan debt, plus our mortgage (but that doesn't count right now). I was really leaning towards paying off our credit card debt next, even though it's … [Read more...] about Classifying your debt: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
For our weekend trip to New York for a wedding, we rented a 2007 Volkswagen Jetta from Enterprise. I was very surprised that they would have a European vehicle as a rental considering the higher price of these vehicles. It turns out that they have a … [Read more...] about Clever Car Review: 2007 Volkswagen Jetta
It's been 2 days since the last update. Only a few things have happened, but they're important things: The buyer got his insurance prepaid, so the insurance agent faxed the proof to his credit union. This means the buyer got the certified … [Read more...] about Chevy Malibu sale update #3: The home stretch
...originals from the copier before leaving the room. On Tuesday, I made copies of our title and security interest filing for our Malibu across the hall. Last night, I opened up the folder to just look at the backs of the documents to confirm what I … [Read more...] about Important Reminder: Grab your…
Brian from Financial Dominance asked an interesting question on my post about our Zero Debt Goal. He asks: Have you written a post about why you went with the interest only mortgage? My thought was that most of the personal finance bloggers advocate … [Read more...] about Against the grain: Why we chose an interest-only mortgage
While driving through New Jersey last weekend on our trip to NY for a wedding, we stopped for gas. As you may know, in New Jersey, all stations are full service. (However, on the way up, I pumped my own gas since I thought I was still in Delaware, … [Read more...] about Just 7 gallons please
