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.
Madame X at My Open Wallet posted about her Moral Quandary of accepting cash from her parents, especially during financial hardships. I faced this problem recently as well. For all my life, I have accepted cash gifts from my family for birthdays, … [Read more...] about When you’re old enough to refuse cash gifts from family
Thanks to my cousin Dave for these insights. You may have seen some of them wandering the internet, or asked yourself these questions: Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra … [Read more...] about Some humorous ponderings for your Friday
Time.com reports that personal savings (that's yours) are at a 74 year low. The only other years that had negative savings rates prior to 2005 and 2006 were 1932 and 1933. During the Great Depression, people were unemployed and had to dig into … [Read more...] about 2006 Personal Savings at 74 Year Low
As a monthly followup to my original post "The check has been sent! About 8 months till we pay off $15,000", I will be updating all of my loyal readers with my progress to pay off our Chevy Malibu in 8 months. The daunting part of all this is that … [Read more...] about The Check is in the Mail: Update 1
I'm going to finally admit to the world how much we screwed up in our past auto purchases, in hopes that you don't do the same. In college, I purchased a brand new 2001 Saturn L300 for about $20,000. Actually, I did the GM SmartBuy method, which … [Read more...] about How we lost $14,500 by stupid mistakes
I just received this email from our corporate office regarding our dental provider, Delta Dental: Delta Dental, our dental benefit provider, is pleased to introduce an innovative program called “Healthy Smile, Healthy You,†designed to address … [Read more...] about Delta Dental adds more free yearly cleanings for special groups
A coworker of mine gets her friends and family to earn her 2% cash back on all her Costco purchases using her Costco Executive Gold Star Membership Card. To get the card, you need to be either a Gold Card or Business Card member. Each of those … [Read more...] about Want 2% Cash Back from Costco? Get an Executive Gold Star Membership
After reading "Choosing the Best Debt Snowball Method" at We're In Debt, I decided to write up my own snowball method in addition to the two outlined by the King and Queen of Debt: From the King and Queen: 1. Pay down higher interest first - The … [Read more...] about 3 Methods to Pay Down Debt (aka Snowballing Debt)
