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.
If you live in a moderately urban area, near or in a big city, you may be interested in Restaurant.com. For years, I kept ignoring the emails and advertisements for Restaurant.com until one day a friend of my wife brought her family down for a visit … [Read more...] about Restaurant.com: How we get a lot of food for little money
Banking • Credit • Debt • Finances & Money • General • Investing • Taxes
After reviewing and giving away 3 copies of the "Skinny On" books, I got a bit of an urge to get through more of my book pile. Up next: "The Finish Rich Dictionary: 1001 Financial Words You Need to Know" by David Bach. I'll admit it's difficult to … [Read more...] about “The Finish Rich Dictionary” Book Review and Giveaway
Debt • Finances & Money • Frugality
In just 2 months from now, I should be graduating with my masters degree from The Johns Hopkins University (an engineering degree, not medical). I was accepted in May 2007, and started my first class in September 2007. Now, over 2 years later, I have … [Read more...] about Graduation Present or Pay Off Debt?
Eva from Texas! Eva left the following comment as her entry: I'm intrigued by the willpower book. I hope I win. I gave Eva 48 hours to claim her prize, and she replied back at the last second. I was ready to pull a different winner, but I'm glad … [Read more...] about And the winner of the 3 “The Skinny On” books is…
Finances & Money • Frugality • Home • Taxes
Clever Dude and the insulation blower machine Our home was built in 1941, long before insulation was commonly used, much less a standard in new home construction. We bought the home in 2004, but didn't know this fact until we really started … [Read more...] about Save Mucho Money by Reinsulating Your Home’s Exterior Walls
Although I don't use TradeKing because I'm not big into investing, I thought I would pass along this promotion they're having: (through this link only and with a $2,500 opening balance and one trade) The code is good October 1st through … [Read more...] about Open a Tradeking account, get $50 BONUS
Last week, I explained how we're going to save big money on our mortgage when our rate resets. In the article, I thought the rate would reset on the anniversary of our closing, which would be this November. However, I just logged into our lender … [Read more...] about Oops, our mortgage rate resets 2 months later than expected
by Ann Smarty While most of people I know use Google for daily searching, only few of them know how to actually search (apart from providing a search term and hitting "Search"). Only few people know that Google may prove really useful for … [Read more...] about Google as a Shopping Tool: Save Money by Searching
