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.
Over a month ago, I tried to get 50 paving blocks for free through Freecycle.org, but unfortunately someone else beat me to it. That would have saved me hundreds when it came time to add onto my current driveway and create a walkway to our … [Read more...] about Freecycle worked for me!
Credit • Debt • Finances & Money
7 days ago, I told you we were in the homestretch of paying off Stacie's student loan, and today we finally did it! We had enough money in the checking account to pay the last $970 on the loan, but I don't like bringing the balance down below … [Read more...] about Check is in the Mail: Stacie’s Student Loan is Paid Off!
Credit • Debt • Finances & Money
Heather P. Johnson is a freelance writer, as well as a contributor for Credit Card Lowdown, a site for finding credit card reviews. Heather invites your comments and freelancing job opportunities at her email address: … [Read more...] about 12 Tips for Saving Money in College
Here's another helpful tip from the folks at J.K. Lasser (with some extra links added by Clever Dude) Need more time to file? Forget to claim deduction or report income? Want to know more about those rebate checks? Faced a foreclosure? … [Read more...] about Attention All Tax Procrastinators!!! A Few Things to Know for April 15th
Over this past weekend, I began work on the first of 3 planned retaining walls at our home. The first wall is a "practice run" since it's small (about 50 bricks) and easier to pull apart and put back together. However, it's not going to be a cheap … [Read more...] about Buying Bulk Gravel
Stacie wrote an excellent "Spring Cleaning Your Kitchen" post today teaching us when we can keep and when we should throw out various types of frozen, fresh, canned and bottled foods PLUS herbs and seasonings! If you ever wondered how long you can … [Read more...] about Rules for Spring Cleaning Your Fridge and Cupboards
I guess I'm on a roll here. First I warned you of pseudo-closed credit cards, and then phantom savings accounts. Now I want to warn you about a more diabolic plot to get your money: Hidden "Bonus Gifts". We've been subscribers of Runner's World … [Read more...] about Beware of Hidden “Bonus Gifts”
Since I've entered my email address when renting at Redbox before, I was lucky enough to receive the following notice from Redbox about potential card skimming activities at a few of their units. One thing to note is they only found it one of their … [Read more...] about Credit Card Skimming at Redbox Stations
