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.
Now that I'm somehow a "big time" blogger (at least in someone's eyes), I get a few dozen emails each week from random people that "I've posted this great article at...". I've ignored them in the past, but this past few weeks, some of them are … [Read more...] about Random Links from the Web: March 20th Edition
For the past month, the MINI Cooper's "service engine soon" light has come on, but then it's gone off just a few days later. I figured it was just some bad fuel and let it go. Since the closest MINI dealership is about 30 miles away, I wanted a few … [Read more...] about MINI Cooper Warranty and Maintenance Plans Worked for Us
Just last week I was wondering if we could be a single-income household mainly because Stacie's job is just too stressful and she feels like her boss and coworkers take her for granted (which they do). She spends and hour driving to work, 10 hours at … [Read more...] about Stacie got a positive review!
Have you ever considered financing your new car for 84 months? That's a full 7 year loan! Granted, I've had my share of 72 month loans. Heck, our Chevy Malibu was a 72-month finance, but we paid it off in just 2 years! But not everyone is getting … [Read more...] about More Auto Buyers Turning to Leases and Longer-Term Loans
Today's article comes courtesy of Ana at DebtFREE-Revolution.com. As you can partially tell from her site's name, she's a spunky anti-debt mom and wife, and is now debt-free except for her mortgage, which I also aspire to be soon (debt-free, that … [Read more...] about Couples in Conflict: Different Money Priorities
Matthew found my article "Can we be a single-income household" and asked the following question: Mike, I read your article about becoming a single income household and I have a question. My wife and I recently had our second child and she just … [Read more...] about Going Single-Income: Help a Reader Make the Decision
Stacie is having some trouble at work. Well, technically, it's trouble with the commute to work, the management at work, and some of her coworkers. She puts in too long hours for too little reward, especially compared to her fellow dietitians. The … [Read more...] about Can we be a single-income household?
Almost a year ago, I wrote an article about creating a budget, and I even linked to my own sample spreadsheet. But budgeting is such an important personal finance basic that I'm going to write a whole new article about budgeting. Not all of us … [Read more...] about Personal Finance Basics: Financial Planning
