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.
Just last week, I told you how the contract that I've been working on for the last 18 months has been killed by the client. I'm virtually "jobless", but I'm still employed. For now, until further notice, I'll be mixing use of paid vacation and … [Read more...] about Lessons Learned from a Failed Contract: Be Prepared
I've been holding onto this link for a little too long because it's a wealth of great ideas and took me a bit of time to get through. Hot on the tails of my own story of trying to limit gift-giving with our siblings, Penny Nickel at Money and Values … [Read more...] about Link Love: 14 Gifting Ideas
I literally wrote the last post as I was heading out the door, so I apologize for not giving more details. Here they are. I'm a federal contractor in the IT field. My current client is/was a "major tax collection entity" and I've been on a … [Read more...] about More on my “job loss”
I'm sitting on a conference call with our client (I'm working from home today) and just found out that our contract is ending as of today. They ran out of money. Guess I need to go into the office today to get my stuff. I'm sure I'll be fine as my … [Read more...] about I lost my job today…sort of
Two weeks ago, we spoke to our two siblings (one for me, one for Stacie) and made the agreement that we wouldn't exchange gifts this year so that we could focus more on the kids, parents and grandparents. With Stacie's sister, we both suggested the … [Read more...] about Christmas gifts for siblings?
I decided to try out a 3-column design again, but modified from 1 left, 1 right to both sidebars on the right. I'm surprised I was able to get it up and running in only about 2-3 hours tonight, but if you notice anything quarky, let me know on this … [Read more...] about Did you notice the new site design?
Yes, this semester is finally over. I took 6 credits (2 courses) in addition to working full time, and I have to say it was painful. I was still able to have time in the evenings, but mostly because I began to just ignore classwork, friends, my wife … [Read more...] about Fall 2007 Semester is Over! A bittersweet ending…
In one of my old jobs, I doubled as "Safety Coordinator" where I was responsible for providing quarterly educational events where we instructed our staff of 120+ employees and contractors about various safety topics. In this session of "Clever … [Read more...] about Safety Tip: Riding an Elevator
