August 21st marks my third anniversary of blogging at MB-50. Still going strong after publishing over 80 articles or about two posts per month with occasional guest posts from interesting people here and there. It’s been a pleasure serving you. It has been said that it takes three years to …

Paying down your mortgage when you have an ultra-low interest rate is unpopular among many investing geniuses because the stock market has historically returned around 12%. The typical advice goes like this: “Your 3% mortgage is cheap money. Put your money on investments that will make you more money!” In …

One of the financial concerns of every couple is saving for their kid’s college education. Some end up making excuses why they shouldn’t, among them: You cannot borrow for retirement, but you can borrow for college. It promotes responsibility– they’ll work harder academically. I don’t have much money left after …

Ever wonder how long it takes to save a million dollars? The short answer is it depends how much you can save each month and how well your investment performs. Admittedly, one million dollars is not what it used to be, thanks to inflation. But it’s still a reasonable goal …

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can …

I recently had my annual salary review with a wonderful new boss, who manages our team from afar. He’s 4,000 miles away, so the meeting had to be done remotely through Skype. Just some background, the company that I worked for was bought by a much bigger company that’s headquartered …

Ask any woman what’s her biggest summertime fear, and she’ll tell you that it’s wearing a bikini. Swimsuit season can strike terror into even the most confident woman. Walking around in public in what effectively is your underwear does not make any female heart sing with gusto. This is especially …

One of the wonderful perks everyone at my workplace takes for granted is free coffee. According to our office manager, the company spends almost a thousand dollars every month on coffee alone. With dozens of boxes of well-known and exotic brands stacked on the top shelf, our office pantry has …

My mom came from a rich family in the northern Philippine town of Batac, Ilocos Norte. The same town where the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, known for looting the country of billions of dollars, grew up. In fact, they were contemporaries. When I was young, she told me stories about …

There’s probably nothing more uncomfortable than your visits to the dentist. I don’t know about yours, but my dentist doesn’t have the gentlest hands I can brag about. Once you’re seated on that dreaded chair, you’ll be as helpless as a toddler as she works on scraping the tartar buildup …