There are many ways you can fall into financial trouble, but you can always pull yourself back up, so never give up. Today I was paying a credit card bill and was surprised to see the following picture.Credit cards
I am currently in the middle of a process to rack up a ton of credit card points, but it’s not going as well as planned, but more on that another day. I am spending a ton on the card and on when making a payment today I saw the how long you could be in credit card debt. My bill was around $18,000, but the credit card company being so ‘nice’ offered to let my pay it off over 27 years! The price of this would end up costing me an additional $28,000. If I paid over 3 years I would only pay an additional $5,000, but of course I paid the bill in full and always have. Getting in debt on a credit card is a trap because the interest rates are usually around 20% and this costs you a ton in the long run. If you are in the situation try to stop using your card and refinance to a lower rate.
Fortunately, in the past ten years there has been a lot of good personal finance information put online, but you will still see tons of articles written about what you should do if you win the lottery even though it is extremely uncommon. When the lottery gets to hundreds of millions you will see tons of articles on along this thread, but let’s discuss where the lottery and gambling play into your finances. Being addicted to gambling is a serious problem and will really hurt your finances, so if you are going to do it I’d set up some boundaries. For me, I will only buy a lottery ticket if the prize is over $500 million. I know the expected value is negative, but I am playing for the same reason everyone else does, because wouldn’t it be cool to get instantly rich? As for gambling, I only play roulette in Singapore because instead of 0 to 36 with 00 they have 0 to 36. It may not seem like a big difference, but it makes your money last longer until you are ruined but the odds are still against you. I will only spend $50 and I rarely go to Singapore so this isn’t a huge expense on my finances. Be careful with betting because it can cause huge problems. 
This year we have heard a lot about how a high percentage of millennials still live with their parents. Much of this is attributed to people getting married and having children later. It is easier to live with your parents if you are not bringing your spouse or kids. When I graduated college without a job the first thing I did was move back home for nearly two years. It sure saved me a bunch of money and allowed me to eliminate my student loans in a few years. Well guess what, we are back from 
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One super cool thing about studying Chinese in Taiwan was that I was in class with people from all around the world. I have been friendly enough to befriend some of them and now have a list of places I can go visit. In Utrecht, Vienna, Cape Town, Moscow, Seoul, or Kyoto I can visit a friend.
China is massive and like America, there are many parts, cultures, and costs of living. We are living in Yanji, a third-tier city which is small with a population of 400,000 but still big enough to have almost everything you could buy and be served with an airport and high-speed rail. It is north of Beijing which means it will get a really cold winter, but right now the weather is very enjoyable.
There is street food, but it is not as ubiquitous as in Taiwan, so cooking is more common. Things are still cheap enough that we haven’t been persuaded to cook yet. You can get a bowl of noodles for $2 and we shared a Korean BBQ meal for $10-$15 total. Char is a famous food around here which is meat on skewers and lots of dishes contain lamb.
I just completed reading On Paradise Drive by David Brooks which describes American culture and how we live. I found it a great read and wanted to share some of the things I learned from reading it. I’ll quote the book and then share my thoughts.
My wife is on Obamacare, but we didn’t get her dental insurance because we’ll be able to get it through my employer shortly. I’m so nice I still let her eat sweets. I often hear how good and affordable healthcare is in Taiwan so a lack of dental insurance seemed like a good reason to send her to the dentist.
I think I have been reading way too much Zero Hedge lately because I have bought into the idea that the market is overvalued and a decline is imminent. I have moved to mostly cash and even bought some Bear ETFs which rise on a stock market decline. If you look at people trying to beat the market then you will see in almost every case they lose. This will probably happen to me, so writing this article will be a good record of poor decision making. But let’s see the evidence before reaching a verdict.
This is a classic question, but now you can hear my take on it. As you probably have read, I am in Taiwan for the summer which means living in a different manner. Here rent is 
If you are reading this then you very likely own a phone and computer, have somewhere to live, and are in the top 10% of global income and more likely top 1%, 
Today is August 1, which is the deadline for filing California Sales and Use tax. I finished yesterday and what a relief it is to be done.
I am currently living in Tainan in southern Taiwan. Taiwan has a low cost of living and Tainan is great because it is even cheaper than Taipei, the capital. I have been tracking all my purchases to give you a sense of how much it costs to live here and if you ever wanted to retire here I’ll explain how much you would need to have.
For my first month, I lived in the student dorm; next month my wife is done with her world travels and we are moving into an apartment. One month of rent cost $210 for a single with a private bathroom. I learned this is the most expensive dorm and most people would pay $100-$200 for a room after they graduate. When I arrived I learned that my room came with nothing. On the first day, I had to buy a mattress but I opted for the cheaper one-inch pad which was $15 and is foam between cloth, so as you can see, it is like sleeping on a piece of wood. I also had to buy toilet paper and just about anything that is not bolted to the wall. I elected to skip the shower curtain and squat in the shower so the water doesn’t go everywhere. Was that oversharing? Electricity is not included and you have to buy a card which displays your balance and your electricity cost is constantly deducted from the card.