Last year, new investors flooded the stock market. More than 10 million brokerage accounts were opened in 2020. For the sake of everyone’s personal finances, I hope they made calculated plans for their portfolios — but I’m inclined to think most people didn’t.

What leads me to believe that? I keep seeing a lot of people ask inherently flawed investing questions on social media. Not to mention the fact that they’re relying on social media for personalized investment advice. There’s nothing wrong with polling the crowd — but some people seem to think they’re getting foolproof insider tips.

I’ve seen…

As a freelance writer, I love LinkedIn. It’s an invaluable resource and lead-generating tool. It also allows me to connect with clients, fellow writers, old colleagues — and even satisfied readers. One such reader messaged me the other day:

Hi Carter,

I came across your post on the medium titled “Quitting Corporate: Why I chose happiness over money”

To be fair, I googled up to get some motivation & stumbled upon yours. I agree with the things you said.

I wish you all the best.

-Sruthi

I thought, “That was nice of her to take time out of her day…

When you strip emotions and personality from a blog post, what do you have?

At best, you’re left with an essay. At worst? A dull textbook or instruction manual. It’s no longer a leisurely read — it’s mentally taxing to consume.

Recently, I was writing about checking accounts — a not so thrilling topic. It’s the financial equivalent of watching paint dry. But checking accounts are integral to personal finance, so I figured the topic still offered value. About halfway through my post, I realized it lacked personality. It sounded like I was explaining something to a manager or a…

There’s a lot to love about self-employment — flexibility, constant challenge, and independence are a few notable features. Not to mention the gratification of building a business from scratch or the opportunities for boundless creativity.

But self-employment isn’t all rainbows and butterflies, especially in the early months.

I’ve been a full-time freelance writer for the last year and a half. The first few months were equally exciting as they were daunting. A business takes months to get off the ground. It’s like learning to walk all over again — bumps and bruises included.

I recently looked back on my first…

The Kansas City Chiefs had just defeated the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship. While the Chiefs celebrated a second consecutive Super Bowl berth, Stefon Diggs — the Buffalo Bill’s top receiver — stuck around to watch from about 50 yards away.

Confetti rained from above. The few Chiefs fans who were fortunate enough to attend stuck around and got their money’s worth. Chiefs players, coaches, staff members, friends, family — they all embraced the moment.

Diggs did too.

Even from afar, you could feel his discomfort. He swayed and fidgeted as if he still had one more drive left…

When your phone or computer malfunctions, what’s the first troubleshooting step you take?

Do you open more tabs or run more applications? Contact your cellular provider or search forums for relevant solutions? What about smacking your device to knock some sense back into it?

No, you restart it. Unplug — wait — and plug it back in.

It’s automatic. We immediately jump to this troubleshooting step as if years of electronic device-usage tattooed an instruction manual to our minds. …

How much money is in your checking account? Obviously, keep that information to yourself — but it’s an important question that you should regularly ask.

When I opened my first checking account, I barely understood the concept of interest. I could give you a rudimentary explanation — something like, “It’s the extra money your money earns.” But I didn’t have a benchmark for what was a fair (or even good) rate of return.

That changed about six years ago when I began to question and reassess my bank accounts. Checking accounts serve a key role: funding monthly lifestyle expenses like…

When I became a full-time freelance writer in July 2019, I set a goal to make Medium a steady and reliable source of income. I let myself dream a bit too, imagining a “reach for the stars” goal: be able to live off of Medium earnings.

Although that’s a lofty goal, I didn’t set unrealistic expectations — I knew it would take years to get to that point.

A year and a half later, Medium’s payouts don’t come anywhere near covering my monthly expenses. That said, they’ve become a dependable “client” that helps me cover groceries each month. …