Trades & Careers

Electrician, lineman, welder, plumber. How to get in, get certified and get paid what the work is worth.

The BRO Code. What to do, what not to do, and a few laughs on the way.

Which Retirement Account To Spend From First

Taxable, then traditional, then Roth is the standard answer. It's a fine starting point and it's wrong often enough that you should know why.

GuideReal EstateRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

The Repairs Worth Making Before You Sell, And The Ones That Aren't

A new roof can move a sale. A new kitchen usually just moves your money. How to spend the last dollar before listing.

Ask BRO

Pressure-test my business idea

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GuideSide HustlesWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

What a Cord of Firewood Actually Pays

Real hours, real startup cost, and the cash-flow trap nobody mentions before you buy the splitter.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

PartnerNames.com

Retirement6 min read

What to Check Before You Retire to a Small Town

The view sells the house. The hospital, the well, the tax bill and the internet decide whether you stay.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

GuideReal EstateRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

How to Buy and Sell a House at the Same Time Without Owning Two

The double-close is a scheduling problem with money attached. Contingencies, rent-backs, bridge loans, and what breaks at 3 p.m. on closing day.

GuideSide HustlesSam OrtizSep 23, 20266 min

The Teen Side Hustles Worth Your Kid's Saturday

Babysitting, mowing and dog walking still work. What they actually pay, what they cost to start, and the tax and insurance parts nobody mentions.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

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GuideRetirementRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20265 min

Pension Choices, Lump Sum or Monthly Check

The election form takes ten minutes to sign and you can never take it back. Slow down and run the numbers with your wife at the table.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

GuideReal EstateRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

House hacking a duplex when your tenant shares your wall

Live in one side, rent the other, and let the loan do some of the work — plus the documents, the fees and the arguments nobody warns you about.

GuideSide HustlesDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Your Driveway Detailing Business Starts With Two Buckets

The kit worth buying, the hours a full detail really takes, and the customer who pays you every six weeks without being asked.

Ask BRO

Rehearse the raise conversation with me

Ask it

GuideRetirementRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

How to pick a low-tax retirement state without getting burned

No income tax sounds great until the property bill and the homeowners premium show up. A plain-English way to compare states before you move.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

$The Math Your First Rental House Has To Pass$

GuideReal EstateRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

The Math Your First Rental House Has To Pass

Before you fall for the kitchen, run the four numbers that decide whether a single-family rental pays you or bills you every month.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideSide HustlesRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

What Renting Out Your Trailer and Tools Actually Pays

The trailer earns. The tools mostly don't. And the insurance call you haven't made is the one that decides whether any of it was worth doing.

GuideRetirementRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20265 min

Downsizing Sounds Like Free Money Until You Run the Numbers

Selling the family house rarely frees up as much cash as the kitchen-table math suggests. Do it anyway if the numbers work, but do the real numbers first.

Dude.com — 16 AI advisers who listen, talk and are here with you

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GuideReal EstateRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

How To Screen A Tenant Without Landing In Court

Write your standards down before the listing goes live, apply them to every applicant, and keep the paper. That's most of the job.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Side Hustles6 min

What Freelance Bookkeeping Actually Pays From a Home Office

$The Social Security math married couples keep getting wrong$

Retirement6 min

The Social Security math married couples keep getting wrong

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

Ask it

GuideReal EstateRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20265 min

The Questions That Separate A Good Agent From A Busy One

Most people hire the first agent who returns a call. Twenty minutes of real questions will tell you who actually knows your market.

Shirts.com — Design it with AI. Wear it this week.

PartnerShirts.com

Side Hustles6 min read

The Side Hustle Offers That Cost You Money Instead of Paying You

How to spot an MLM, a reshipping scheme or an upfront-fee job in about ninety seconds, and what each one actually costs when it goes wrong.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

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