This is a letter to the editor I published in the Ellsworth American. The full length letter is below: These college, school, and business shutdowns cascading across Maine are doing far more damage to the economy than people understand. Families are scrambling to afford (or even find) childcare, and when they can’t they’re having to […]

This is a letter to the editor I published in the Press Herald, Waterville Sentinel, and Bangor Daily News. The full length letter is below: UMaine’s recent decision to close the University to students and transition to remote learning for the remainder of the semester was premature, irresponsible, and will have a massive cascading impact […]

Very few people get rich without creating at least one money tree, and more likely, several of them. But what is a money tree? It starts with you planting a financial seed and nurturing it with attention and resources until it grows into a tree that starts to produce money on its own. That sounds […]

We’re all influenced by the people we associate with and look to for advice. For example, I grew up in a single parent household and my mother was my primary role model when it came to money. She taught me how to work really hard, which I’m eternally grateful for, but she also taught me […]

I was standing in line at the Hannaford in Old Town recently and had an experience that I think is a parable of what’s going on in American society today. The guy in line ahead of me was uncombed, unwashed, and judging by his sweatpants and the bottle of liquor in his hand, I’m thinking […]

Money is an interesting subject. On the one hand it’s just a made up concept, a worthless piece of paper that has no intrinsic value whatsoever. Neanderthals knew nothing about money and they probably were the better for it. But like it or not, in modern society, money is a tool that each of us […]

It’s a complicated question to answer. From the yes camp, it’s still true that the average pay of college grads is considerably higher than high school grads. But from the no camp, tuition rates are increasing by an average of 8% per year—which means every 8-9 years tuition fees double. Let that sink in for […]

After several years of helping friends, family, employees, and tenants learn about money, I’ve decided to form a company and expand so I can help even more people. Cryptic Money Guy LLC is officially open for business and offering a series of terrific lectures on personal finance, wealth building, real estate investing, paper investing, and […]