The end of an old year and the start of a new year just naturally leads us to be a little more reflective. That’s why so many of us make New Year’s Resolutions. We look back at the past year. Determine areas of our lives that we wish were better and resolve to change in […]
Volumes have been written that claim to have the secret to financial success. Some are good. Some not so much. But the truth is that personal finance really isn’t all that complicated. The secrets to financial success are really so basic that it really shouldn’t be necessary to state them. But the reality is common […]
If you get paid every two weeks, then 4 times a year you actually get 3 paychecks in the month instead of 2. If your first two paychecks are sufficient to cover your bills, then that 3rd paycheck almost becomes like a bonus. But how can you use it wisely? Here is what I do […]
Let’s say I were to give you a half a million dollars to build a house. You can build any style house you want but you must use the money to build the house. What would you do? Would you head down to Home Depot and buy some lumber, pipes, wiring, etc. and head out […]
Have you ever bought something and then the next day wondered what in the world you were thinking? While we may be able to exercise willpower in most circumstances, will power has limits. There are definitely times when our willpower is not nearly as strong. Learn to recognize the circumstances that drain your willpower, and […]
In a very general sense, there are really only three things that you can do with money: Spend It Save It Give It If you are handling money in a healthy way, you should be doing at least a little bit of each of these. The problem occurs when we lack balance in our finances […]
A recent Gallup poll found that only 32% of those surveyed follow a detailed written budget. I would suspect that of those other two-thirds who don’t budget, many know they should be. But budgeting can be a little overwhelming when you first start. Part of the problem is if we have not been tracking spending, […]
Definition of discipline: Making yourself do something you really don’t want to do, in order to get a result you really want to get. – Andy Andrews A recent study by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling found that 61% of people don’t have a budget. While there are many reasons why people don’t budget […]
Tried budgeting but decided it might work for others but it just doesn’t work for you? Chances are you might have done one or more of these common mistakes that pretty well guarantee you will fail. 1. Don’t do one OK, this one may be a little obvious, but the first way to ensure you […]
It may seem surprising, but we have actually hit the half way point on 2014. Time seems to travel more quickly as the years go by. Since we are at the mid-point of the year, it is a good time to step back and assess how the year is going financially. New Year’s Resolutions A […]