There are not many topics upon which you could get all financial advisers to agree. One such topic though would be that it is good to save. There might be disagreements about how to save or where to put those savings, but almost everyone would agree that having savings is a good thing. Even the […]
A couple of years ago I was on vacation with my family in Colorado. We were driving down I-25 from Rocky Mountain National Park to Denver where I had made hotel reservations for the night. It had rained pretty heavily that day, which had somewhat spoiled our plans for sightseeing. As we were heading down […]
I just heard this past week that January was Financial Wellness month. That’s not surprising since this is the month of New Year’s Resolutions. While January may be nearly over, this is still a good time to consider your overall financial well-being. Dust off the budget Are you doing a regular monthly budget that is […]
Another Christmas has come and gone. The presents are stacked neatly under the tree. (Or maybe not). The menu is leftovers. Perhaps you are a little sad because all the family has gone their separate ways. (Or maybe a little relieved.) Maybe you are just ready for a nap after all the preparations of the […]
Several years ago Thomas Stanley wrote the book the Millionaire Next Door. Stanley had done an extensive study of millionaires. He documented what he found in the book. The surprising thing that he found was that most millionaires do not fit the stereotypical profiles of what we see glamorized on TV. Most are first generation […]
College tuition. It’s a scary thought for those of us who have children. The rising costs of attending college have been well documented. Meanwhile, many have resorted to massive student loans to make it through college, only to graduate to a weak job market with mounds of debt. Yet we also know that in our […]
Most companies have some kind of annual merit raise process or a contractual environment where every so often you get a bump in your pay. The question is, what do you do with this new-found money? The company that I work for has an annual merit raise process and I was fortunate to receive a […]
I know this may come as a surprise to some, but here is a little secret. This year Christmas falls on December 25! Who knew!?!? OK. I’m being a little facetious with that, but the truth is many of us manage our finances as if Christmas coming in December was totally unexpected. The problem with Christmas […]
Most financial experts agree that one key to a solid financial plan is having an emergency fund in place for when Murphy shows up at your door. The first of Dave Ramsey’s baby steps is to save $1,000 for a starter emergency fund with the idea of bumping that up to 3-6 months after you have […]
I recently saw the following clip about credit unions on CBS Morning News. Jack Otter, executive editor at CBS MoneyWatch.com, provides a great overview of credit unions and why you might want to consider them for your banking needs. Why choose a credit union? I have used a credit union as my primary banking institution […]