Profitable Ideas: How Your Phone Impacts Your Spending, Too Much Stuff, and More
Weekly roundup of some of the best personal finance articles from around the web. You spend 41% more at the supermarket if you keep checking your phone (MarketWatch). Distracted shopping costs more. 200 random things libraries will let you check out for free—from instant pots to skulls (Money). When was the last time you checked […]
Keeping a Steady Hand on the Wheel Under Changing Financial Conditions
The way we buy cars offers a great example of what I call “binge/purge” money management. For the auto industry, 2018 was a solid year. Some 17.3 million vehicles were sold (the fourth straight year with more than 17 million vehicles sold), with SUVs and trucks leading the way. Auto industry writers, such as Jason […]
Profitable Ideas: Choosing Time Over Money, Turning $5,000 Into $33 Million, and More
Weekly roundup of some of the best personal finance articles from around the web. When it’s time to choose time over money (She Picks Up Pennies). The last section of this article says it all—doing the blocking and tackling of wise money management gives us options to build our lives around what matters most. 6 […]
The Perks of Plastic – 8 Great Credit Card Benefits
Some financial teachers believe no one should have a credit card. They believe the road to ruin is paved in plastic. While I’ve met some people who would be better off without credit cards, I believe that by following four simple rules for wise credit card use it’s possible for most people to use credit […]
Profitable Ideas: The 7 Factors That Lead to Wealth, Give Your Budget a New Name, and More
Weekly roundup of some of the best personal finance articles from around the web. The seven factors: behaviors that lead to wealth (The Simple Dollar). Some people build wealth and some people don’t. Here’s what makes the difference. Thanks to Facebook, your cellphone company is watching you more closely than ever (The Intercept). Why marketers […]
It’s Amazing What You Can Get If You’re Willing to Ask
There are two general ways that we all spend money. There’s the stuff we buy infrequently, like cars and TVs. And then there’s the stuff we pay for every month, like the water bill and the cable bill. I have a passionate dislike of monthly bills and I try to avoid or minimize them as […]
Profitable Ideas: Becoming a Financial Superhero, How Marketers Get Inside Your Head, and More
Weekly roundup of some of the best personal finance articles from around the web. Financial superpowers (A Wealth of Common Sense). If Stan Lee had come up with Money Man, here’s what he’d be able to do. It’s what we should all be able to do. This common job advice is actually setting grads up […]
3 Essential Questions About Investing
Investing is arguably the most complicated and intimidating part of money management. And days like yesterday don’t make it seem any easier! To invest successfully, it’s important to control what you can and let go of the rest. Consider your answers to the following questions, each one of which focuses on a key investing factor […]
Profitable Ideas: Instagram is the New Mall, Keeping Up With the Insta-Joneses, and More
Weekly roundup of some of the best personal finance articles from around the web. Instagram is the new mall (The Atlantic). Another step down the path of making it easier for us to part with our money. A vision of the dark future of advertising (OneZero). A glimpse into our “datafied” future. Should you ever […]
The 5 Budget Mistakes I See Most Often and How to Fix Them
I’ve reviewed lots of people’s budgets (or, as I prefer, “cash flow plans”) over the years. No two are exactly the same because people have different incomes, fixed expenses, priorities, and more. That’s to be expected. When it comes to budgeting, there’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all. However, there are certain overarching approaches to budgeting […]