How to Fight Fair About Money
Every healthy relationship involves conflict. In fact, psychologist John Gottman, who has spent more than 20 years studying what makes marriages last, believes that “fighting . . . can be one of the healthiest things a couple can do for their relationship.” In his book, Why Marriages Succeed or Fail, which I highly recommend, Gottman […]
Profitable Ideas: An Important Financial Step Few Have Taken, A Pickup Might Be Running Your Finances Off The Road, and More
Weekly roundup of some of the best personal finance articles from around the web. Only 1 in 4 Americans have made this essential retirement planning move (Fox Business). It’s free, relatively easy, and it will probably motivate you to save more. Here’s one of the easiest tools for the job. Half of America doesn’t check […]
We Gave Away Our Van
I know that stuff is just stuff, but some stuff has memories wrapped up in it. Such was the case with our van, a 2004 Toyota Sienna. It was a dealer demo that we bought toward the end of 2003, just before our first child was born. We brought all three of our kids home […]
Profitable Ideas: How to Save on a Cell Phone, Some ‘Lifestyle Creep’ is Okay, and More
Weekly roundup of some of the best personal finance articles from around the web. You can save a ton of money buying a refurbished iPhone. But finding the best deal can be tricky (Money). As with most things, last year’s must-have model will be less expensive than this year’s. Now’s the perfect time to switch […]
Automating Financial Wisdom
I almost titled this post, “You Can’t Automate Financial Wisdom.” But then I realized, you can. A little background I have a love/hate relationship with financial automation. On the one hand, automation can be a wonderful help. In our household, we have some of our bills set up as auto-pay — those that cost the […]
Profitable Ideas: The Teenage Investor, Paradise Lost, and More
Weekly roundup of some of the best personal finance articles from around the web. Teen stock trading seems dangerous. It doesn’t have to be. (NY Times). I agree with much of the advice in this article, especially the value of getting kids started with investing sooner than later. But I’d stress the importance of using […]
The Greatest Return on Investment
My wife, Jude, made a comment in our small group recently that got me thinking about generosity in a new way. She referred to a household’s giving as a portfolio of Kingdom investments. I like that a lot and can see how thinking of generosity that way could be very encouraging and helpful. Investments, indeed […]
Profitable Ideas: How the Election Will Impact Your Investments, Estate Planning Documents College Kids Need, and More
Weekly roundup of some of the best personal finance articles from around the web. Presidential elections don’t matter (for investments) (Morningstar). Your portfolio is apolitical. Our productivity is limited, but God’s is not (Made to Flourish — h/t to Art Rainer). How faith can bring order into our distracted, online worlds. Two estate-planning documents clients […]
You’ve Been Blessed to be a Blessing
Last week, we looked at some statistics on generosity and I said I believe too many of us are missing out by not giving more. We’re missing out on the joy that comes from living the generous lives we were designed to live. And we’re missing out on the satisfaction that comes from having a […]
Profitable Ideas: Ben Franklin on Money, Bill Gates on Money, and More
Weekly roundup of some of the best personal finance articles from around the web. 8 personal finance lessons from Benjamin Franklin (The Art of Manliness). “Don’t give too much for the whistle” and seven other money management tips from one of America’s founding fathers. What’s your theology of money (in 200 words or less) (The […]