What if there were a single step you could take to greatly increase your sense of financial control and confidence, decrease your financial stress, make your marriage work better, free up money for generosity, increase your savings, and speed the process of getting out of debt? What if this single step were available to you […]
Archive | Budgeting/Planning
Getting Started With a Budget
Using a budget is one of the smartest money management moves you could make. For guidance on using a paper & pencil system, read the Budget Quick Start Guide and make use of the Cash Flow Plan, Cash Flow Tracker, and Recommended Spending Guidelines, all found in the Resources section. For help using the online tool Mint.com, watch my tutorials here, here, and here. And for help with the Envelope system, read this article.
Remember, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” – Proverbs 21:5
Profitable Ideas: The Great Wealth Transfer, Saving Early and Often, and More
Weekly list of curated personal finance articles from around the web. Talking inheritance (FaithFi). Boomers are expected to transfer trillions to their heirs by 2030. If you’re going to leave some money behind, it would be helpful to have a conversation with those who will receive it. Finance apps can be great for budgeting. But, […]
Money and Marriage: Keeping No Financial Secrets
A divorce attorney once told me that when money is the issue that comes between couples, as it often is, the most common problem is that the spouses were living separate financial lives. Often, unbeknownst to the other, one was taking their relationship to the edge of a financial cliff, usually by racking up a […]
Profitable Ideas: The Top Skill of the Future, Subtle Signs of ID Theft, and More
Weekly list of curated personal finance articles from around the web. The most important skill of the future is being ‘indistractable’ (Nir and Far). It’ll help in our careers and in every important relationship. Seinfeld on when money became everything (A Wealth of Common Sense). A lot longer ago, Jesus identified money as His chief […]
Two Steps For Better Money Management in Marriage
With all the stuff two people bring into a marriage, it’s no wonder that money is a very frequent topic of dispute. They were raised by different sets of parents who did the whole money thing in their unique way. They had different personal financial experiences. They have different temperaments, and they bring into marriage […]
‘We Actually CAN Afford It!’
Sheila has long been an expert at living beneath her means. Even when she was making a relatively low salary and living in an expensive city, she never worried about not having enough. She always had money in the bank. Because she grew up as one of five kids with a stay-at-home mom and schoolteacher […]
Profitable Ideas: Money-Saving Habits, Overcoming Your Fear of Investing, and More
Weekly list of curated personal finance articles from around the web. 10 little shopping habits to help you save money (No Sidebar). I especially like the sixth suggestion. Why you’re scared of investing (and how to overcome it) (Darius Foroux). To be sure, investing can bring fear. Here are some steps to help keep it […]
Profitable Ideas: Money Regrets, The Comparison Game, and More
Weekly list of curated personal finance articles from around the web. 80% of Americans say they have financial regrets—here are the most common ones (Money). Learning from other people’s mistakes can yield priceless lessons. Teen’s financial literacy bus teaches kids about money (Good Morning America). Very cool that he’s not just putting the lessons to […]
Money & Marriage: Knowing Where You’re Going
How in-synch are you and your spouse when it comes to money? On a scale of 1-10, with 1 meaning you’re living on separate financial planets and 10 meaning you complete each other’s financial sentences, where on the scale would you put your marriage? Now do quick reality-check by asking your spouse the same question. […]
Profitable Ideas: Cultivating Gratitude, The Care and Feeding of a Budgeting Brain, and More
Weekly list of curated personal finance articles from around the web. How to teach your children gratitude (The White Coat Investor). Cultivating within them the habit of gratitude will serve our kids well. When consumers prefer simple packaging—and when they don’t (Wall Street Journal). Yet another interesting look at the science of marketing. ‘Reduce some […]