Call it a benefit of the Great Recession: the average cost of a wedding has dropped 30 percent from a high of $29,000 in 2007 to today’s mere $20,000, according to The Wedding Report. If you or someone you know is headed down the aisle sometime soon, here’s how to save even more. According to […]
Archive | Money & Marriage
Managing Money by the Book: Financial Love and Respect
With 20 years of ministry experience, a PhD in family studies, a Master’s of Divinity degree, and a Master’s degree in communication, Emerson Eggerichs was a knowledgeable, experienced, and effective pastor. But one day, while rereading a passage of scripture he had preached on many times, he discovered what he calls “the key to any […]
Spice Up Your Marriage With a… Budget!
Okay, a budget may not exactly add romance to your marriage, but it may help reduce marital money fights. A new national survey I commissioned from the market research firm Synovate found that married people who use a budget experience fewer financial disagreements with their spouse than those who don’t use a budget (see the […]
Do You Work Too Much?
Marriages involving a workaholic are twice as likely to end in divorce, according to a study done by Bryan Robinson, a University of North Carolina researcher and author of Chained to the Desk. In an ABCNews.com story, Robinson makes a distinction between workaholics and hard workers. While workaholics, of course, work more hours than others, […]
A Lesson from Tiger’s Tale
What Went Wrong? I’m not usually much of a celebrity gawker. But I have to admit that I have been completely drawn in to the sad story of Tiger Woods’ “transgressions.” Golf is my favorite sport and I have spent many a Sunday afternoon watching Tiger achieve yet another impressive victory. He is unlike any […]
What I Believe
By Matt Bell on November 18, 2009 in Faith & Finances, Budgeting/Planning, Generosity, Saving, Credit/Debt, Spending Smart, Money & Marriage
I am very excited about the launch of this new web site and blog. Switching from the eNewsletters I’ve been writing for the past three years to a blog will allow for more of a two-way dialogue with readers and will free me to write about more money-related topics. Since this marks the beginning of […]
Who’s On Your Board of Directors?
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” – Proverbs 15:22 My friend, Brad, calls it their annual “Dixie Fraley talk.” Once a year, he and his wife, Nancy, meet with their personal board of directors, which includes their CPA, attorney, and financial planner. Brad and Nancy reveal their balance sheet, […]
Experiences Trump Possessions
What makes you happier–new stuff or enjoyable experiences? CNN reported on new research showing that for most people enjoyable experiences generate more lasting happiness than new stuff. Two key reasons are that experiences tend to involve other people and they’re better than material objects at generating feelings of vitality or “being alive.” I couldn’t agree […]
Story Follow-Ups
In a recent post I summarized an article about appealing your property assessments. One reader wondered what implications a successful appeal might have on his homeowner’s insurance coverage. In another article I had commented on the importance of married couples using joint financial accounts wherever possible. A reader wrote to say that even though many […]
Financial Infidelity
Financial unfaithfulness is widespread. That’s the apparent conclusion of a new survey conducted by Yahoo and research firm Decipher. It found that about half of all people in a serious relationship have committed some kind of financial indiscretion. According to an article about the survey on Yahoo Finance, the deceptions include lying about he cost […]