The Purpose of Money
Early in my journey of learning about money, I noticed a very odd disconnect. On the one hand, it was obvious that there’s a ton of personal finance advice readily available. Search on any financial question and within seconds you can find answers—sometimes, even credible answers! And yet, lots of people struggle with money. Why […]
Profitable Ideas: An $80,000-a-Year Gamble, The Overindulged Child, and More
Weekly list of curated personal finance articles from around the web. Should I let my kid take an $80,000-a-year gamble on college financial aid with an early decision application? (MarketWatch). It’ll improve the odds of getting accepted, but it’s binding so make sure you’re all in. Credit bureaus announce big changes for credit reports (Clark […]
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: Raising Capable Kids, An ‘Extra Strength’ IRA, and More
Weekly list of curated personal finance articles from around the web. Raising capable kids: why doing less for your kids means more (Becoming Minimalist). A little hard work will do them a lot of good. Stop obsessing about having the perfect career plan (Wall Street Journal). Your career path, much like the stock market, probably […]
Parents, Your Kids Want (And Need) You to Teach Them About Money
Two recent surveys caught my eye, both pointing to the need and opportunity for parents to teach their kids about money. First up was a study conducted by Lifeway Research among 18 to 34-year-old Protestant churchgoers. It found that one-third do not believe tithing is “a biblical command that still applies today.” Next was a […]
Profitable Ideas: Finding Contentment in Our Consumer Culture, The Money Date, and More
Weekly list of curated personal finance articles from around the web. Can you be content in a culture of ‘never enough’? (Relevant Magazine). Good ideas for living with joy in our consumer culture. Screen time is contributing to chronic sleep deprivation in tweens and teens (The Conversation). One of many reasons to place limits on […]
A Simple Step Toward a Solid Financial Future
An endless number of studies have documented people’s general lack of financial preparedness for their later years. As just one example, the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) says that among workers age 55 and older, 44% have less than $250,000 saved for retirement (25% have less than $50,000). No amount of finger-wagging lectures seems to […]
Profitable Ideas: A Lifestyle of Generosity, The Math of Car Ownership, and More
Weekly list of curated personal finance articles from around the web. Raising generous kids through a lifestyle of generosity (National Christian Foundation). “We taught the whole give-some, save-some, spend-the-rest thing, but I think the more important lessons were in how we lived.” See also, The cheerful giver (The Good Sense Movement). 5 things my parents […]
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: Keeping the Last Time in Mind, A Close Encounter With Retirement, and More
Weekly list of curated personal finance articles from around the web. The last time always happens now (Raptitude). A wonderful piece with helpful, challenging implications for using money well. Taking back control over technology (Thinq). I’m not sure we need to purchase this entrepreneur’s solution, but the conversation is worth listening to and acting on. […]