One of our sons recently told me about some things that have been bothering him. He’s making good decisions, building good habits, and getting good grades. But he can’t quite see the point in some of the things he’s studying. And all the homework sometimes makes life feel like a grind. I did my best […]
On October 2nd, I went public with my goal to run a five-mile “turkey trot” in mid November. At the time, I said I really didn’t want to do it. While I had been running regularly, I wasn’t running five miles and that distance felt like a stretch. In fact, in the week leading up to […]
I just signed up to do something I really don’t want to do, and I’d like to encourage you to do the same. Not the exact same thing I signed up for, just something you may not necessarily want to do. Let me explain. You see, there are plenty of things I want, and I’m […]
Would you like to achieve uncommon financial success? As I read the business classic, “Good to Great,” I couldn’t help but think that the principles used by the unusually successful businesses profiled in the book are directly applicable to how we manage money. In the book, author Jim Collins takes a close look at a […]
It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to. — Bilbo Baggins, “The Lord of the Rings” We were made for adventure. Even those of us who work in offices know that to […]
A weekly roundup of some of the more interesting and helpful personal finance articles I’ve read recently. Amazon Alexa users buy more stuff, study shows (CNBC). Surprise, surprise. The easier marketers make it for us to spend, the more we spend. The remarkable early years of Warren Buffett (Value Walk). Fascinating look at his early work ethic […]
A weekly roundup of some of the more interesting and helpful personal finance articles I’ve read recently. 4 things retailers don’t want you to know about black Friday (MarketWatch). Some important reminders that may make you think twice about fighting the crowds. How to protect your retirement account from a hack (Wise Bread). The protections for investment […]
One of the most common questions I get in workshops is, “Where can I possibly find the money to…” save, give, get out of debt, or simply make ends meet? The answer is often found in questioning our spending assumptions. I once met a couple that did not have Internet access at home. What? That’s […]
Using money well is one of those things we never get fully right. We’re constantly trying to make changes, improvements. And the bigger the change, the greater the challenge. That’s why I’ve been taking an in-depth look at the findings from Switch, Chip and Dan Heath’s excellent book on “How to Change Things When Change […]
A weekly roundup of some of the more interesting and helpful personal finance articles I’ve read recently. How space influences what we buy (Becoming Minimalist). On a similar note, I’ve seen research that shows the size of the shopping cart or basket we use influences how much we buy at the grocery store. The problem […]
