For my birthday, one of my good friends gave me a beautiful plant. A dahlia. Given the fact that I really enjoy flowers, this was (at least in theory) a great gift. There was just one problem: I’m not very good at growing things. I actually killed a cactus one time! Anyway, I wanted to keep these looking good because … Read More
What to Do When You’re on the Bubble
With graduation looming, many parents are bracing themselves for the inevitable rollercoaster ride that is the transition from high school to college with their eyes (and wallets) wide open. For a large number, there’s still ‘parental homework’ left to complete with the myriad of testing, applications, essays, visits, scholarships and financial aid paperwork, many with deadlines approaching over the next … Read More
How Much Money Do You Need to be Happy?
How much money do you need to be happy? The answer finds that most people fall into one of three categories. 1.) Those that believe the best things in life are free. 2.) Others that attribute their happiness to earning more and subsequently acquiring more stuff. 3.) And finally, those that are happy with enough to afford life’s necessities of … Read More
Do You Really Need a 401k or IRA?
Having enough money to retire comfortably is something that most Americans think about on a regular basis. In fact, according to a study conducted by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, nearly 80% of workers believe that they will have more difficulty achieving financial security than their parents’. But why is that? Is it because, with high-debt loads and competing … Read More
How to Overcome Anchoring Bias to Start Spending Less
Have you ever been on a long-standing committee? If so, then you’ve probably encountered an exchange where someone comes up with a new idea that seems logical, then someone else wonders why we need to go through all the effort to change. “We’ve always done it this way,” they say. They become immovable. As we go through life, it’s easy … Read More
When a 50-cent Part Breaks: Protecting Against Life’s Uncertainties
Last October, my oldest nephew got married in a beautiful ceremony at a mountaintop chapel about two hours away from our home. Since we were already going to be away for the day of the wedding, we decided to make a mini-vacation out of it and spent three days with family and close friends. It was a really great time, … Read More
Fewer is Better: The Dangers of Excessive Diversification
Remember our post on Less is More? Well, this week we’re discussing how Fewer is Better. Did you ever try to create a color wheel in art class? Mixing colors usually worked when there were only two primary colors. You know: yellow and blue make green, red and blue make purple — that sort of thing. But when you start … Read More
Less is More: Practical Ways to Embrace Your Inner Minimalist
When December began, so did the purging. All the toys, games, papers, and junk that traditionally lay on my children’s floors had to be addressed. There was no way Santa was bringing more stuff when they couldn’t even keep up with what they had. So, we began cleaning out everything. Every drawer, box, bin, and shelf. Each day we … Read More
Make Your Money Stretch Without Robbing Peter to Pay Paul
My dad was the best cash flow expert I knew. He would have money put into his retirement fund, get the company match, remove his contribution and make extra loan payments to get them paid early. There was not enough money at the end of the month, so this was how he made things work for our family of six. … Read More
Do Your Homework: Understanding How 401k Plans Work
When I first started working, my employer offered a 401(k) retirement plan. I didn’t know too much about it other than I could save for retirement, just as the name implied. So, I signed up. Although many workers have access to some type of retirement savings plan through their employer, like me when I started, few truly understand the inner … Read More