I began paying rent when I was about 21 years old while living with a roommate. I was making pretty good money for my age and a couple of years later, decided it was time for my own space. Of course, with that, came more financial responsibility. Continue reading “The Non-Planner Perspective”
I was talking with a friend recently who is a big fan of words and language, which could explain the presence of more bookshelves in her house than I’ve ever seen in anyone else’s house. We started talking about the language and words involved in my role at Financial Finesse. I’ve noticed an evolution in terminology during my 5 years here. There have been three terms that have been used a lot by our employees, our clients and in the general corporate environment. I see the terms evolving in the corporate workplace and a few members of our financial planning team discussed the evolution recently and found that the evolution of the terms aligns with the evolution in the way people process information. Continue reading “Financial Education, Literacy, or Wellness?”
I recently met with a couple (let’s call them James and Julia) in their early-40’s with two young children. I could feel the stress and tension enter the room before they even took a seat in my office. If you’ve ever been around friends that were obviously not getting along, you probably recognize that feeling as all positive energy exits the room the moment the couple in distress enters. This couple’s debt-related stress was not just affecting their relationship, it was starting to impact their friends. Even more potentially devastating, debt-related stress was starting to take a toll on their physical health and well-being. Continue reading “Slaying the Three Headed Debt Monster”
Working as a financial planner gave me the opportunity to meet so many people and to hear their amazing stories as to how they became wealthy. Most came from humble means, from former refugees who did not speak English, to former teenage moms, to those that grew up in foster care. Their stories are an inspiration. Continue reading “Passing On Your Money Skills”
My husband and I facilitate a class for newly married couples. In light of today’s environment, I am finding that many of the “newlyweds” range from young couples in their 20’s to executive in their 40’s to grandparents in their 60’s. Surprisingly, the biggest conflict is the same with all the couples: different money philosophies. Continue reading “Do You and Your Spouse Have Different Money Philosophies?”
Perspective can sometimes be situational. Our perspective today can be very different than it was a decade ago. I have a friend struggling with her birthday right now. She is about to turn an age that ends with a 0. Continue reading “It’s All About Perspective”
I met with a young woman recently who had a few options in front of her and we talked through the choices in front of her.She had just graduated from business school and accepted an offer with her current employer. She is in a two year long leadership development program, and during that program, the company is paying for her living expenses. They do that so that she could maintain her home back in her hometown since that’s where she will eventually live again. This woman had just gotten married and her husband moved to the new city with her and he will look for a job there since he just finished school as well. Continue reading “Finding Balance”
Whew!! We survived another winter, and what a winter it was. I moved from NYC in eager anticipation of a milder southern winter. Continue reading “What Spring Cleaning Means To Our Family”
At a time where I love to look for good news stories to combat all the negativity I’ve seen in the press lately, comes a very good news story for consumers. The 3 major credit bureaus have agreed to overhaul how they handle medical debt in credit reports. I meet with a lot of people who are looking for ways to improve their credit score so that they can buy a car, buy a house, get the nod of approval on a new job or many other reasons. Often, we look at a credit report and the biggest negative is debt from a medical provider. What’s amazing to me is that over half of the debt on credit reports is unpaid medical debt. That is gigantic. Continue reading “Good News For Credit Scores”
Years ago, I had a friend who was trying to get her finances together but she was struggling as to how to do it. She was a single, recently divorced, full-time working mother of four, with three of the kids under the age of 5. I knew whatever strategy we developed had to be easy and automated. Continue reading “Money Management For a Busy Single Mom”
Managing finances can be a real challenge for many of us.When it comes to reaching our most important life goals, we’re not talking about a game here. We’re talking about something far more relevant in our lives such as our visions for the future, values, and life goals. Continue reading “Is It Time to “Gamify” Your Financial Plan?”
I used to think that the need for Americans to save more was pretty uncontroversial. That was before I read this article called “The pernicious ideology of personal finance scolds.” The author lambasts financial advisors for “scolding people for not saving enough money” and calls the “ideology of savings scolds…ideologically pernicious.” Continue reading “In Defense of “Personal Finance Scolds””
A friend of mine recently sent me a Forbes article with the following headline: “How Blogger J. Money Socked Away $400,000 In 7 Years.” My original reaction? WHO CARES? Continue reading “J. Money Socked Away $400,000 in 7 Years – Who Cares?”
Recently, my family had one of those cold, winter weekend days where the social calendar was completely empty: no birthday parties, no basketball games, no play dates, and no plans. I am usually very eager to get out and explore all of the beauty outside of our little casa but my initial reaction was relief and joy because the “Mom & Dad shuttle” was staying at home for a change. This was an excellent plan until the excitement of a lazy stay-at-home day getting some household chores wore off and Monster #1 and Monster #2 decided they could no longer coexist peacefully in our house. Continue reading “Financial Lessons From the “Game of Life””
I was out with friends recently and a new song from Pitbull and NeYo started playing. The song created a rush to the dance floor and given that when I dance, people think I’m either having a seizure or in some sort of pain, I opted to grab beverages for our group instead of risking injury (mostly to others) on the dance floor. As I was waiting for the drinks to be poured, I started listening to the lyrics of the song. Continue reading “Don’t Take Financial Advice From Pop Music”
I was talking to a young married couple who was fighting over money. What fascinated me the most was that they just got back from their honeymoon. The ink is not even dry on their wedding certificate and they are already screaming divorce. They then came to me for advice. As l listened, it sounded like my husband and myself during our first year or marriage and I shared some of the lessons learned in how to manage money as a couple, especially when you are very different people. Continue reading “How to Manage Money as a Couple”
I have had the privilege to work with so many incredible people throughout my career as a financial planning professional. Imagine having the opportunity to listen to people as they share their unique life stories, talk about current challenges, and explore future life goals. Money is a powerful force in our lives and how we choose to use it is up to each individual. What’s even more amazing to me is the fact that the topic of money is not something that everyone is comfortable talking to others about. But sometimes the type of person that needs the most financial guidance is also one of the most challenging groups of people to actually get in front of – these are the money avoiders. Continue reading “How To Overcome Financial Avoidance”
Very rarely do I find a personal finance article that resonates me as much as one I recently read called “How to Live a Happier Financial Life.” First, I love the title. When it comes to finances, sometimes we get so caught up in the numbers that we forgot the whole point is is about maximizing happiness not money. Sometimes that means spending more money on certain things but often it actually means spending less. The article’s following points do a good job of differentiating which is which: Continue reading “Want to Live a Happier Financial Life?”
I just got done pitching out a foot-high pile of holiday sale catalogs, magazines that I never got to read over the holidays, and donation requests from charities and schools that for some reason didn’t feel like I paid them enough tuition while there as a student. Am I the only one out there who’s looking online for a new smaller mailbox? But just when we thought it’s safe to downsize our mailboxes, the Affordable Care Act (also known as the “ACA” and “Obamacare”) and IRS regulations have added more mail to the winter pile-up, the new series of IRS information forms that support whether you have health insurance that complies with the “Obamacare” rules. These forms started showing up late this January and will every year after. Continue reading “Obamacare Tax Forms Are Coming to a Mailbox Near You”
Can one single word change your financial life and perhaps completely change your life story? Sound a little too simplistic? Before you dismiss the possibility that one single word can have transformational powers, ask yourself one question – Is my financial life just a little bit complicated? Continue reading “One Word That Can Change Your Financial Life”
