I always love it when someone asks me for the latest hot investing tip, as if there’s some investing secret that’s being hidden from the rest of the world. First of all, if I really knew what the absolute best things to invest in at any time was, do you really think I’d be writing […]
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As you might guess, one of the most common investment questions we receive on the Financial Coaching Line is about when to buy and when to sell investments in order to maximize returns. My most common answer to that question is that if I knew precisely how to buy securities at the perfect price, I […]
What started out as whispers of a potential financial crisis related to recent student loan borrowing has grown to a cacophony of fear, frustration, and concern. The staggering amount of student loan debt in our country has been a shocking wake-up call. As a result, many recent graduates are in need of guidance. While high […]
Are you living on earnings from commissions? You may be working for a firm, but in effect you’re working for yourself. Your income depends in large part on your actions, which is exactly what successful sales people and consultants like about it. The reality is, however, that the sales cycle, the economic cycle and your industry […]
How much should you contribute to your Health Savings Account in 2019? If you’re enrolled in a high deductible health plan for this year, take a look right now so that you can make any adjustments you decide to make ASAP (yes, unlike the FSA, most plans allow you to change your payroll contributions throughout […]
It’s safe to say that you will start to hear a lot of talk about New Year’s resolutions over the course of the next few weeks. Since money and wealth are integrated into many aspects of the life journey, it isn’t too surprising that financial resolutions are generally near the top of those well-intentioned “to […]
We all know that the holidays can be a total budget buster. It is so easy to get caught up in the season and wind up spending more money than we have or intended to spend. This leads to the credit card shame in January, when we vow that next year will be different. Rather […]
A common question I receive is where to put savings for short-term goals like an emergency fund or the down payment on a home you’re planning to purchase in the next few years. First, you probably don’t want to put it in anything risky like stocks, real estate, commodities, cryptocurrency, or even many types of […]
One of the crucial components to your financial foundation is to have an emergency fund (I know, not breaking any news here). Having an emergency fund lets us navigate life’s curveballs (medical bills, car repairs, home repairs, etc.) without having to spiral into credit card or other high interest debt. But there is often a […]
Those mid-life years can be crazy. Between growing your career, raising a family, dealing with aging parents, paying off debt and saving for college, all while trying to just enjoy life while you’re still young, it can seem like you’ll never be able to retire. But trust me. Eventually, you’ll want to. Here are the […]
Feeling less than happy with your finances these days? If you are like me, it’s not enough to know that you feel bad about your financial choices. I also want to know why I made those dumb money decisions in the first place. Getting out of your own head Some psychologists suggest that our critical […]
When I went away to college, I was completely unprepared to handle my own money. My family never discussed it with me, so when I went away to school, the peer pressure of having to look a certain way and the desire to hang out with friends quickly left me broke, no matter how much […]
One of the most common things we talk to people about at Financial Finesse is deciding to take control of your spending. The most crucial step in making that happen is figuring out how to manage your cash flow. In order to take that commitment and turn it into habits that stick, you’ll need some […]
Years ago, I had a friend who was a single, recently divorced, full-time working mother of four, with three of the kids under the age of 5. To call her life busy would be an understatement. She asked me for help organizing her finances and I agreed — I knew whatever strategy we developed had […]
If your goal is to become a better steward of your hard-earned money, what does it take to improve your odds of succeeding once you decide to make some positive financial changes? It helps to make your goals as specific as possible. Since the acronym SMART was introduced in a Management Review article in 1981, many of […]
First of all, I need to clarify that I would never advocate paying bills late — not only can it become costly, but it can quickly ruin your credit score — even after you’ve paid a late bill, once it’s on your report as a late payment, it stays; only time will heal that wound. This […]
One way to make sure you don’t spend more than you make is by sticking to cash only by using our good old debit card. That helps you make sure that you’re only spending what’s available in your checking account and can be an easy way to budget, as long as you’re setting money aside […]
Many years ago while attending a wedding, I overheard the couple’s accountant (it was a HUGE wedding where literally everyone the couple knew was invited) tell them that the best way for them to manage their money was to just, “go all in, combine it from day 1.” The couple looked skeptical, and for good […]
I crave ice cream before bedtime. I know the high, empty calories are not good for me, but it’s still like a WWE fight in my brain every night – the good guy (don’t eat it) is on his back while the bad guy (go for it) has him in a figure 4 toe hold […]
I have a confession: I am having a legitimate mid-life crisis. See, I recently turned 50 and as I approached this milestone age, I did the math and figured out that I basically only have 10 more summers to do the things I want to do while I still can. It’s not that I don’t […]