As my friends, family and coworkers know, I am a bit of a news & politics junkie. Because of my interest in the area, I love to read look-backs about elections. Why did one candidate lose and another win? Especially in close races, there are usually a few obvious things that help turn the election in favor of one candidate over the other. Continue reading “How Committed Are You To Your Financial Goals?”
I was reflecting on my “best investment decision” from my post last week and realized that the same caution that led me to not buy a home at the top of the real estate bubble also made me miss buying a home near the bottom of the real estate market last year. I looked at several properties that I liked and they were priced low enough that I could have easily more than covered the monthly costs by renting them out if I had to. However, there were so many good options that I suffered from “analysis paralysis” and ended up not buying any of them. Continue reading “To Buy or Not to Buy”
Summertime is officially here and things around my house are just as hectic as ever. With all of the upcoming events my kids have on the schedule like summer camps, swim lessons, dance lessons, soccer camps, reading lists, vacations, and staycations, we have to do a serious balancing act as parents. (When I say “we,” I actually mean my wife, Heather, because I admit that she is the master organizer in our household.) Continue reading “Is It Time For Your Mid-Year Financial Check Up?”
Following a recent financial planning webinar presentation, I was faced with a frequently asked question. Does it make sense to take out a 401(k) loan to consolidate debt? This employee had definitely done her research on 401(k) loans but she was wary after reading warnings from many financial planners and media gurus. However, this didn’t deter her from exploring a 401(k) loan as she was eager to eliminate her high interest credit cards and get them out of her life forever. Continue reading “Are 401(k) Loans a Really Bad Idea?”
One of the most common questions we get is whether to prioritize paying down debt, building up savings, or investing for retirement. Ideally, of course, we would do all three but most of us have limited dollars with which to work with. So what should take priority? It’s a topic that has generated some disagreement among some well-known financial gurus. Here are some guidelines to follow: Continue reading “What Comes First: Saving, Investing, or Paying off Debt?”
In this blog post, my colleague Michael Smith writes about his daughter going to college next year and the big decision she’ll have to make about what to major in. But I’m not sure that I agree that it’s as big a decision as he thinks it is. As you’re probably aware, some of the most financially successful people like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg didn’t even graduate from college at all. Continue reading “You Are Not Your College Major”
Exactly one year ago, our family completed a crosstown move in Charleston, South Carolina to get closer to family, my wife’s business, and our children’s schools, and thankfully, within a short little drive to Folly Beach. Any planned major purchase can add significant joy (and stress) as well as some expected and unexpected financial challenges and this was one was no different. Our new home was purchased through a short sale and although it was left structurally sound when we moved in there, there was a long to-do list related to cosmetic repairs, appliances in need of replacement, and an exterior in need of pretty significant landscaping and TLC. Continue reading “8 Home Buying Mistakes to Avoid”
One of my friends sent me this article about credit scores impacting a job search to ask my opinion. And, he confided in me that this is probably a part of the reason that his wife has been unable to find work for nearly two years and has just about given up on her quest to find another job. This is a very troubling trend in the workplace and all too often good people are being denied the opportunity to work in this dreadful economy that just hasn’t produced robust job growth. Continue reading “Is Your Credit Score Hurting Your Job Prospects?”
Wow! Sometimes words can’t adequately express just how awestruck (and not always in a good way) I am when I read about the financial choices that some people make. When that happens, all I can say is “Wow!” And this story definitely has me Wowing… 
Continue reading “Financial Progress Comes From Changing Our Behavior”
Last week, I was asked what I thought about investing in the new digital currency “bitcoin.” This got me thinking about what successful investors do in general when deciding what to invest in and how to make a rational decision as opposed to being caught up in a herd mentality. Here’s a great process to go through before investing your hard earned dollars in the latest investment trend (or fad): Continue reading “Should You Jump on the Bitcoin Bandwagon?”
Sometimes the conversations I find myself having with friends take unexpected turns. Recently we had a conversation about “best things.” Maybe it started with the Food Network’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate show and our conversations about good food. Continue reading “The Best Thing I Never Bought”
One thing I’ve come to learn after being on the financial helpline for 6.5 years is that some employees simply want to know how they are doing relative to everyone else. No matter how I try to encourage them to consider themselves and their circumstances unique, human nature drives us to want to know if we are ahead, behind, or in line with our peers. We crave some type of yardstick to know if we are measuring up. Continue reading “A Financial Yardstick for Everyone”
Cash is king. You hear that term being thrown around and for good reason – having available cash is vital to financial health. Without having a cushion of cash, you are very vulnerable and can easily be taken advantage of during hard times. When you have a solid emergency fund with enough funds to carry you for six to eight months, you can handle most emergencies — even a job loss– with out having to take extreme measures. Continue reading “How To Have Too Much Cash”
One of the most common things we help people with is paying off debt. This makes sense because in the case of high-interest debt like payday loans and most credit cards, you can save considerably more in interest by making extra payments towards that debt than you’re likely to earn by investing that same money instead. Paying off debt can also improve your credit score and cash flow. But are there times when it may make sense NOT to pay off debt? Here are a few: Continue reading “5 Reasons NOT to Pay Down Debt”
Happy New Year! A typical tradition is to set New Year’s resolutions to improve our health, wealth, and happiness. According to www.USA.gov, some of the most common financial resolutions include managing debt and saving money. Share your own resolutions for 2013 by leaving a comment.
I saw this article about a monkey lost at an IKEA furniture store when I was doing my morning news reading the other day. There were some videos of the monkey on some of the news channels as well and it was pretty entertaining. The monkey definitely got my day started with a smile. But the more I came back to thinking about the monkey, my thought process changed a little bit because of a conversation I had… Continue reading “How a Lost Monkey Can Give Us Financial Hope”
Now that Christmas is over and we’re approaching the New Year, you may start thinking about New Year’s resolutions and many of those probably involve financial goals. But we all have a limited amount of cash flow to work with. Which of those goals should you prioritize first? Continue reading “Setting Financial Priorities for the New Year”
The focus for many around the holidays is family, food and fun not finances. This is as it should be because even though life requires a lot from us, it is meant to be enjoyed. Although we are striving to always save more, manage our money better, insure against losses, and get our necessary papers in order, it’s also important to stop and smell the roses (as they say). Continue reading “Some Important Things to Focus On This Week”
Sometimes the best things in life start with a great idea or vision. Recently I have become a huge fan of the “Spotify” music service. This article talks about how the founder of Spotify wanted to create something that combined his two loves, music and technology, and bring the world something better than music piracy. And, since he wasn’t really good at playing music, being a rock star was out of the question! So, he did the next best thing and created a music company. Continue reading “Daydream! It’s worth it…”
Susan and I purchased our first home back in 1996. Like many newlyweds, our first home is what you might call a starter home. It was a modest, two-story, single family home on a small piece of property at the end of a cul-de-sac. After seven years (and three kids), we were ready to move on, and so we did. Continue reading “How to Qualify For a Mortgage”
