Are You Afraid of Your Student Loan Debt?

October 30, 2014

What’s really scaring you this Halloween? If you have student loans, getting that bill might rank pretty high on the list. After all, no one likes owing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars  that will seemingly take forever to pay off. That doesn’t mean paying off your student loans should be your only or even top financial priority though. Here are some other goals that you might want to prioritize first. Continue reading “Are You Afraid of Your Student Loan Debt?”

Should You Buy Life Insurance as an Investment?

August 21, 2014

In response to this article we published on Forbes, we received this question on our Facebook page:

I recently read your article “Should You Use Life Insurance as an Investment?” on Forbes. I wanted to know how this article would apply to me. I just graduated and started my first job that pays pretty well. I don’t have any dependents so I didn’t think about life insurance until I meet with a financial advisor. He said starting insurance young is a better investment where I could keep safe dollars and be more risky in other parts. Would I be better off buying insurance now and benefiting from compound interest or use that money in other investments? Thanks! Continue reading “Should You Buy Life Insurance as an Investment?”

Lessons From a Visit to Urgent Care

June 11, 2014

We all know that the cost of medical care is going up, but my colleague’s recent trip to urgent care really opened my eyes to just how much.  The good news is that she is okay, but what she learned about the current state of the healthcare industry should make us sit up straight and take notice.  Here is a brief overview of what happened: Continue reading “Lessons From a Visit to Urgent Care”

Should a Roth IRA Be Part of Your Emergency Safety Net?

June 02, 2014

Roth IRAs are increasingly becoming one of the most popular savings vehicles for retirement. The most appealing feature of the Roth IRA is that these type of retirement accounts offer tax-free withdrawals of earnings at age 59 ½ as long as the account has been open for at least 5 years. The term “tax-free” is quite appealing in the current economic environment where higher future income tax rates appear to be a real possibility. Millennials and Gen Xers, who may not be in their peak earning years, may be particularly prime candidates to contribute to a Roth IRA. Perhaps that is one reason why the growth in Roth IRAs far outpaces that in traditional IRAs as more account owners are choosing to use after-tax dollars to save for retirement to receive the tax break during retirement.  Continue reading “Should a Roth IRA Be Part of Your Emergency Safety Net?”

You Might Be a Credit Card Addict If… (Part II)

May 02, 2014

Last week, I wrote about signs that you might have an issue with credit cards and potentially even be a credit card addict. Do any of those behaviors ring true with you? If so, you might want to make some serious tweaks to the way you manage your financial life. Continue reading “You Might Be a Credit Card Addict If… (Part II)”

5 Unconventional Truths?

April 24, 2014

A coworker of mine recently forwarded me a mass email from Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You to Be Rich, about what he claims are five “unconventional truths” that go against conventional personal finance advice. Since one of the themes of my blog is being a bit unconventional, I was curious about how much I agreed with these “truths.” Here they are with my thoughts: Continue reading “5 Unconventional Truths?”

What Should You Do With Your Tax Refund?

April 17, 2014

If you’re like the average American, you’re getting a tax refund of about $3k this year. So what should you do with that nice windfall? Here are some things to consider before blowing it all on a random shopping spree. Continue reading “What Should You Do With Your Tax Refund?”

5 Reasons to Contribute to a Roth IRA in the Next 5 Days

April 10, 2014

April 15th is just a few days away and while most people think of it as tax day, it’s also the deadline to contribute up to $5,500 (or $6,500 if you’re over age 5o or over) to a Roth IRA for 2013. Why is this so significant? Well, here are 5 reasons it’s a good idea: Continue reading “5 Reasons to Contribute to a Roth IRA in the Next 5 Days”

Are You Doing the 52 Week Savings Challenge?

February 24, 2014

Have you heard about the 52 week savings challenge? Apparently this challenge has been pretty popular on social media sites and there are some pretty creative money jars out there on Pinterest and Facebook.  It wasn’t until a recent financial planning consultation that I’d ever talked to someone actually using this approach and it came up again in multiple sessions with others just last week.  Continue reading “Are You Doing the 52 Week Savings Challenge?”

Simple Car Buying Rules That Can Save You Money

November 25, 2013

I recently received a nice reminder about why our family maintains an emergency fund. While sitting in a car line getting waiting to drop my daughter off at school (and trying to play the role of referee during an early morning brother/sister quarrel), I noticed that the SUV was severely overheating. A few days and about $1,300 later, my daddy chauffeur business is now once again back up and running.  (Note: I am still working on getting the cute little monsters to get along though.) Continue reading “Simple Car Buying Rules That Can Save You Money”

Is Optimism Helping or Hurting Your Financial Plan?

October 28, 2013

A couple of weeks ago,  I discussed the important role that our thoughts and beliefs can play when it comes to working toward important financial goals. While an optimistic outlook is associated with many positive outcomes related to our health and wealth, as with most things in life, moderation is the key when it comes to optimism related to our personal finances.  Here are some questions to help determine if your optimism is helping or hurting your personal finances: Continue reading “Is Optimism Helping or Hurting Your Financial Plan?”

A Message in a Bottle

October 25, 2013

Sometimes I read something that touches me and makes me remember that, no matter what is going on in my life, things could always be worse.  And then I remember to pick myself up, dust myself off and get back to the business of living my life with less whining.  When I read this article, I had one of those moments.  Continue reading “A Message in a Bottle”

Ready. Aim… Financial Plan!

October 02, 2013

I may have told you before that my daughter participates in the ROTC program at her high school. Over the summer, she joined the air rifle team and has been practicing for the last several months. I had a chance to watch her participate in her first competition this weekend. I must admit I wasn’t sure what to expect, but as I watched her and her team perform, I began to realize that there was a lot more to the sport than just putting a pellet in the chamber and pulling the trigger. Continue reading “Ready. Aim… Financial Plan!”

10 Common Financial Mistakes to Avoid

August 15, 2013

A friend of mine recently sent me this article about how in many competitive areas of life, it makes more sense to focus on preventing bad decisions rather than trying to make good ones. That’s because the advantages of making the good decisions can be largely cancelled out by other people making good decisions. In other words, it’s really hard to beat everyone else by making good decisions and relatively easy to avoid making the bad ones. This is what’s called a  “loser’s game.” Continue reading “10 Common Financial Mistakes to Avoid”

Don’t Let a Loss of Income Be a Loss of Hope

July 31, 2013

Every once in a while, we receive a phone call from a person that is in real dire straits when it comes to their financial circumstances. Recently, I experienced just such a call. Frank is a plumber that is temporarily out of work because of injury, and the loss of income was proving to be too much for his household.  The bills were beginning to pile up, and it wouldn’t be long before services would be lost and creditors would start calling. Continue reading “Don’t Let a Loss of Income Be a Loss of Hope”

What Comes First: Saving, Investing, or Paying off Debt?

June 06, 2013

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?”