Do you ever feel like you have no idea where your money is? When I do individual consultations with people, I often find that they have trouble managing their money simply because it’s spread around in so many different places that it’s hard for them to keep track of it. If that sounds like you, there are a couple of ways to simplify your financial life: Continue reading “Simplifying Your Finances: Consolidate Or Aggregate?”
How do you swallow an elephant? One bite at a time. The first time I heard this statement my first thought was: “Yuck! Can we come up an analogy that involves eating an over-sized sundae instead of an elephant?” Once I understood the concept, it became my mantra. Whenever something feels overwhelming, especially something that does not seem like fun, I automatically think, “one bite at a time.” Continue reading “How To Swallow An Elephant”
A few months ago, I started to keep a journal so that I could capture my thoughts about life and record them for the benefit of my children. I figure I work all day long and don’t really have much time to teach them some of the important lessons that I’ve learned along the way. My hope is that one day they will pick up my journal and hear my voice as I speak to them about what is really important. In the same way, there are some things that are just more important than others when it comes to our finances. Here’s how journaling has helped me deal with this concern: Continue reading “How a Journal Gave Me a New Perspective on Money”
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 just got a new laptop and had to figure out what to do with all of my old files, work and personal, along with music, photos, and video. It was a chaotic mess. There was my old personal laptop, my old work laptop, an old desktop and an iPad all in one corner. It was like the land where technology goes to die. I wasn’t totally sure how to manage the craziness that had become my tech life. Continue reading “I Don’t Even Know Where to Start!”
Call me what you may, but I love stories about lousy customer service. Maybe because I’ve seen so much of it, seeing stories about it lets me know that I’m not alone in the world. So when I saw this article about companies with the worst customer service reputations, it made me smile. I can’t explain why, but that’s my reaction. And the thing that makes me laugh is that it doesn’t take that much effort to change the perception of lousy vs. great customer service. Continue reading “Little Things Can Make A Big Difference”
Mint is one of those financial tools that I have talked about so much since they appeared on the online budgeting scene that I often take for granted the fact that not everyone out there knows about their service. This week, we will look at Mint and review some of its most popular features. Mint has been around since 2007, boasts over 10 million users and has numerous awards, which is great and all, but all that really matters if you have an account is one thing – are you taking control of your money and making the smartest decisions possible? Here is a little more information about how it works and how you can potentially use Mint to help you reach your most important financial life goals. Continue reading “Personal Finance Tools Review: Mint”
I’ve always been fascinated by the game of golf or what Mark Twain referred to as “a good walk spoiled.” During childhood, I would spend hours at a time out in my yard creating my own imaginary course designs and pretending that I was at Augusta National competing for the coveted green jacket. (My parents and neighbors were probably grateful that I was using plastic golf balls at the time as my errant shots often landed on cars and houses.) Continue reading “Hey Mr. Planner, What’s in Your Bag?”
A few months ago, I wrote about my own retirement planning journey and a list of things that I plan to do along the way. The ultimate purpose was to find some balance between living in the moment and planning for the future. I’ve made some progress over the past few months and thanks to a friend who lives on a tidal creek, I was able to check a long awaited paddle boarding trip off my list. Continue reading “What’s SUP With Your Budget?”
