After receiving an invitation to my niece’s bridal shower scheduled for the last Sunday in April, I rushed online to see what selections were left to choose from on her Macy’s bridal registry. Hmm, should I go for the $100 Lenox vase, the $149 Cuisinart coffee maker, or perhaps the $399 Victorinox suitcase? Continue reading “April Showers Don’t Always Bring May Flowers, But May Mean Bringing Gifts”
Spring break isn’t only for college kids. I’ve been enjoying the last two weeks of March down in Florida for my own spring vacation for the past several years. But being on vacation usually means frequently eating out, which isn’t good for either my waist or my wallet. Here are some tips I’ve found helpful to save on both calories and coins when on vacation: Continue reading “Whittle Away at Your Waist, Not Your Wallet”
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”
Almost three years ago, we launched this financial wellness blog and I was pleased to be one of the financial planners chosen to share bits of wisdom and personal finance tips with you. Since then, I’ve written on everything from saving money by couponing to more advanced topics such as taxes and estate planning. My goal was to share tips on anything and everything that could help you with your personal finances, reduce financial stress and improve your financial wellness and hopefully keep you entertained a bit along the way. Continue reading “7 Retirement Planning Blog Posts That Can Help You Retire on Time”
Have you noticed your wallet getting a little bit lighter recently when you fill up at the gas tank? It seems the price of gas has gone up once again and depending on where you live, could be over $4 a gallon. It may cause some of you to consider purchasing a vehicle that gets better gas mileage but before you do, consider how many miles you may have to drive before you recoup the cost of buying that new vehicle. Continue reading “Is Better Gas Mileage Worth the Price?”
I walked into my local Best Buy and knew I wanted it as soon as I saw it. It was beautifully designed, sleek, and looked like the laptop of the future. It weighed only two pounds. And it was a pleasure to navigate using the touchpad, which perfectly synched the movement of the on-screen cursor to the movement of my fingers. Unfortunately, it was also manufactured by Apple, which meant that purchasing this laptop, the Macbook Air, would set me back at least $1,000. Continue reading “What I Learned From Buying a Laptop and How It Can Save You Money”
When it comes to budgeting, the conventional wisdom is that we should divide our expenses into “wants” and “needs.” Even our own Expense Tracker worksheet does this. But I think it’s actually a waste of time and let me tell you why. Continue reading “Is That a Want or a Need? Who Cares?”
As the landscape of my financial picture continues to change, I must be willing to change with it. I have shared with you my recent discovery that I am not having enough federal income tax withheld from my paycheck, so as I decrease my withholding allowances, I can anticipate a decrease in take-home pay. Couple that with increases in expenditures such as groceries (I am thinking about adding a revolving door to my pantry now that my oldest son is about to become a teenager) and gas for the car and you start to see why I need to reevaluate my spending plan. Continue reading “It’s Time to Rethink Automatic Payments”
Although it may seem like we just rang in the new year, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. You and your loved one always deserve to celebrate, but the last thing you want to do this early in the year is fall into credit card debt. So if your checkbook suffered a setback over Christmas, you may want to rethink your spending strategy on this day of love. Continue reading “4 Ways to Save Money on Valentine’s Day”
The photo accompanying this article is pretty striking. Fish sinks boat! Marlin 1, Boat 0. It reminds me of a newspaper article I saw many years ago titled “Deer Shoots Man” that talked about a hunter who leaned his rifle against a tree while taking a quick bio-break, and as he walked away, a deer ran past the tree causing his gun to fall and fire a shot directly into his gluteus maximus. Continue reading “Is a Big Fish Sinking Your Financial Boat?”
I read this article about Lance Armstrong booking a date on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), where many people suspect that after years of denial, he will finally acknowledge that he participated in a PED (performance enhancing drugs) program. This is a story that resonates with me on so many levels that I will absolutely be one of the people who tunes in to watch it even though I have no idea if the OWN is on my cable system. I guess I have some research to do. Continue reading “Do You Need an Oprah Moment Like Lance Armstrong?”
With 2013 officially upon us, it’s time to put on your thinking cap and create some quality resolutions. The national economy might be unstable, but you can still have a banner year. Strive to improve your finances as much as possible and you’ll be off to a good start. Continue reading “5 New Year’s Resolutions You May Not Have Thought Of”
Sometimes what amuses me is just a little bit silly. Or scary. Or just plain odd. I’m not sure which category this story falls into, but it was definitely amusing. Continue reading “Are “Financial Alligators” After YOU???”
If you’re like most people, chances are you have New Year’s resolutions that involve becoming healthier and/or saving money. What if I told you that there was something that could help you accomplish both goals, while also saving you time to fulfill your other New Year’s resolutions? It’s incredibly healthy, tasty, filling, and inexpensive. Better yet, you don’t even need to cook it. I’m talking about a green smoothie. Continue reading “Want to Live Healthier While Saving Time and Money in 2013?”
The fiscal cliff may be resolved but the deal only makes our “national debt cliff” even bigger. While we all hope our politicians can find a way to implement the necessary changes to reduce our national deficit AND national debt, we all must be prepared for how these changes will affect our lives. It’s been said that if we don’t learn from history, then we are destined to repeat it. We should not let the valuable lessons of our most recent recession and now current financial pickle go unlearned. These are some steps I encourage you to consider taking as a way to prepare for what lies ahead, no matter how things unfold: Continue reading “Preparing For the Next “Fiscal Cliff””
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”
A few things happened today and somehow when I pieced them together, it all made sense (to me, at least). As I was putting my coat on this COLD morning (for the first time in nearly a year), I found a $20 bill in the pocket. Talk about a great way to get your day started!!! I was thinking that it was going to be a good day. Continue reading “How to Find an Extra $2 Million in Your Coat Pocket”
Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday have passed, you may think that the good deals are gone as well. Fortunately, this just isn’t the case. While it’s true that steep discounts are to be had on those famous shopping days, plenty of items are still discounted both online and at the mall. They may not be advertised as loudly, but with a little effort, the remaining deals aren’t that hard to find. Continue reading “5 Ways to Save on Christmas Shopping After Black Friday”
