Painless Ways to Pay off High Interest Debt

June 28, 2012

Are you struggling with credit card debt? If so, you’re not alone. Paying off credit cards and other higher interest debt is one of the most common goals that people try to save for. Unfortunately, having to pay off a large amount of debt with ridiculously high interest rates can make you feel hopeless, especially if your budget is already stretched. But it turns out that you don’t necessarily need to make huge sacrifices to become debt free much sooner than you may have thought was possible. Continue reading “Painless Ways to Pay off High Interest Debt”

How to Slash Your Entertainment Budget This Summer to Less Than $100!

June 18, 2012

Entertainment seems to be a universal budget crasher.  My son Brian told me that he tries to stay in his budget but sushi night always puts him over.  He has subsequently switched to the 10 cent wings night at his local barbeque place and bragged to me that he ate something like 35 chicken wings in one sitting. Entertainment, which inevitably involves expensive food, will bust a budget every time. My friends and I went on a hike this past weekend (free!) but afterwards we grabbed lunch with a group of friends so each couple ended up spending something like $35 bucks on lunch and libations.  There goes the benefit of the free entertainment. Continue reading “How to Slash Your Entertainment Budget This Summer to Less Than $100!”

How to Have a Great Birthday Party for Your Kids — For Less

June 11, 2012

If I could have back even half of what I’ve spent on kids’ birthday parties over the years, I could probably retire today. What brought this on is my youngest son just turned 22 and my husband and I gave him the world’s greatest present for $25 plus shipping.  Our son Rick plays guitar as a hobby and he is known as the family “greenie” as he promotes having a small carbon footprint, recycling, using less, eating locally grown foods, etc.  So we got him a guitar pick punch, which he can use to recycle credit cards, hotel room keys, or just about anything to make guitar picks to use or give as gifts to his musician friends.  He immediately called when the package came (instead of his usual texting) since he wanted to know where the heck we found it and agreed it was the world’s greatest present (for him). Continue reading “How to Have a Great Birthday Party for Your Kids — For Less”

Who’s More Frugal? Me vs. Mr. Extreme Saver

May 17, 2012

Last week, one of our guest bloggers, Mr. Extreme Saver posted a great blog post about how he is able to live in NYC on only a $1k a month of spending. That got me thinking. A lot of spending consists of “trying to keep up with the Joneses.” But what if instead of competing on how much we can spend (which is a lose-lose scenario), we were to compete on how little we spend? Here is my budget and how I stack up to Mr. Extreme Saver: Continue reading “Who’s More Frugal? Me vs. Mr. Extreme Saver”

How to Solve What Seemed Insolvable

May 11, 2012

I recently had a meeting with a woman who is struggling financially and she was looking for a way to make things better for herself and her kids.  She has had a rough last 12 months and is trying to put the pieces back together and find a way to move her life forward.  This time last year, her husband was killed in an auto accident and that has obviously changed the course of her life.  Unfortunately, he was unemployed at the time and his only life insurance was with his prior employer and he did not transfer it to himself when his company closed their doors for business.  So, she is a relatively young widow who received no life insurance benefits and was the sole income earner for several months prior to that.  She has maintained her sense of humor and can smile and say “Worst year ever!” She knows that she will recover and rebuild, and now she’s ready to.   The only thing she didn’t know was where to start.  So, she started with a conversation… Continue reading “How to Solve What Seemed Insolvable”

What It’s Like to Live on a Boat

April 27, 2012

I was talking to one of our other financial planners, Erik Carter, a few days ago about his Extreme Early Retirement blog posts, and he pointed out something that I hadn’t noticed myself. I live a lifestyle that some would consider unconventional and might very well fall into the Extreme Early Retirement category. So, for those of you who are brave enough (my friends would say crazy enough…) to try something like this, here’s what I’ve done. Continue reading “What It’s Like to Live on a Boat”

You Can Retire at 60!

April 23, 2012

She proved me wrong.  When my first appointment of the day for a work site personal financial planning session came in, I was skeptical because the first thing she said was that she wanted to retire in six months and she was sixty years old.  I raised an eyebrow and told her, “It’s not easy to retire at sixty – in fact it is really tough. Not many people do it these days.” Continue reading “You Can Retire at 60!”

What an Accident Taught Me About Car Rental Insurance

April 19, 2012
Updated June 14, 2017

If you’ve ever had to rent a car, you know that car rental companies love to sell insurance on their cars. They’ll often ask whether you’d like just the basic coverage or additional coverage at the counter even after you’ve already declined both when making your reservation. After all, it’s one of their big profit centers. Continue reading “What an Accident Taught Me About Car Rental Insurance”

Powerball: How to Cash in When You Don’t Win

April 09, 2012

My son reminded me that if you don’t buy a ticket, the odds of winning the Powerball lottery were zero.  He also said, “Someone has to win you know.”  He does have a point and that line of thinking is shared by many people who are in a frenzy buying lottery tickets even though the odds of winning a mega-jackpot are 175.7 million to one. I didn’t play the Powerball but I have to admit that I did buy into the California lottery pool with a bunch of my co-workers only because if they DID win, I wouldn’t want to be left behind. Continue reading “Powerball: How to Cash in When You Don’t Win”

Are Your Brackets AND Your Budget Busted?

March 23, 2012

Last weekend, Lehigh beat Duke in the NCAA basketball tournament.  Norfolk State beat Missouri.  Ohio University (a small school), not Ohio State (the behemoth), beat the University of Michigan.  Several serious underdogs beat overwhelming favorites.  These were all David vs. Goliath games and 3 of the little Davids won.  That made a lot of alumni at those schools very happy.  Is there any downside?  Only if you are one of the tens of millions of people in this country who, for entertainment purposes only, fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket.  These games are what basketball fans, and non-basketball fans, who fill out NCAA brackets (for those who are unfamiliar, your bracket picks winners of each game up through and including the championship game) call “bracket busters.”  For example, if you had Duke vs. Missouri in the championship game, your bracket is essentially finished before the action has started.  I had Missouri as a team in my Final Four, so my bracket is toast.  Oh well, there’s always next year…. Continue reading “Are Your Brackets AND Your Budget Busted?”

Becoming Healthy and Wealthy at the Same Time

March 19, 2012

Becoming healthy and wealthy at the same time seemed like an insurmountable goal to the caller I talked to last week on our financial helpline. Moneywise, Gail (*not her real name) was behind in her bills every single month and extremely stressed about it.  At the end of each pay period, she literally ran out of money so she wrote checks that she knew would put her account in the deficit. Continue reading “Becoming Healthy and Wealthy at the Same Time”

How Much Money Do You Really Need to Be Happy?

March 07, 2012

For some people, the grass is always greener.  I recently read an article about a banker living in New York who earns a  $350,000 annual salary, which covers private school tuition for his two children, a summer home in Connecticut, and a duplex apartment for his family in a very desirable neighborhood.  Yet he still feels it isn’t enough.  “I feel stuck,” he lamented.  “The New York that I wanted to have is still just beyond my reach.” Continue reading “How Much Money Do You Really Need to Be Happy?”

Are You Trapped By Your Income?

March 02, 2012

I had a conversation with someone who was leaving a very high-paying job in order to do something that paid far less but was far more personally fulfilling. I asked her what her friends and coworkers thought of her decision.  She laughed and said that they all think she’s crazy.  But…they are all incredibly envious too!  Continue reading “Are You Trapped By Your Income?”

How I Recovered From More Than $30,000 in Credit Card Debt

February 23, 2012

When I was 18, I got my first credit card. What should have been an occasion to mark the beginning of wise financial habits instead began a three-year period of reckless spending and horrible choices. By the age of 21, I found myself in debt to the tune of $30,000 – in addition to nearly $10,000 of personal debt to my parents, who financed my college education. Unfortunately, like many other Americans, I wasn’t able to use credit cards and rewards wisely. Continue reading “How I Recovered From More Than $30,000 in Credit Card Debt”

How Not Eating a Marshmallow is Key to Financial Success

February 16, 2012

I recently read this interesting Reason magazine interview with New York Times science writer John Tierney, co-author of the new book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. The interview starts with an explanation of the famous “marshmallow test” experiment in which 4-yr olds were given a marshmallow and told that they could eat it but that they would get two marshmallows if they waited 15 minutes before eating. The kids who were able to resist eating the marshmallow not only got a second one but ended up doing better in school and in their lives in general. Continue reading “How Not Eating a Marshmallow is Key to Financial Success”

What Would You Do With 19 More Hours of Free Time During the Week?

January 31, 2012

That’s the question I asked myself after recently reading an article suggesting that we shorten the standard work week from 40 hours to 21. With nineteen more hours during the week, I know there would be a lot more things I would do.  I’d spend more time outdoors, enjoying fresh air and walks in the park.  I’d learn new skills, like a new language and woodworking.  And I’d spend more time with my family and friends, the people that make life worth living. Whatever you can imagine doing with more free time, it’s likely something that would make your life better and happier. Continue reading “What Would You Do With 19 More Hours of Free Time During the Week?”