Where do our lessons in personal finance come from, I mean, besides the school of hard knocks? Did someone show us how to balance a checkbook or properly use a credit card? Did we have a teacher or mentor, or did we learn mostly by example? However we learned about handling money in a responsible manner, I'd be willing to bet that encouragement played an important role. Encouragement is important in just about everything we do. Without it, we're less likely to maintain interest and be successful. So, encouragement in the personal finance arena is especially important. Read more »
Getting Out of Debt – Practical Steps I Took to Slay the Beast
My last article about getting out of debt spoke to the idea of attitude. Without the right attitude, we'll go nowhere fast. As promised, I'm going to share with you some of the techniques I used to extricate myself from a world of debt (including consultation with a bottle of wine). I'd like to get down to specifics about how I put my attitude to work and the results I obtained. These techniques worked well for me in my particular situation. Of course, what worked for me won't necessarily work for others, but it's probably worthwhile getting it out in the open as an example to see if it might work for you or someone you know. Read more »
Getting Out of Debt – How My Attitudes Helped Slay the Financial Beast
When getting out of debt, it's helpful to sincerely adopt a new way of perceiving things, thinking about issues, making decisions, and taking action. What works for one doesn't always work for others, but there is certainly something to be learned from everyone who has had to go through the challenges associated with indebtedness. Read more »
It’s Just Like Money in the Bank – Financial Adages Help Us Learn From Others
For some reason I started thinking today about the old saying, "It's just like money in the bank." Perhaps that was a hint that I ought to get back to the series I started a while back on financial adages and what we might learn from them. After all, there is a kernel of truth in just about everything we hear, but when an old saying gets passed on from one generation to the next, it's much more than just an old saying...it's more like wisdom dressed up in the robes of a legend. Read more »
The Value of Money – Four Different Perspectives
Sometimes we're challenged in the world of personal finance simply because we don't understand the value of money. If we don't, we're in trouble because one of the functions of money is to help us establish the value of things. It's easy to say that something is worth 15 dollars, but it would be odd to hear someone say, "That's worth 15 heads of cabbage." It doesn't happen very often because money is how we establish value in the marketplace, so we need to get a better handle on its value. Value is a matter of perspective, so let's look at some. Read more »
Getting Out of Debt – Selling Your Stuff Works…Kinda
If you're one who is focused on getting out of debt, one technique is to sell your personal possessions. It's something many of us have done. In fact, I've purchased many an item from a neighbor trying to raise money for his basic needs. I've always questioned this approach because no one has an endless supply of "stuff" to sell. What happens when you run out of items to sell? Besides, the things that are easy to sell are most likely those that are the most useful, and it seems those items are the very ones that a person might care to keep. Read more »
Reduce Expenses and Get Out of Debt – Use Mental Toughness
When I was a two-mile runner in high school, many of the runners complained about aches in their sides from running long and hard. It was just part of the game. If we were going to push ourselves, it was going to hurt. During a race, you can't just stop and rest a while when it starts to hurt, you have to keep going. Nevertheless, the pain and fatigue affected many runners and their ability to improve their times. Our track coach offered a solution, he called it "mental toughness." It's a concept that stuck with me and has served me well. Sometimes we just need a mental image, a concept, a focal point to help us achieve success. This was the concept for me. Read more »
Lending Money – Tips for Success
Some of us get into trouble by lending money to others. It's a common occurrence. We often see such requests coming from people who have trouble managing their own money, and we see it more often during challenging economic times. It can lead to uncomfortable situations between people, especially if you're not prepared. The trick is to have a plan to deal with the situation before it presents itself. When someone comes asking for money, you're better off if you're prepared to respond. Read more »
The Problem with Money – It Just Goes!!!
Whether it's a wad of currency in your pocket, a piece of plastic in your wallet, a jar full of coins, or paper checks in a checkbook, the main problem with money is it just goes! And, sometimes it goes quickly. Why is it that money seems to slip through our fingers so quickly? I believe the answer is found in the breadth of things one might spend money on. Whether it's a product, service, investment opportunity, real estate, housing, transportation, food, drink, or leisure activity, there is no end to the wide range of things that money can buy. And, the more money we have to spend in a discretionary manner, the more apt we are to make unwise and perhaps even reckless decisions. Read more »
Don’t Start Nothin’ Won’t Be Nothin’
The ability to make use of wisdom is often contingent upon our ability to identify with it. If we can identify with it, we'll feel much more comfortable about it because we'll have a better understanding of it. Often, this requires an emotional connection or a different perspective before an idea clicks with us. That's what I hoping to do, make something click. A dear late friend of mine, Deborah Hutchinson, used to say, "Don't start nothin', won't be nothin'." She usually reminded her friends and family of this when she perceived unwarranted criticism, teasing or harassment just around the corner. Often, just this gentle reminder would defuse a situation that could have easily led to regrets. Just the idea of the lasting consequences of getting something undesirable started was often enough to keep it from happening. It's a good thought to keep in mind, but that little bit of wisdom doesn't just apply to human interactions, it also applies to personal finance, especially the kind that can get you deep into debt. Let's take a look to see how we might apply this reminder in the financial arena to help avoid situations that could lead to regret. Read more »
Personal Finance Can be a Game of Push and Pull
As with many things in life, personal finance can be a game of push and pull. The trick is to understand the game and recognize when a decision is right because both the push and the pull are aligned with one another, and the decision is in your best interest. Learn to recognize and control these factors, and know what is and isn't in your best interest, and you'll be making better financial decisions. It's what the stereotypical car salesman does to support his best interests. When he spots you on the lot or approaching it and says hello and waves you over, he's pulling you in. When he prematurely puts the purchase agreement down in front of you, he's pushing you into making a purchase. He knows exactly what he's doing, and so should you. To explain the concept in a little more detail, let me use an employment example because most everyone has sought out employment at one time or another. Read more »
The Other 99% Slogan
Several months ago I drove passed a home that had a large sign out in front that said, "We are the 99%." It was a curious sign, and I was tempted to ask what they meant by it. A month or so later I heard about occupy Wall Street and their 99% slogan, so I eventually figured out what that large sign was trying to convey. Great concept. After I started thinking about it, I remembered another 99% sign that I saw in a doctor's office. It read, "1% are misfortunate, the other 99% are misbehaving." Please excuse the misspelling in the slogan, but the point of the sign was to remind folks that whether they're trying to quit smoking, lose weight or make better choices in diet, there are roughly 1% who fail because of misfortune - the misfortunate - while the other 99% fail because they don't apply themselves in a deliberate manner - the misbehaving. Another great concept. Read more »
Weathering Economic Recessions – One Man’s Approach
Many of us are wondering when we’re going to punch our way out of this economic recession we’ve been wallowing in for the past five years or so. It’s anyone’s guess, but I’d say we’re going to be in it for quite a while, and perhaps it will get even worse, simply because so many of us only learn the hard way. It seems we insist on repeating failed behavior patterns largely because they’re what we know and are comfortable with. Failure to obtain different results by doing the same thing again and again apparently has no bearing on the matter; we do it anyway. Read more »