Tough Financial Shape? Just Listen for the Call to Action

For some people, this really is their emergency fund, and their emergencies are ongoing.

At one point or another, many us will recognize that we're in tough financial shape, and that becomes our call to action. We ought to be thankful we can hear the call when it comes, because for some of us, we don't "get off the dime" and act in our own best interest until it's absolutely necessary. And, some of us are financially hard of hearing. Recently, I've had the opportunity to peek in on the lives of others, through social media, and learn a little about their challenging financial conditions. I'd like to share some of my observations, and insights and suggestions, in an effort to get some value out on the table. I do this in the interest of helping others understand there are various indicators that we should recognize as a type of wake-up call. We ought to create insights regarding these indicators, and put them to work for us, so we sleep better at night. Read more »

Get Out of Debt – Focus on Big Chunks

Get out of debt by focusing on the big chunks

Okay, the term "big chunks" doesn't sound like it would appear in a magazine article or economics course textbook, but it should express the idea clearly for most of us; we need to focus on getting out from underneath those elements of our debt that are large and burdensome. In other words, the most serious of our concerns. Read more »

Financial Freedom Explained in 30 Seconds – One Man’s Approach

man of freedom

Financial freedom is a funny thing. How do we know when we've reached it? What exactly is it? I think it means something different to nearly everyone, and there are many people out there who would like to know how to get some for themselves. Read more »

Stop Spending Money – It All Depends on Your Definition of STOP!

stop spending money

I've touched on the idea that our words influence our beliefs which in turn influence our actions. In this post, I want to discuss the words and actions of two couples who had trouble understanding that the word "stop" meant something other than quit, cease, end, discontinue, terminate, or bring to a halt. It's funny in a way. Who doesn't know what "stop" means - really, come on, you have to be kidding. How might you explain to law enforcement that the meaning of "stop" on that large red sign back there just wasn't abundantly clear in your mind? Read more »

It Adds Up – Financial Adages Help Us Learn from Others

Even small coins "add up" to something larger.

I have a friend who likes to say, "It adds up." He says this when he's referring to saving a little money here and there. Well, of course it adds up, and when we're saving money, it seems to take forever to amount to anything appreciable. But, that's not the case when it comes to spending money, especially when we're buying things with a credit card. Read more »

Help the Needy – Not so Fast! Let’s do Some Thinking

help the needy

"Help the needy" is what we've learned since we were kids. But as Suzanne's recent post shows, sometimes our experiences as adults can cause us to rethink that well-worn expression. Who are the needy anyway? Sometimes it's hard to figure out. And, that's what can lead us to donate to a cause, lend money, forgive debts, and help others who have projected themselves to us as being in need. Read more »

Easy Come, Easy Go – Financial Adages Help Us Learn from Others

Burning money is easy with an "easy come, easy go" attitude...

Here at Enemy of Debt we focus on the psychological aspects of personal finance, especially when it comes to staying out of debt and getting out of debt. In light of that, I thought a series on financial-related adages might be fun as well as insightful. We hear these sayings quite often, but many of us don't stop to think about what they really mean. Read more »

Congress, American Culture, and Personal Financial Responsibility

Here's our reflection, but clearly the wrong direction.

With all the talk recently about deficit spending, the national debt, the need for a balanced budget amendment, and the western world operating largely on borrowed money, two things come to mind. This might be a good time to share my thoughts because there are lots of lessons for all of us who have concern about our financial condition – at home and on a broader scale. Congress is a Reflection of American Culture My first thought is that those in the U.S. Congress are largely a reflection of the “buy on credit and have debt around our neck” culture [...] Read more »

Financial Planning for Retirement – Be Conservative, Responsible, Realistic, and be Successful

Nest Egg

Not long ago I had the good fortune to gain insight with respect to one family’s financial planning that was centered around retirement. This had been a young couple with children, with both the husband and wife having lived through the Great Depression and bleak economic times surrounding World War II. Talk about a life lesson in stretching a dollar! What struck me as unusual was the constant focus, from the very beginning, on retirement and taking care of their children. It was unusual in a very good way. This couple knew that the future was coming. They knew that [...] Read more »

Mortgage Free – Why This is Essential for Traditional Retirement

retirement house

Who in their right mind would argue that being mortgage free is the only way to be if you expect to retire in some traditional way, with a house of your own? That would be me. As they say, "opinions vary" and "results vary." But, if you pay off the mortgage before you retire, that eliminates a large financial obligation essential for living - someplace to live. That's one of the big reasons it makes sense to me. From my vantage point, as an early self-retired individual, I see being 100% debt free as an essential part of having peace of mind when you retire, and I'm up on my soapbox to explain why. Gather 'round my financially fit friends and lend me your ears. Read more »

Media Deliberately Tries to Affect Our Personal Finances, so Here’s My Set of Defensive Measures

advertisement hypnotist

Photo Credit: beggs Today we’re getting deeper and deeper into a culture that is influenced by media, but thankfully it’s “selective media.” I don’t mean media that selectively reports things or gives you one side of the story. That’s nothing new at all. What I mean is viewers can be much more selective about what is watched, listened to, and read. With an ever-expanding selection of television programs, radio programs, print publications, and Internet websites, we have more to select from now than ever before. And, changes in the marketplace are reflected as more new choices. Large print media are [...] Read more »

Teaching Kids About Money – Here’s What Helps

Kids and Money

Photo Credit: Memory_Freak This is a guest post written by Clair Schwan. I can’t say that I have a lot of experience with kids, but I have a lot of experience with money, and part of my childhood involved what I thought was a good training program about the value of money and how it might best be handled. I had four of the best teachers I could possibly ask for – two grandparents who were young adults in the Great Depression, and two parents who grew up in it and struggled through the challenging economic times surrounding World War [...] Read more »

A Contrarian View of Credit Reports and Credit Scores

creditscore_equals_bigbanks1

Photo Credit: Adam_T4 Credit reports and credit scores are useful tools for those interested in estimating the credit worthiness of others. Many of us have worked hard to establish credit and keep our scores in the upper range so we’re viewed favorably. This indicates to others that we’re a good credit risk. It’s an important accomplishment because we know that having an undesirable credit rating can: adversely affect our ability to get a loan; result in being declined an offer of employment in certain job sectors; prevent us from qualifying as a tenant; and, interfere with being issued a security [...] Read more »