money | Enemy of Debt: Where Behavior Meets Reality

Kids and Money – Credit Cards for 2 Year Olds?

Written by Brad Chaffee on January 16, 2012 · 21 Comments

Do you want your 2 year old “learning” to swipe a credit card? This Christmas Noah (our 2 year old) was given a Shop and Learn Cash Register. At first I was excited. The nerd in me eagerly opened it up and secretly drooled over the idea that Noah was going to start learning about money. It had buttons, sounds, lights, a working coin drawer, a scanner and groceries to ring up. Perfect fun right? Then I noticed it also came with a credit card. I’d rather it not have a card at all — debit or credit — but [...] Read more »

Tags: credit cards, Kids and Money, learning toys, money

Just Say No to Inflatable Santa’s

Written by Suzanne Cramer on December 8, 2011 · 9 Comments

“Mommy please can we get one of those inflatable Santa’s?” This is the plea I have heard from my eight year old son since we began to decorate (with our already purchased) holiday decorations the day after Thanksgiving. My answer remains constant, “Not right now buddy, we don’t need an inflatable Santa.” Unfortunately millions of Americans apparently do feel they need inflatable Santa’s, two Christmas trees, and thousands of twinkle lights to adorn their homes so they can feel the magic of the holidays. According to a Bloomberg report, “This year U.S. consumers will spend $6 billion on decorations, the [...] Read more »

Tags: Behavior, budget, Budgeting, Christmas, credit, credit cards, debt, Debt free, debt freedom, Economy, goals, Kids and Money, money, pay off debt, saving money

Santa Is a Waste Of Money

Written by Travis on November 17, 2011 · 19 Comments

In a scene common to many American households during the holiday season, my kids sat at the kitchen table thumbing through a stack of Christmas toy magazines creating their Christmas wish lists. I smiled as I watched them, remembering doing the exact same thing when I was a kid. I actually folded mine up, put it in an envelope and gave it to my parents to mail to Santa. Feeling their excitement as I walked towards the table, I overheard, “Oooh, I’ve never seen that before, that is SO cool! That’s definitely going on my list!” Suddenly having them go [...] Read more »

Tags: Holidays, life, money, personal finance, Priorities

The Most Important Money Advice You Will Ever Receive

Written by Jessica on November 12, 2011 · 9 Comments

You do not need to buy a bunch of books from Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman or David Bach to get this kind of advice. You don’t have to go to week long seminars to learn this powerful tool either. You don’t even have to leave your home. Look no further than this blog post and you will get the most valuable money advice you could ever need. The power of this strategy is amazing! It will teach your children a valuable lesson. It will save you thousands of dollars. It will help your marriage. It will even allow you to [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, debt, just say no, money, Personal Responsibility, Priorities, sacrifice, saving money

Imagination is Free

Written by Travis on November 4, 2011 · 5 Comments

I’m going to ask you to do something you may not have ever been asked to do before. Close your eyes, and think of a recent experience in your life that was extremely stressful. Go to your “nervous, anxious, so angry I want to punch a wall” place. What do you feel like doing? What would deflate the negative energy you’re feeling? Going out to eat so you don’t have to add the stress of cooking to the pile? Going shopping and buying anything you darn well please so you regain the feeling of control? Having your significant other notice [...] Read more »

Tags: gift giving, Inspiration, life, money, Relationships

I Hear the Secrets that you Keep…

Written by Suzanne Cramer on October 27, 2011 · 6 Comments

I do, I hear them; the denial, self talk, and the inevitable, “What am I going to do?” They are secrets you keep from everyone; your family, your friends, and even your significant other. You’re in debt. It doesn’t matter how it happened, what matters now is that you do something about it. That’s where I come in. I am a certified credit counselor for CareOne Debt Relief Services and everyday I talk to people about their debt. Sometimes I am the first person they have admitted this to and they are scared, apprehensive, and skeptical. I would be too; [...] Read more »

Tags: Bankruptcy, credit cards, Dave Ramsey, Debt Elimination, Debt free, debt freedom, money, pay off debt

Sorry, School Fundraiser – You’re Not In My Budget!

Written by Travis on September 22, 2011 · 42 Comments

The inevitable packet came home from school with my daughter last week. That same night, the doorbell started ringing signalling the beginning of the school fundraising season. Whether you have school aged children, or you’ve experienced that knock at the door, you know what I mean. Kids trying to sell you products that you cannot possibly live without at an inflated price all in the name of helping their school. The motivation given to the students is a ladder of prizes – the more you sell, the better the prize. Of course every student begins the fundraiser with hopes of [...] Read more »

Tags: Budgeting, Giving, life, money

Investing — The Whole Return

Written by Paul Puckett on September 20, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Losing money can really make you angry, but, eventually, you can make up the losses. But when time is lost, you will never get it back. The factor of time in investment return calculations is limited to the time period of the investment, e.g. One Year, Year To Date, Trailing Three Years, Calendar Year, etc. Return calculations are objective and purely mathematical. The value of your time is left out of the calculation of investment return. What about the time you spend as an investor? What is it worth? Isnʼt that part of your whole return and shouldnʼt you include [...] Read more »

Tags: Investing, investment return calculations, money, Money Management, personal finance, the whole return, time management

Take a Step Back…Put your Financial Behavior in Check

Written by Suzanne Cramer on September 15, 2011 · 7 Comments

Debt is sometimes inevitable, unavoidable, and well a fact of life for many. No matter what your stage of life you may be faced with financial issues. Life can take its toll on your finances; unemployment, an unexpected illness, divorce or a death in the family can send you into a financial tailspin. But sometimes financial issues stem from a cause deeper than the unexpected; the way you think about money. To snap out of bad financial habits it may require some lifestyle and behavioral changes. 10 Financial Principles Dr. Bernard Poduska, author of For Love or Money writes about [...] Read more »

Tags: budget, debt, Debt free, debt freedom, financial planning, life, money, personal finance, sacrifice, saving money

Investing — Medically Speaking

Written by Paul Puckett on September 13, 2011 · 1 Comment

Investing is like medicine. If you want to lose weight, any doctor can offer medically proven suggestions such as reducing calories and/or increasing exercise. If you want to grow your portfolio, over time, any professional can offer recommendations to help you by increasing your investments in the market and helping you remain invested when times are tough. But, neither doctors nor investment professionals can help everyone. Imagine a man telling his doctor he wants to lose 30 pounds without exercise and to include a dozen donuts per day in his weight loss plan. You can imagine the doctor’s response. It [...] Read more »

Tags: Investing, money, Motivation, personal finance

An Idiots Guide to Investing

Written by Paul Puckett on September 6, 2011 · 1 Comment

“You’re an idiot!” She said this to me in response to overhearing me discuss the theme of my book, Investiphobia: Overcome Your Deepest Investment Fears with a friend on the deck at Starbucks. At least she waited until my friend was gone to make her observation. So, I asked her why she believes I am an “idiot” and had a reasonable discussion despite her comment. Surprisingly, she based her conclusion on two observations she made relating to the purpose of my book and it’s message. She said if my purpose is to help people overcome and eliminate their fears, I’m [...] Read more »

Tags: Change, Investing, money, personal finance

Lessons for Investors from Irene

Written by Paul Puckett on August 30, 2011 · 3 Comments

Millions of Americans were affected by Irene, whether it was a hurricane or a tropical storm. The debate, for many, seems to center on whether reporters and forecasters “over-hyped” the strength of the storm as it approached the East Coast. The answers to that debate are not relevant but there is one lesson we can learn from the experience of forecasters as they plotted the probable track and strength of Irene. At a very basic level, there are two parts to forecasting hurricanes. The first is performed by computers and this generates a variety of possible tracks and levels of [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, Change, determination, Emergencies, hurricane irene, Investing, money, personal finance, Priorities

A Lost Decade, Really?

Written by Paul Puckett on August 2, 2011 · 2 Comments

We’ve heard so much about the “lost decade” we may feel investing for the long-term is foolish. Numerous articles suggest the tried and true method of asset allocation is dead. “Buy Gold!” “Buy gold, guns, and two years worth of food” “Time the market” “Buy bonds, sell stocks!” But, did investors really lose a decade? Most people, particularly those working off debt, invest mainly in their 401k or other retirement plan. Few limit their investments to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (30 stocks), or the S&P 500, both representing large US based companies. The fund choices within a retirement plan [...] Read more »

Tags: Economy, Investing, lost decade, money, personal finance

Where Debt Begins: The Disconnect Between Perception and Reality

Written by Paul Puckett on July 26, 2011 · 2 Comments

If you are like most people today, you have debt payments challenging your future and creating a drag on your ability to invest. In addition to the financial issues debt creates, it also affects how we feel about ourselves and how we look at the world around us. We may think to ourselves, “what’s wrong with me?” or “where did I go wrong?” To move past these feelings, it might be helpful to consider where it might have all started. Read more »

Tags: behaviors, debt, debt cycle, debt freedom, habits, mindset, money, perception, personal finance, Personal Responsibility, reality