9 Tips For Creating Discipline With Money

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9 Tips For Creating Discipline With Money

I frequently get questions from my readers about how to resolve their various financial problems.  The questions range from not being able to save enough, to tackling huge amounts of debt, to how to stop living paycheck to paycheck. One of the common themes I’ve discovered in the hundreds of emails I’ve received, is that most of those readers tell me the root of their problem is a lack of discipline. Lack of Money is Not the Problem Learning discipline when it comes to money is not always easy, but it’s necessary if you want to get ahead financially.  Many […] Read more »

Teaching Your Kids About Money? 5 Concepts They Need to Know

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teaching your kids about money

Are you regularly teaching your kids about money and how to handle it?  I don’t mean just talking about very simple concepts such as “save money” or “don’t spend it all”.  I mean are you really teaching them what money is all about? When they get older are they going to have a clear picture of how to manage their money well so they don’t end up in financial trouble like so many people who never learn these principles?    The Basics Still Apply Managing money is much more difficult than it was 40-50 years ago because most of us […] Read more »

The Value of Money – Four Different Perspectives

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The value of money varies according to who you talk with.

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 »

“No More Frivolous Spending!”

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I have a confession to make…It’s been over a year since I tracked my household’s expenses. Yes I know better, yes that is horrible, and yes unfortunately, it’s the truth. My boyfriend and I have been living together for about a year and a half. Prior to his “moving in” we tracked both of our expenses and built a household budget that was fair and worked for both of us. We haven’t looked at it since. In fact, I pay all of our household bills and manage the finances for his business. He has NO idea where his money is […] Read more »

Make 2013 Debt Free…Join the Debt Movement

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Did you ever wonder why New Year’s resolutions never last? Each year as I resolve to quit all the bad habits I developed over the previous year, I always do. But if you take the right approach to a resolution such as “getting out of debt”, there’s no reason you can’t be successful. If you’ve been working to get out of debt with little success and need a kick start, consider joining the Debt Movement! We all need a little help from time to time whether it’s a debt relief plan that makes the process easier, a nudge in the […] Read more »

Holiday Shopping: Hook Line and Sinker

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The holidays are expensive there is no doubt about that. Just how much are we spending? According to the National Retail Federation an average of $423 compared to $398 last year. Shoppers lured by deals often fall prey to opening credit cards to get an extra discount or delay payments. Card Hub’s latest study shows eight out of ten retailers offer financing to consumers, but more than 60% of them provide mind boggling terms, such as an offer of an initial zero percent term with backdated interest if the entire balance is not paid off during the offer period. So […] Read more »

Credit Card Negotiator

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No it’s not William Shatner the Priceline negotiator, it’s you the credit card negotiator! You’ve got credit card debt that is starting to get out of control and you’ve decided it’s time to take the preverbal “bull by the horns”. So how do you get started? Who do you talk to? Where can you turn for help? Understanding how to negotiate credit card debt just may be the first step for getting your finances back in order. But first things first there are a few cardinal rules when it comes to negotiating with your creditors. 1. Know what you want. […] Read more »

I Dare You to Move

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I just finished moving for the fifth time in five years. Not only is moving not fun, it’s expensive! I have moved for various reasons over this time frame, divorce, a brief second marriage and a crazy landlord. People move for many other reasons, a change in jobs, to be closer to family, the list goes on and on. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 17 percent of the U.S. population moves each year. The reality is moving is just part of life’s adventures and whether you do it once in your life or twenty times there are ways you […] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 8/31

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By the time you’re reading this, I will be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean traveling at mind numbing speed towards Houston TX, which is just a speed bump on my way back to the great state of Minnesota. Dear Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Tropical Depression/Tropical Whatever Isaac, if you delay my trip home by one minute I will personally charter a plane, fly over you, and take a gigantic pee right into your eye. While you contemplate THAT image, it’s time for me to pass along links to my favorite posts that I’ve read throughout the week. First up, we have Before You […] Read more »

Razor Customer Support Rocks!

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Standing in the kitchen, we told our daughter, Tori, she was only getting one present for her birthday. She looked a little confused as we handed her a small, flat, rectangular present that was very light. She opened it up and screamed in delight as she realized it was the picture cut from the packing box of the Razor electric scooter she had been coveting ever since her friends in the neighborhood had gotten one a year earlier.  We had not intended to purchase such an expensive birthday present, but it was something Tori really wanted. So, we sacrificed a […] Read more »

Get Your Kids to Read and Save!

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As a mother of an almost nine year old, I face many challenges when it comes to these two topics; reading and saving. While my son is all for reading the types of things he likes to read, they are not always what I would consider “educational”. These days he is only interested in reading “Captain Underpants”. Last summer it was the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series. My goal is to expand his reading horizons this summer with something other than cartoon and stick figure drawing comics. I have a confession to make… Sometimes I resort to bribery to […] Read more »

2012 Meets the 1950’s

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Today’s stage is set for the I Love Lucy show. A devoted wife and mother Lucy didn’t work but depended on Ricky, her star performer husband to bring home the bacon. Lucy longed for the chance to be a star and if she were here today maybe even a credit card. The sad truth is that she wouldn’t be able to get one. Why? Well because of the Credit CARD Act of 2009. The act which was meant to protect people has put stay at home mom’s at arm’s length from applying for credit. In an effort to help students […] Read more »

Survive Wedding Season Debt Free

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I have surpassed the threshold of having multiple friends I grew up, or went to school with (making us all about the same age) getting married in what seemed like—all at once. There was a span of about three years where I attended, or was in fifteen weddings—the expenses crushed my finances. I never calculated the actual amount I spent, the shock may have given me a heart attack, but I would venture to guess I spent an average of $750 for each of the 5 weddings I was in and roughly $200 for those I attended, making the total over […] Read more »

Failing Financial Literacy?

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Financial Literacy Month is a great time to take a look at how we are doing when it comes to making the grade with our financial knowledge. Millions of Americans are failing miserably and among them, are college students. With little financial finesse and the freedom to make their own decisions many are starting their financial lives in need of debt help. Researchers from five American universities recently conducted a survey on credit card debt and financial literacy among college students and released the results in April just in time for Financial Literacy Month. The findings confirm that our youth […] Read more »