When is it the Right Time to Let Your Kids be Financially Responsible?

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I am not the kind of person who likes to tell other parents how they should do their job. Everyone has their own methods when it comes to raising children and in most situations there is no right or wrong way of doing things. But conversations between parents are often an invaluable source of ideas, so I’m going to offer some thoughts on the process of how to help your children become financially independent as they grow into young adults. The behaviors that turn children into fiscally prudent adults can begin at a very young age. From spending and saving […] Read more »

Congress, American Culture, and Personal Financial Responsibility

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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 »

Becoming the Leader I Need To Be

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In my day job as a software engineer, I am a technical team leader responsible for ensuring that a team of 8 operates efficiently, completes work items on time, and with quality.  My team respects both my technical and leadership abilities. There is chaos in the absence of strong leadership.  I see that every day. Where weak, or even no leadership is present, projects flounder in failure until someone takes control of the situation and drives it to completion. There needs to be someone with a degree in organizational leadership to step in when another leader can not. The same […] Read more »

Are You Teaching Your Children to Avoid a Financial Stomach Ache?

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Photo credit: newyork808 During the last week of school, my twelve year old son went on a class trip to the Nickelodeon Universe theme park inside the Mall Of America. When I picked him up from school, he told me that he didn’t go on any rides the last hour because he didn’t feel well, and still didn’t. Trying to determine the cause of his stomach issue, I asked him what he had for lunch.  The conversation went something like this: Tristan:  “I wanted Subway, but there wasn’t one in the food court where we went to eat. So we […] Read more »

Do You Worship the “Not So Mighty” Credit Score?

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When you were younger, do you remember hearing countless people advise you to “build your credit”? Those same voices were buzzing around in my head until I got a clue in 2007! “You’ve got to build your credit” they’d say, and the reason is usually based on the myth that says in order to be financially responsible you must build your score. I despise this myth most of all because from what I see, it has ruined more lives than it has helped. Think about it. 18 year old after 18 year old has inserted themselves into the murky waters […] Read more »

I Have No Budget, am Buried in Debt, but I’m Going on Vacation

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Photo Credit: Elsie Esq. Who Are You Following Over the Cliff? If there was only one example NOT TO FOLLOW when it came to finance, it would definitely be that of the United States Government. It seems as though it’s getting easier and easier to use our government as the prime example of what not to do. Here we are without a budget, with no savings, in debt like never before AND they just found a 2.3 trillion dollar mistake in the budget projections for, I think, the next 10 years. (2.3 TRILLION?…WOW!) Employment SUCKS, and people are losing their […] Read more »