Do You Rent or Own?

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And no, I’m not talking about houses here. I’m talking about your money. I’m talking about my money. Do you own your money? Or do you rent your money? For the past 19 years, I’ve been renting my money. For the past 19 years, I’ve been in debt in one way or another. Car loans, students loans, credit cards, mortgages, equity lines, business loans, and personal loans. For the past 19 years, I’ve been paying other people for the privilege (seriously makes me want to gag) to rent their money. Chase United Mileage Plus card offered me a deal to […] Read more »

Personal Finance For A Nine Year Old

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A few weeks ago, one of my daughter’s friends got a new computer game, and the two have been playing it ever since. However, my daughter, Tori, cannot play it unless her friend brings it over to our house, or she goes down her her friend’s house. So, naturally she wants her own copy. She had recently spent all her saved allowance money, so she was starting from scratch saving up the $20 for the game. Last Friday afternoon, when she got home from school, she exploded through the front door, ran up to her room, and grabbed her piggy […] Read more »

2 Sure-Fire Ways to Lose Your Money…Guaranteed

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A few years ago, I bought my daughters a fun, entertaining, and great inspirational book. The title is, How to Be Totally Miserable: A Self-Hinder Book by John Bytheway (Clearly a pen name). I highly recommend it! Inspired by this book, I am writing a short book focused on money. Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of books have been written on making money. Few, if any, help you find fun, innovative, creative and entertaining ways to lose money. Soon, at least one book will address this very needed niche for those who have grown tired of the constant battle to […] Read more »

It Adds Up – Financial Adages Help Us Learn from Others

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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 »

Debt Free News #21 – Congratulations Amy

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The Enemy of Debt Questionnaire – Congratulations Amy! How much debt did you have and how long did it take you to pay it off? I took a 401(k) loan in 1997 of $8,000 for a down payment on my condo. My mortgage was $34,800 for 15 years. I paid off the mortgage in 2005. I paid off the 401(k) loan in 2001. I bought a new SUV in 2006; did a dumb thing by trading it on a new model in 2008; the car loan was paid off in 2010 (it started out about $25,000.00 – stupid, I know […] Read more »

Investing — The Whole Return

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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 »

5 Ways to Plan for your Family’s Future…Without Going into Debt in the Present

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When you’re responsible for a family, you want to know your loved ones will be cared for now and even after you are gone. There are several steps you can start taking to make certain your family’s needs are met without causing a serious disruption to your current finances. Here are some options to consider. Be Careful at Home Be sensible around your house. Don’t leave unnecessary lights on, and wait until you have a sizeable laundry load before washing clothes in order to save electricity costs. This can also help you reduce your water bill. Check Your Bills Take […] Read more »

Book Giveaway: The Wealth Cure by Hill Harper

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Time for another book giveaway! 😀 I have not personally read this book yet but it is on my wish list. It sounds like a very inspirational story and a great read for those who want to transform their financial struggles into financial success. Today, I’m giving away one copy of this book and you will have until Wednesday by midnight to enter to win. Enter this Giveaway In order to be eligible to win the hardcover copy of The Wealth Cure all you need to do is leave a comment on this post describing a bad financial habit you […] Read more »

Take a Step Back…Put your Financial Behavior in Check

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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 »

Investing — Medically Speaking

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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 »

An Idiots Guide to Investing

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“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 »

Do Our Parents Money Decisions Define Us?

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From a young age I was given the ability to choose how I would spend my money. I was raised in a “typical” family unit with two hard working parents and a younger sibling. We weren’t rich, we weren’t poor we were considered middle class, I suppose. My dad worked long hours as a small business owner (he was a mechanic) and my mom worked part-time so she could take care of us. The family business was passed onto him by my grandfather who came to the states with nothing except the clothes on his back. Read more »

Lessons for Investors from Irene

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Irene and a KFC Cup

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 »