It’s back-to-school time for many kids (I’m including college ‘kids,’ those darn whipper-snappers). And while they learn to read, take algebra, and write papers on the modernist perspective of Hieronymous Bosch’s butt music, from where is their personal financial management education coming? … More Financial Education for Your Children
Do you know those charity commercials where they break down a donation amount into a daily expense? Surely you have $0.16 per day for a good cause. Why not apply the same psychology to your personal savings? … More Saving as a Daily Expense
But I want to ask a different question – ‘why am I saving?’ And the answer I’m looking for is not ‘retirement’ or ‘an emergency fund.’ … More How much money should I be saving?
Mixing things can be good, like chocolate and peanut butter. But mixing too much in one pot can create a sludgy mess.
But mixing money together in one account can make it difficult to identify what you’ve earmarked that money for.
… More Your Money Doesn’t Get Lonely if You Separate It
If you’ve read any of my other articles, you know I am big on tracking where your money goes. But cash is tricky. What are you spending that cash on? … More Casual Cash
Travel is often easy to cut, but lowering your dining out expenditures is deceptively complex. … More What are the biggest budget busters you’ve seen?
I can give you some ideas for making your goals more concrete. … More How do I decide what my financial goals are?
I’m going to answer your question with a question: How stable is your income? More stable income can get by with a smaller emergency fund. Less stable income should have a larger one. Emergency Fund Let me back up a bit and clarify what I mean by ‘emergency fund.’ This is money that you can … More How much emergency fund should I have?
Are you struggling to get a handle on your finances? Has the quarantine cut or eliminated your income? To address these problems, you first need to know where your money is going. You can follow the process I’ve outlined here with spreadsheets, or you can use personal accounting apps to help you. So why use … More Personal Accounting Software
The effects of the pandemic on your financial life may be significant – either now or in the future. Here are two constructive exercises you can accomplish while in the throws of quarantine-induced cabin fever. … More Stay Productive
