I’m pretty sure National Lampoon’s 1985 movie “European Vacation” was based on my family’s 1972 trip to the same destination. Both were comedies. Back then, European borders and currencies were as numerous and confusing as a Byzantine map. To this day, I have no idea where we were when I tried to mail that postcard. […]
Buckets of Money for Retirement! Read More »
Over the last ten years I’ve lost about 100 pounds. Okay, it’s actually the same ten pounds, gained and lost ten times. Blame it on the holidays, I guess. Sweet people sending me sweets. My wife’s deadly—the good kind of deadly—pecan pie. Hey, I’m not complaining. I love all that delicious stuff. But New Year’s
A Tale of Two Diets Read More »
I have no idea how many dieting books, fitness club memberships or getting-organized supplies are sold during the weeks just before and just after New Year’s Day…but I suspect it’s a big number. Something about a new year suggests a clean slate – a fresh opportunity to do it again, only this time get it
Don’t Regret Those Resolutions … Focus on Habits More Than Goals Read More »
We’ve all got them. People in our lives who live in a chronic state of financial mess. When it comes to money, they habitually make poor choices. There’s the friend who overspends. Despite his big salary, he’s got even bigger debt. There’s the parent who under-saves. The sibling who comes to you annually for “just
About that Financially Irresponsible Person in Your Life Read More »
“Money can’t buy happiness…but it can buy cows. And cows make milk, and milk makes ice cream, and ice cream makes you happy.” This is the sort of wisdom you pick up in a Colorado bookshop while on vacation. Maybe it was the thinner air, but after I chuckled, I thought, “Wait a minute…that’s really
What If Money CAN Buy Happiness? Read More »
Clients often ask, “Do I need to budget?” When I reply, “Maybe, maybe not,” they look at me like I’m a weight loss guru who just offered them a cheese Danish. “Wait—you’re a financial planner! Aren’t you supposed to tell me to budget?” My experience is that only about 10% of my clients budget. And
The Surprising Truth About Budgeting Read More »
All the financial whizzes like to say, “You need to be saving money!” Maybe you’d like to, but you don’t know how. (If so, how’s this for a hook: You will by the time you finish this column!) First things first: Saving is a habit. Like all habits, it requires motivation and momentum. If you’ve
Most folks are convinced the wealthy know some big financial “Secret” the rest of us don’t. Like, they went to “the right” school and met “the right” people. Or they heard about Tesla before anyone else did, or got in on the ground floor of Amazon. Or somehow, they cracked the code on those free
The Little Secret to Big Financial Success Read More »
Do you live within your means? If you answered yes, that’s a problem. Here’s why. Caleb and Jessica bought a new house last year and spent more than they planned. The expenses that accompanied their new home were more than expected. “We are still living within our means,” they explained to me, “but we can’t
Living Within Your Means is an Illusion Read More »
When my wife and I are on the interstate, nothing makes her more nervous than me passing an 18-wheeler. (In her defense, I’m not the one who would first feel the effects of a tractor-trailer swerving violently in our direction.) If she senses even the slightest movement our way, she ends up in my lap!
5 Ways You Can Be Safer Financially Read More »
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