If you are overwhelmed, and you feel like there is too much info out there, or that you are too “stupid” to do anything about your finances…STOP!!! There is hope. You must learn to grasp hold of today, forget about yesterday, and plan for tomorrow. Quit borrowing money. Get out of debt. Make a plan. [...]

The greatest uncertainty of all may be the uncertainty over what money is good for.  We bury this uncertainty under a million cliches.  Money can’t buy happiness.  Oh, no?  Money can buy time and opportunity to do the things we most love.  It can help us fulfill our obligations as parents to our kids and [...]

What is fulfillment?  Whether in the sense of accomplishing a goal or enjoying a moment of real contentment, fulfillment is that experience of deep satisfaction when you can say, Aaahh … that was a delicious meal, a job well done or a purchase worth the money.  To find fulfillment, though, you need to know what [...]

Easy credit makes it easier to spend than to save, more pleasant to shop than to plan.  We throw money around.  We piss it away.  We treat ourselves to new shoes or a smart phone when we’re feeling blue.  The Wall Street Journal recently reported that since 1990, median household income has risen 11 percent, [...]

I’m not saying that the unsuccessful behaviors or unsuccessful choices you’ve made in your life make you blameworthy.  I’m just challenging you to recognize that you did make the choices and you did engage in the behaviors, and that therefore you and only you are responsible for the results.  Recall Maya Angelou’s comment on past [...]

Assess the Problem:  First, you have to figure out if your excessive buying is weighing on your life, and to what extent.  Until you realize you’re spending $150 a month on birthday gifts for the parties your children attend, it’s tough to alter that behavior.  A personal cash-flow statement should do the trick.  How much [...]

Live below your means:  The most useful move you can make isn’t an investment move at all.  It’s to save.  Don’t overspend, don’t run up debt, set something aside every month.  The math is simple and unforgiving.  Save too little, and smart stock picking and sharp fund selection won’t bail you out.  Save enough, and [...]

I’m anticipating the problems, putting them on the table and fighting them before they happen.  One advantage is that you are always on top of the situation.  The disadvantage is that at a certain moment people don’t believe you anymore.  They think you are fabricating the crisis, that the crisis is artificial.  But it’s part [...]

I also stopped comparing myself to others. You’re a custom job, and it’s totally stupid to compare your success or how you’re doing against somebody else. I mean, God didn’t make us similar.
— Stephan Pollan, financial author; Bankrate.com Interview (2006-05-09)

The reason I want you to have this “safe and sound” money [e.g., Emergency Fund]?  Because when you feel safe, you feel powerful, and power, remember, attracts money.  The safer you feel, the more powerful you are, and the more money will come your way.
— Suze Orman, The Courage to Be Rich

… Because we are debt free, and when you are debt free, your conversations about money take on a brand new TONE. Why? Because you are talking about how you are going to spend, save, and give away your money, NOT how much you are going to give to the finance company, the credit company, [...]