The fact that most of us are not raised to talk about money is a real tragedy.  Show me a couple who doesn’t talk about money and plan their finances together, and I will show you a couple headed for financial trouble — if they’re not already in it.  When you work together on your [...]

How many times have you heard someone say, “If only I could make a little more money, I could really get my financial act together?”  How many times have you said it yourself?  Ask most couples the source of their financial problems and they will tell you it’s that they don’t make enough money.  The truth [...]

The truth about money management is that it’s not really that difficult.  If you know what to do and what not to do, it’s actually pretty easy.  The challenge is that we’re not taught about money in school.  As a result, much of what we learn comes from friends, word of mouth, and marketing.  This [...]

Try this exercise.  Take out a dollar bill and hold it for a moment.  Imagine everywhere this dollar has been, and everywhere it will be going.  Think about the people who have held this dollar bill, and what they have used it for.  Think of the people who will hold it in the future, and [...]

I was trying to think of exactly what it is that I appreciate more but I really think it is EVERYTHING. I appreciate not having to worry about money and all the things that I learned you can enjoy without money. I appreciate how I learned who my true friends are and how you can [...]

We have discussed how the strengths and weaknesses in your life will affect your personal finances, but we cannot leave that subject without dealing with one of life’s dirtiest words — discipline.  You will have conflict, worry, shortages, and general lack of fun until you achieve some discipline in the handling of your funds.  I [...]

Don’t buy things; buy freedom.
— David Futrelle

This [tracking your spending] is not about following our (or anyone else’s) budgets, with standardized categories and a suggested percentage of income that should go toward each category.  This is not about swearing at the beginning of each month that you’ll do better.  This is not about guilt.  It’s about identifying, for yourself, what you [...]

Just as your children have to learn the rewards of hard work, you have to relearn them.  But trust me:  Frugality really does offer greater psychic rewards than conspicuous consumption.  Start treating the little things in life with more respect and it will carry over to the bigger things.  When you start having an increased [...]

Well, for me, the quest for smart money management is not only the search for security, it’s the journey to find balance. If I can fill my life with unforgettable, fulfilling experiences, I don’t think material goods will matter as much to me. Sometimes the search for the perfect pair of jeans, the latest make-up, [...]

And when you do buy something, you’ve got to make sure it’s going to last long enough to justify either the cost of borrowing or the time you spent saving the cash to buy it.  Phrases like “the newest,” “the latest,” and “the hottest” need to be banished from your mouth and, perhaps even more [...]

Living within your means suggests that you wait until you have the money before you buy something.  This gives you the benefit of avoiding interest charges.  It also gives you a waiting period during which you may well discover that you don’t want some of those things after all.  He who hesitates saves money.  The [...]

To live within your means is to buy only what you can prudently afford, to avoid debt unless you have assurance that you will be able to pay it promptly, and always to have something put away for a rainy day.  It was quite a fashionable way to live one short generation ago, before we [...]

Debt Warp holds that our whip-it-out credit card culture makes it so easy to buy stuff that people delude themselves into thinking they’re more affluent, better set for the future, than they are.  Debt Warp reshapes reality and turns age-old precepts about frugality upside down.  We are so accustomed to buying things we really don’t [...]

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. [...]