Blog

June 28, 2020

4 Actions to Prevent Card Scamming

While certain types of crimes are down during this crisis, card scamming has increased. Perhaps it’s because it is a crime which can be perpetrated at home using a computer. Nevertheless, while you are likely to be distracted due to ...

May 28, 2020

Should You Be Combining Your Money

Should You Pool Your Money with Your Spouse If you are combining your money, then you are in good company, because about 80% of couples do so. It seems to hold true no matter whether both partners are working or ...

April 1, 2020

Step by Step: How to Prepare a Budget

The steps involved in how to prepare a budget can seem quite straight-forward to some people, however, it may not to others. Understanding basic, such as how to prepare a budget is a critical skill in personal finance. And now ...

March 3, 2020

What is Personal Overspending?

Personal overspending is when you spend more money than you earn. While there can be months where your expenses exceed your monthly income that does not necessarily mean you are overspending. Because it is offset by months where you spend ...

January 28, 2020

Is It Okay to Carry Credit Card Balances

No, it is never okay to carry credit card balances. This is one of many key ingredients, such as understanding your cash flow or your net worth in order to be or become financially sound. Fiscally responsible adults know that ...

January 3, 2020

Quickly Lower Your Credit Card Debt

Did this past holiday season spending cause your credit card balances to increase? Maybe it wasn’t the holiday spending but other expenses that now makes you wonder how you can quickly lower your credit card debt. No matter how the ...

December 1, 2019

Common Questions About Budgets

Common Questions About Budgets There are many aspects and things to consider when preparing a budget which means there are lots of questions about budgets. Recently, a high school senior who was working on a school project, contacted me. This ...

October 24, 2019

Your Holiday Budgeting Guide

Tips for 2019 Holiday Budgeting The holiday season can create complications for your personal budgeting plan. This time of the year, you can find all sorts of suggestions on how to control your holiday spending. It can be a little ...

September 29, 2019

Personal Finance is Like Dieting

Personal Finance Is Like Dieting Has it occurred to you that personal finance and dieting are very similar? It did to me as I was walking to the library to write an article the other day. Following the basic concepts ...

September 20, 2019

A Budget is Unnecessary

A Budget is Unnecessary I am going to make a bold statement. A budget is unnecessary. A budget is one of several financial reports, i.e. net worth, income and expense, and cash flow, that can be used to help ...

August 27, 2019

How to Avoid Vacation Overspending

How Avoid Vacation Overspending One way to avoid vacation overspending is to NOT to use your credit card for all of your vacation expenses. This article will highlight why using your credit card can lead to vacation overspending and why ...

July 24, 2019

Can Small Spending Habits Hurt Your Budget?

Small Spending Habits Can Damage Your Budget Small spending habits, have an cumulative effect which can make a big difference in your budget. It's not about the occasional minor purchases or even one daily spending routine. (I had one client ...

June 28, 2019

Teach my kids about money

What’s the One Lesson I Need to Teach My Kids About Money? I was recently asked this question by friend and a mom. She wanted to know, what one concept should she teach her kids about money. She, like so ...

May 31, 2019

How to Deal with Your Partner’s Debt

Dealing with Your Partner’s Debt Surprise: Your Partner has Debt Committed relationships can have many surprises. Sometimes, it catches you completely off-guard, such as discovering your partner has debt that you and your partner did not know about. This article ...

May 16, 2019

Teach My Kids About Earning and Spending Money

Teach My Kids About Earning and Spending Decide this is the summer to start teaching my kids about money More than any other time of the year, summer, offers lots of opportunities to teach kids about money. In the summer, ...

April 30, 2019

5 Common Budgeting Excuses

How to Fix 5 Common Budgeting Excuses Personal budgeting, typically, is usually high on the list of things we don’t want to do. Because it is something we don’t want to do, there are all sorts of budgeting excuses. Sadly, ...

April 22, 2019

Spending Too Much on Your Home

Are You Spending Too Much on Your Home? I recently wrote about how home renovations can cause your monthly housing expenses can cause your housing expenses to tip over 50% of your take-home pay. The cost of the renovation or ...

March 28, 2019

Is Your Housing More Than 50% of Your Take-Home Pay?

A Home Renovation Can Make Your Housing Expenses to be More Than Half Your Take-Home Pay If your home renovation has caused your monthly housing expenses to more than or close to 50% of your take-home pay, you need to ...

February 21, 2019

Why It’s Important to Talk About Money Before Marriage

Marriage requires commitment and open communications. However, there are many topics that are quite difficult for couples to discuss. As an example, money and financial woes, remains one of the top reasons for divorce. This article will highlight 6 money ...

February 14, 2019

How Decluttering Can Save You Money

Physical Clutter = Financial Clutter Being uninterested in buying things, thus having a clutter-free home, has been personally great for my bank account. Apparently, decluttering, is suddenly the latest craze due to the best-selling author, Marie Kondo. She even stars ...

January 30, 2019

Build a Budget from Your Annual Spending

How to Make a Yearly Budget from Your Annual Spending One of the ways to make a budget is to use your past spending as the basis for the current year. An added benefit of making a budget by this ...

January 17, 2019

Should I Pay for Storage?

Should I Pay for a Storage Unit? The short answer is maybe. If you need one, it’s estimated there are between 44 – 52,000 facilities in the country for you to store your things. Approximately 9% of households rent a ...

January 9, 2019

Is This A Scam?

There will always be people who try to get you to part with your money. Scams and the artists who run them manage to find clever ways to make you believe their scam is legit. Everyone from all walks of ...

January 3, 2019

Book Review: “Get a Financial Life” By Beth Kobliner

Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties By Beth Kobliner Like many young adults, maybe you’ve recently come out of the academic pipeline feeling a bit uneasy about your financial knowledge and confidence in being able ...

December 28, 2018

Seeking Financial Counseling

Seeking Financial Counseling There are many reasons why a potential client will contact me. Some are not sure whether they have found the right place. This article is based upon actual email correspondence between a worried and stressed husband and ...

December 13, 2018

Organizing Saves Time

How Do You Organize Your Credit Card Receipts? There are many tasks that most people prefer not to do. Things like opening your mail, paying your bills, and organizing your paperwork. Organizing your paperwork requires a system of filing. Even ...

December 4, 2018

Book Review: “Happy Money” By Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton

Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending By Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton How many times have we heard that money can’t buy happiness? In their book, Happy Money, Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton aim to flip this saying on ...

November 29, 2018

What’s Missing From Our Family Budget?

What to Include in Your Family Budget Knowing what, where, and how much you are spending and saving your money is important when you are preparing your family budget. When I work with clients, one of the first things we ...

November 21, 2018

Throwing a Frugal Holiday Party

The holidays can be very draining on your monthly spending plan. It is also a time for you to enjoy being with your friends and family. That frequently means either going to parties or having parties at your home or ...

November 6, 2018

Book Review: “Money: Master The Game” By Tony Robbins

Money: Master The Game By Tony Robbins For nearly four decades, Tony Robbins has encouraged people to change their lives and bring out their best inner selves. Robbins accomplished this by finding people who’ve already achieved what they wanted and ...