You earn good income, have enough money to pay bills and contribute to savings, and feel like you made it. Do you REALLY need to keep up with a budget once you’re financially secure? Uh, yeah. You should budget (and you should stop thinking of “budgeting” as a bad word). It’s a mindfulness exercise for…
Changing Your Investment Strategy Ahead of an Election… and Other Things NOT to Do
Unless you’ve been living on Pluto for the last few months, you know there’s a big election just weeks away in the U.S. And investors want to know: what does the outcome of that election that mean for the economy? Perhaps more importantly, what does it mean for your investment portfolio? Should you think about…
Beyond Finances Podcast #44: Credit Score Myths and Truths Revealed
Do you know what ACTUALLY impacts your credit score? How much does your score REALLY matter? What should you do to raise your score — and what should you avoid? In this episode of the show, we bust some very common but total misconceptions around what goes into your credit score and how to maintain…
Managing Money as a Couple: Tips and Tricks to Get It Right
If you ask 10 different couples how they manage their money, you’ll probably get 10 different answers… including something along the lines of “We don’t. Budget? What budget?” Let me go ahead and say that might be the only wrong answer here. Some couples keep separate finances, both before and after marriage. Others combine everything…
The Surprising Skill You Need If You Want to Maximize Your Money
The other day, my wife, Kali, mentioned she wanted to thank me for something. We recently bought a home we both love in upstate New York. It sits on a little mountain and has an incredible, western-facing view. We were sitting on the deck watching a gorgeous sunset (an activity we don’t imagine tiring of…
Beyond Finances Podcast #43: The Value of a Coach
Can you DIY or will your way through everything you want to accomplish in your life? Sure. Is it the most effective route that’s going to optimize your results? Debatable. Today we’re talking about the value of a coach in areas of your life that really matter — the areas that you care about, the…
The Unusual Financial Planning Process to Buy a Vacation Home
My wife and I rarely do anything in what could be described as “the usual way.” We think outside the box and generally choose to forge our own path instead of following the well-known and mainstream; from the fact that we’re both extremely independent and prefer to work for ourselves to choosing to rent in…
Beyond Finances Podcast #42: Want to Build Wealth? Then Create THESE
A high income is a critical step in building wealth… but it’s not the defining factor in whether or not you’ll be financially successful. For that, you’re gonna need to build ASSETS. Most people assume they just need to earn a high income, and then they’ll be wealthy. Unfortunately, building wealth (especially when you’re doing…
Some Favorite Books for Personal Finance and Personal Development
Reading personal finance blogs and listening to podcasts is great (here’s one you might want to try if you haven’t already), but sometimes there’s no substitution for the deeper dive that well-researched and well-written books can give you. The right books for personal finance and personal development can provide an incredible amount of powerful knowledge…
Beyond Finances Podcast #41: So You Want to Make a Speculative Investment
A broad-based, globally diversified portfolio is hands-down the right answer when it comes to growing wealth for the long term. But that doesn’t mean other, more speculative and risky investments are always a bad move… They’re just not a great idea most of the time. Today, we’re looking at some alternative ways to invest outside…