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 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…
Spend Better: 5 Ways to Be Smarter About How You Use Your Money
The majority of personal finance advice can be boiled down to some simple rules. The biggest two? Spend less. Save more. This is good advice, and certainly part of the fundamentals to master if you want to be financially successful. But putting all of the focus on spending less and saving more means we’re telling…
This Dangerous Habit Is Causing You to Overspend
We all know comparison is the thief of joy. But is your habit of comparing yourself or your life to someone else’s costing you in a more tangible way? As in, costing you actual dollars and cents? If you’re like most people, the answer is probably yes — because comparison is one of the leading…
Improve Your Finances: 5 Exercises to Use to Build Better Money Habits
Wouldn’t it be nice to finally be someone that other people look at and say, “wow, you really are great with money. I’m impressed!”? Do you constantly find yourself wishing you had better money habits, but you just can’t seem to change your day-to-day actions? Here’s the good news: you can absolutely transform your current…
The Importance of SMART Goals (and What to Do Before Setting Them)
Setting goals might sound like the most tedious thing on your to-do list. It might not seem very exciting or fun. (What’s much more fun is achieving the goal and getting to use your money for what you wanted!) This can be especially true if you’re doing your goal planning the right way, and setting…
Get 30 to 40 Percent Of Income Saved with This 3-Step Process
We originally wrote this piece to compliment our Beyond Finances podcast episode on The 3-Part System We Use to Save 40 Percent (or More) of Our Income, and published it on Forbes. We’re republishing a slightly different version of it here, too, if you’d like to pair it with episode 25 of the show. Do…
6 Ways to Avoid Distraction While Working Toward Financial Goals
If you want to be financially successful, there may be no better skill to build than the ability to avoid distractions. Distractions are everywhere on the road to what you really want — and you won’t just need to learn to manage them once or twice. Financial goals take a long time to get to, which…
Life After Debt: When You Stop Paying Down Balances and Start Building Wealth
When you can gain control over your cash flow and aggressively pay down loans and balances, you know it’s only a matter of time before you pay everything off and reach debt freedom. That’s an exciting proposition if you’re already on this path and have spent some time chipping away at student loans, credit card…
How to Leverage an HSA Account to Grow Your Wealth: A Real-Life Example
Have you considered a high deductible health plan, or HDHP, as an option for your health insurance? It might be worth switching to one so you can use an HSA account. An HSA account is a health savings account — meaning, it’s a place that allows you to save and even invest money specifically for…