As a financial planner, I hear all sorts of reasons about why people’s finances are the way they are; all the reasons why they’re financially stuck and not making progress. Let me know if any of these sound familiar: We have $10,000 in credit card debt because my wife lost her job. My credit score…
The 3 Factors That Set Financially Successful People Apart from Those Who Struggle
Ever wonder what it really takes to become wealthy? Assuming you don’t have a very rich relative who leaves you a lot of cash or you’re not on track to be the next Silicon Valley tech startup wunderkind, then you’re probably taking the same path most of the rest of us take: Earn a strong…
3 Ways to Use a Personal Finance System to Help You Do More with Your Money
Part of the value of building out a complete financial plan for yourself is that in doing so, you create a process for moving from where you are right now to where you want to be in the future. What actually moves you from Point A to Point B? The smart, strategic, intentional actions you…
How We Balance Frugality with the Reality of YOLO and FOMO
I have to be honest with you: I can’t help but cringe when I see so-called “financial advice” that is focused exclusively around crazy ways to go great lengths to save a few dollars here and there. But on the flipside, I also know that you need to prioritize your savings and investments if you…
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? Many people shy away from plans with high deductibles because if you go to the doctor’s office often, require procedures not considered “preventative care”, or end up in the hospital overnight, you may be on the hook for…
How Much House Equity Are You REALLY Building?
One of the big arguments for home ownership or buying a house goes something like this: “When you rent, you’re just throwing money away because you’re not building house equity. With your own home, though, that’s exactly what happens when you pay your mortgage: you’re building equity.” At first glance, this seems like it could…
Fund Your Financial Goals with This Easy Strategy
One of our biggest financial goals over the last 18 months was to save up and pay for our own wedding. Over the last year and a half, we saved $1,250 per month — which put us in a position to achieve that goal to pay for the wedding we enjoyed back in June. It…
Financial Planning for Retirement Is an Important Thing, But It’s Not the Only Thing
What do you think of when you hear “financial planning?” If the answer revolves around financial planning for retirement, you’re not wrong… but it might also be an incomplete picture of what proper planning can do for you. Or it might not be the right way to think about the kind of planning that’s best…
The #1 Sign You’re Not Good with Money
There’s one sure way I can tell when someone is not good with money, even when they feel like they’re really nailing it. It’s not having lots of student loans or credit card debt (although those can be tough to deal with, there could be reasonable explanations for someone having debt they’re working to repay)….
Stop Asking How Much You Need to Save Before Having a Baby
Most of my clients are in their 30s and 40s, and many of them are either starting families or adding to them. And many of these soon-to-be parents ask me, “how much do we need to save before having a baby? What should we have in the bank before we start thinking about having kids?”…