As everything winds down for the holiday season and people start thinking of their New Year’s resolutions, I want to shift your thinking about how you go about setting goals and resolutions. Because resolutions…they sort of suck. Studies show that fewer than 8% of people who set New Year’s resolutions actually achieve them. But there…
If you’ve been around these parts for any amount of time, I hope it’s clear by now that financial planning is not about products, or investments, or even about deprivation. It’s not about feeling that you need to “do” something about your money specifically; instead, it’s about getting urgent about your results with money. I…
When was the last time you read (or watched) “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”? (I am totally going to see the update this year with Bumbershoot Crumpetpatch and not to take you away from the topic at hand, but go here to see the best misspellings of his name). It’s worth a watch if you:…
How many times have you sat around the day after Christmas and vowed that next year — next year — you aren’t going to go so far overboard with gifts and STUFF… that you will scale back on gifts? Maybe it’s the environmental guilt you see at the trash bags full of wrapping and packaging…
Ah, the holidays! Not many people are thinking about how to save money on gift giving; more often, people are thinking of this as the perfect time to practice our generosity and shower our family and friends with gifts. I see gift guides out there that include everyone from the janitor at your kids’ school…
This week holds another election cycle for us, in addition to all of the regular everyday stress we feel. AND, we’re moving into the end of year holidays, can you believe it? This year has rushed by… Stress makes us all less patient, more trigger-happy on our emotional outbursts. And since holidays are also a…
Why should you do financial planning right now? Um, maybe you shouldn’t. I’m going to make a bold statement: I kinda dread it when people come to me for financial planning when the reason they are moving forward is because they have to make a huge decision RIGHT NOW. Financial planning is about looking at…
There is a popular adage often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, the father of time management, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” I think a lot of people believe that financial planning is only for the wealthy — which may be true, but only for a lot of financial planners. Before I left my last…
Financial planning is meant to help you begin with the end in mind with regard to your personal finances. And some people think (erroneously!) that financial planning is like an emergency service – in other words, it isn’t “just” for people experiencing financial turmoil. And it’s not “just” for people who want investment guidance. It’s…
Life is expensive. When you start falling in the hole, it can seem like the only way out is by holding your money as close to you as you can. But a life without being able to spend a little side money for your own enjoyment doesn’t sound like an exciting life at all. Instead,…