Your Brain Is Wasting Money

We often think about our brains as the ultimate authority, the ultimate truth. But, as it turns out, sometimes they are big, fat, liars. They like things the way they are now — even if you have other goals to change your habits or create new ones. In fact, our brains will tell us some…

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Are You Smart About Money?

Over the many, many, MANY years I’ve been in financial services, I have learned some stuff. There are people who think they are “smart” about money and who might know some stuff, but who I wouldn’t consider smart. There are people who feel clueless and are doing very well. I like to compare this to…

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A Money Date Could Save Your Marriage

All couples argue, but what are couples fighting about the most? According to a survey from the American Institute of CPAs, money is the most common reason married or cohabiting couples fight. Of over 1,000 American adults polled, 27 percent of participants said that disagreements over finances were most likely to erupt into an argument…

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How Do You Merge Finances?

Merging finances when you’re part of a couple is NOT easy, and it’s also not instantaneous.  I know a client who took almost a decade to merge their money – it was a second marriage for both of them and they were very cautious. You will never agree completely with your partner on how to…

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How Love Can Drive Spending Up

A few weeks ago I suffered the indignity of having my car break down on me! Actually, it wasn’t a bad experience at all…people kept stopping to ask if I needed help; it was a rare, sunny Seattle day; and other than missing a phone appointment I had been looking forward to, nothing in my…

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Stop Worrying About Money

If you knew everything was going to be okay, what would you do differently with your money? Now, please don’t take this as everything-is-going-to-be-okay-so-I-bear-no-personal-responsibility-for-anything. I am NOT talking about a universal, get-out-of-jail-free card…I am talking about wisdom. Wisdom is what you acquire when you’ve been around long enough to screw up multiple times, and you’re…

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Do You Trust Yourself With Money?

Do you trust yourself to know what is the right thing to do with your money? Yes, this is why some people choose to consult a financial planner…but what if the financial planner’s advice doesn’t feel right to you? Do you trust yourself enough to NOT follow their advice? Can you separate another person’s agenda…

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Time To Re-Jig Those 2020 Resolutions

How are your New Year’s resolutions going? Still have them? If you do, I bet you’ve been tweaking them as you go, which is a good thing. Resolutions always seem judgmental to me. A lot of them are built on the guilt and shame over having done something “wrong” – like whatever our natural instincts…

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If You’re In A Financial Hole, Quit Digging

Have you heard that old adage? The one that states that “if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging”? Digging makes it deeper and therefore harder to get back out, which is used as a metaphor that when in an untenable position, it is best to stop carrying on and exacerbating the situation. Here’s…

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