What Do YOU Get Out of Giving Gifts?

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…

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Getting Your Buttons Pushed Can Cost You Money

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…

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Do you even need a financial plan?

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…

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How to Get Maximum Value out of Financial Planning

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…

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How to deal with financial failure

When was the last time you failed? No, you don’t have to say it out loud if you’re embarrassed.  But I want you to think about it: What do you consider your most recent failure? And how does it make you feel? Before Mint came out, I failed at using Quicken about 15 times.  I…

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