Forced Money Management

In my previous business world experience, we had a saying “bad business makes you smarter.” The theory behind this was if your business was bad it forced you to research and evaluate all that you were doing. If business was good, you simply sat back and enjoyed the ride – even if there were things that you could do better, there wasn’t any incentive to work any harder. This philosophy plays out in many families as well. The budget doesn’t get pulled out until a time of financial strife, either forced or chosen. Even with all my money experience, my … Continue reading

Are You Experiencing Budget Burnout?

It is very easy to become burned out when it comes to budgeting. This problem magnifies when one spouse is a budgeter and the other is not. This can create a tension in the relationship, because one spouse is constantly asking the other if there is money to spend this or that or even worse just randomly spending the money on unexpected things. So how do you deal with budget burnout? One way to help avoid is to have both spouses plan the budget. It is important that you set up a realistic budget that you are both comfortable with. … Continue reading

Money Week in Review May 14-June 2

First I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new money blogger Debbie Vasen. I know that you will enjoy reading her insights on family finances. She has introduced herself in Why Trust a New Money Blogger? You learn more about how to include your family in your money decisions in Family Money. Comparing the Value of Your Things to Your Time helps you gain an additional perspective on what your spending your money and your time on. Money Decisions and Marriage discuss the importance of including both spouses in the financial decisions and balancing the tasks between … Continue reading

Why Do You Spend or Save?

What motivates you when it comes to your finances? Are you a big spender? Or do you consider yourself a saver? Do you enjoy budgeting? Or do you hate it? Or do you even bother to budget? It is important to ask yourself these questions and to truly understand the feelings that you have towards money. These feelings will affect the decisions you make and the financial success you do or do not have. It is important to find a good balance between saving and spending. I have known several compulsive shoppers and spenders throughout my life. I understand the … Continue reading

What Motivates You to Manage Your Money?

What motivates you to manage your money? If you are just beginning to manage your money and to get your debt under control was there a specific experience that brought you to that point? Or if you have always managed your money, saved, and avoided debt, why do you think you do this? Do your parents have an affect on the way that you handle your money? I think that my biggest motivating factor is seeing the stress that money has caused other people. I also have plans for my retirement. I want to travel and help others. I know … Continue reading

Financial Priorities

Have you sat down and decided what your financial priorities are? If you have never clearly stated what these priorities are you should find these steps enlightening. Completing the following five steps will help you have a stronger sense of what you want to accomplish with your money. It can also help you realize areas or habits that may be keeping you from achieving your financial priorities. 1) Write down the three most important things to you. These may vary, and do not need to be directly related to money. You may want to spend more time with your family. … Continue reading

Giving Some Weight to How We Think About Weight Loss

I talked about apathy the other day and I got a great response from Fit4Life on the subject of why it’s hard to write about weight loss motivators. Hats off to you for providing such great insight to the topic. A lot of us don’t necessarily know what is motivating our weight loss. It may be that we’ve experienced a health issue or bad diagnosis. Maybe we tried on those jeans we used to be able to wear and we can’t snap the button anymore. It could be we just don’t like what we see in the mirror or we’re … Continue reading