My long-time colleague Karen McCall published a fabulous post last week called “Saving Your Way out of Debt”, where she lists ten steps for breaking the vicious debt cycle so many people are caught in. I want to call attention to her second step: Stop the leaks by stabilizing debt. McCall says that if you’re … Continue reading Credit Card Debt: Are you bailing water out with a thimble?
At times I feel like I’ve taken a vow of sorts. And this vow guides me, irritates me and gives me amazing freedom, often all at the same time. This vow, this guiding principle if you will, allows me to live my life without a lot of financial guilt or confusion. It gives me the … Continue reading The “Vow”- and 7 questions to help you avoid using credit cards
I’ve always thought of myself as a reasonably patient person. And this patience is a handy thing, when it comes to spending. I can often make myself wait until something goes on sale. I’ve noticed my son is less so, and hope that he will “mature” as time goes on. But now I wonder if … Continue reading Does your childhood last name affect your adult spending? Maybe so.
I’m as human as the next person. Sometimes I want to spend money I shouldn’t. Take clothes, for example. For Christmas, my father gave me some very generous clothing gift certificates. So I hit the after-Christmas sales pretty hard with my friend Sandra. Between the sales and my gift certificates, it was like everything was … Continue reading 4 Steps to Calculating Your Life-Energy Number
I’ve been looking forward to a certain Saturday morning in late December for a while. Why? Because I want to know if I can put new windows on my house this year. And I want to know if I can afford some extra landscaping help before my backyard turns into a wildlife preserve. (That’s just … Continue reading Mikelann’s Crystal Ball
Yes, I know it’s only mid-November. But we all know that we’re starting to do some holiday planning. Last night my sister and new brother-in-law were at my house for their first year wedding anniversary dinner party (I made the perfect pork roast!) and we started talking about exchanging gift lists. She is hosting this … Continue reading 8 steps to avoiding that holiday spending hangover
Do you ever feel triggered? Do you ever find yourself spending money you didn’t intend, but you do it anyways? Sometimes I feel almost defiant when I’m in this mode. “I know I didn’t plan this. But screw it! I’m buying this!” Usually, it is because I’m triggered. Over the years, I’ve gotten in touch … Continue reading What pulls your trigger? Four reasons you may overspend
The other day I’m watching television and I see this Chase commercial announcing that they now have a smart phone app that lets you know when your bank balance is getting low. They’ll “alert” you. The commercial shows a woman in the middle of a yoga class getting such an alert. She calmly extends her … Continue reading Are you giving up control to electronic banking? My rant
If you have some extra money that comes in unexpectedly, what do you do with it? Your answer may be related to your own money personality. We all have different “money personalities”. And one simple way to think about your own personality is to ponder what truly motivates you around money. What is important about … Continue reading Your Money Personality– What really motivates you?
That faceless, nameless monster wrapping its numbing tentacles around you may be none other than: the Money Fog Monster. Run! Scream! Hide! But it has a hold on you…. What exactly is this Money Fog Monster? Well it doesn’t really like to be pinned down (or it would lose some power), but let’s throw out … Continue reading Three reasons we live with the Money Fog Monster
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