Personal Finance Archives - Page 3 of 39

The Big “H” to Worry About in Retirement

July 16, 2019 September 13, 2019

Most people who talk about retirement planning are usually concerned about the “financials”. They talk about saving for it, investing for it, earning more for it, and guarding against the erosion of it so it will last on and on into the sunset of those golden years. And they are 100% right to do that, for sure. Without a strong financial base, retirement will be a struggle at best or a disaster at worst. Believe me when I say that the proper planning doesn’t just appear magically when you are actually retiring and needs to starts much earlier. So much earlier, in fact, that it should start when you begin your very first job because it’s that important. I say that to anyone who will listen, but very often if falls on deaf ears.

Healthcare in retirement is the Big "H" to worry about. Many retirees don't plan adequately for healthcare costs and don't realize how significant they are.

But, the fact that financials are so important doesn’t mean that there isn’t “something else” to be concerned about. I like to call it the Big “H” that you need to give plenty of thought to when it comes to your retirement years. What is it you ask? The twist is it’s about your healthcare, the Big H of your retirement years!

Frugality, Personal Finance

Be Smart and Start Earning and Saving More Now!

July 12, 2019 September 13, 2019

I love writing posts about the best ways to save money because no matter how diligent I am in keeping my own budget, there’s always more I find I can do to cut expenses and save even more. I figure it does no good to preach to you about saving money if I can’t do it myself so it actually forces me to take a good look inward and find those savings so I can pass them on to you!

To get ahead with your finances, you need to earn more and spend less. Here are some of the best ways to save money to get you started on your journey.

This list may not be all new to some but to others it will be, so if you are in financial distress, then here are some answers to your problems. The number one rule to understand is pretty simple and if I have said this once, I have said it a million times – but for the record and today’s post here it is again:

There are only two ways to improve your finances: 1) earn more money and/or 2) spend less money! That’s really it. There are no other secret formulas.

Money Mindset, More

The Reasons Why You Might Never Be a Success

July 9, 2019 September 13, 2019

It seems my philosophy background just keeps leaking into my personal finance writings more and more each week. Maybe that comes with age and experience as I start to put all of those mysterious pieces of the life puzzle together, I don’t know for sure. Well, that’s my new theory so I am going to go with that. And that brings me to today’s subject – you and success.

If you don't have the right mindset and don't follow these six success factors, you'll never be a success, in finances or in life.

There are a lot of really successful people out there. You hear about them and you probably think something like “How did they get so big and successful?” People like a Mark Zuckerberg for example, a college student, who came up with the idea for Facebook and turned it into a multi-billion dollar business. Wow! So, why him…and not you?

Personal Finance

Wishing You a Happy Independence Day Weekend!

July 5, 2019 September 13, 2019

I’m taking a break for the long holiday weekend, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Independence Day! Enjoy your celebrations, stay safe, and join me in thanking our troops and our veterans for protecting our freedom. I’ll be back on Tuesday morning with the regular personal finance post.

Income and Career

Can Love Actually Make You Rich?

July 2, 2019 September 13, 2019

I don’t think I have ever shared this with you about myself, but here goes, for better or worse. When I was a student in college, one of my dual minors was Philosophy. I remember taking one course on Aesthetics. But truthfully, I didn’t really appreciate it. 😉 So, yes, I actually took Philosophy and looking back on it, I have to ask myself one simple question:

Did I think I wanted to be a philosopher?

You've heard the phrase, "do what you love and the money will follow"? Well, it's true to a certain extent. But sometimes you need to find the money in it.

I am guessing now the answer was “no”. Most of the great ones are all dead and while they were alive, no one seemed to appreciate them very much. It somehow seems that dying and being appreciated as a great philosopher are linked and that really doesn’t seem very rewarding in just about every way, does it? Well, I guess being remembered and read and talked about after you’re gone does have value. Not much on the money side for you there, but still…

Income and Career

Before Financial Independence, It’s All About the Job

June 28, 2019 September 13, 2019

Before you say goodbye forever to your 9 to 5 daily grind and the commuter train ride that you have been “enjoying” every day for the past umpteen years, you more than likely have to be somewhat successful at a “job” to get to your true dream. You know the one you’ve had since you first started out working: financial independence!

For job success, there are certains things you need to do, and other things you need to avoid. Here are the no-go's that could tank your career.

Look around though and you will probably see many “long-timer” faces that are plugging away at what they do, even if they dream about FI and yet still haven’t moved off square one in their pursuit of that dream. Others, scores of them, come and go from your work arena and almost all of them leave not for FI. They leave in many cases like the Christians left the arena back in ancient Rome did, or they migrate to some other dead end job that leaves them grinding and commuting forever. That’s not what you want, is it? But before FIRE (financial independence, retire early), it’s all about the job! Job success has to come first.

Debt

How Do You Live a Debt Free Life?

June 14, 2019 September 13, 2019

Why do people wind up in big debt? You probably weren’t born into debt like was common back in the feudal age hundreds of years ago, so why does it seem so many wind in debt that way today?

It's possible to live a debt free life, but to do so, you need to prepare and to have the right attitude. Read on to learn how to plan to avoid debt.

These days when someone has a money problem, like when and if their car dies or they need to replace something like an air conditioning system for their home or pay off a big shopping spree that they impulsively made on their credit cards, they don’t have the money to pay for it all when the bill comes in. They really need the car fixed to get to work or the air conditioning fixed in the middle of a sweltering summer, so they end up having to purchase it on credit. Ironically sometimes that debt lasts longer than the item that they purchased! And then there is student debt, and we all have either heard about that disaster or worse, experienced it. So that raises the question, can anyone actually live a debt free life?

Personal Finance, Retirement

When Financial Knowledge is Wasted on the Retired

June 11, 2019 September 13, 2019

I am really amazed about how things work out in life. For one, we spend so much of our lives mulling over money that when you think about it, it is kind of scary. I’m not claiming here that I don’t, hell I always have and now even in my retirement I spend hours every day writing and thinking about it. But the time I devote to the subject these days is much more balanced than it was all the years that came before. Know why? It’s because as I have aged, I have learned and re-learned the ups and downs, the trial and tribulations, and the financial knowledge that makes money make much more sense to me! I’m not claiming I have all the answers but I can say at least this: I know most of the questions. And that’s something.

Financial knowledge is critical for success, but it's often wasted on the retired. Here are some considerations for those pondering early retirement.

One of the good things in life is that I have lived long enough (69.833 years) to have learned stuff and yet one of the great mysteries is why all of that financial knowledge is wasted on the retired?