Blog
- Bold, Confident Money Decisions
- Budgets are Bull$hit
- End Bad Money Feelings
- Healthy Money Habits
- Money Talk For Kids & Teens
- Non-Boring Finance Investing
“Things I Didn’t Buy” List
If you’ve never heard of the “Things I Didn’t Buy” list, then you’re in for a real treat. The “Things I Didn’t Buy” list is a w...
Reset Your Finances with a Spending Cleanse
You may be familiar with the term “cleanse.” It’s often associated with eating habits. For example, many use a cleansing strategy fro...
How to Avoid Raising Entitled Children
Parenting children is complicated. We love our kids and we want to help them in any way we can. We want them to feel happy and carefree, but we...
Are your friends causing you to be financially irresponsible?
Despite your best intentions, every time you hang out with Stella, you end up spending way too much money. She loves to eat at the trendiest (a...
You Only Live Once, So Plan Well
You Only Live Once, So Plan Well Since the end of January, #YOLO has been a rallying cry on internet message boards where amateur investors dro...
Are You Living in a Money Prison?
Most personal finance advice is focused on spending less and saving more. The financial gurus love to target the overspenders and those who are...
Be Resilient and Gain Personal Momentum Coming Out of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, Dr. Kurland and Commander Sears shared three habits they believe will help us build momentum as we – hopefully – ...
Be Resilient and Gain Personal Momentum Coming Out of the Pandemic: Part 1
Part 1: Better Habits for a Healthier Mind Since the Covid-19 outbreak, we’ve all had to make adjustments so we can cover our basic ne...
Financial Heavy Hitters: The Big Three
Life is a constant stream of decisions, most of which come and go with little impact or fanfare. Then there are the big ones, the decisions of ...
6 Creative Ways to Improve Your Credit Score
Do you know what your credit score is? Are you looking to improve it? I know, talking about credit, credit history, and credit scores doesn’t...
3 Easy Ways to Save Money When Online Shopping
If there’s ever been a year to take advantage of online shopping, 2020 has been that year! Whether you’ve been on lockdown status due to Co...
Ditch the Cranberry Sauce: How to Create New Financial Traditions
What are you making for Christmas dinner? A perfectly baked ham, your grandmother’s famous stuffing, or maybe a delicious Christmas puddi...
Are You Financially Apathetic?
Do you know how much debt you have? What about your credit score? Do you know how much you’re saving for retirement? What you’re invested i...
Navigating Life’s Transitions by Rewriting Your Story
Your plans for the future are a story you tell yourself. Some of the chapters are easy to imagine and plan, like buying your first home, sendin...
What Makes a Good Life?
You have a steady job that pays the bills and puts your abilities to good use. You have loving relationships with your spouse, children, extend...
5 Ways to Avoid Overspending This Holiday Season
I know it’s only September, but let’s talk holiday shopping. Before chastising me for bringing up the holidays already, you should know it...
There Are No Perfect Solutions, Just Trade-Offs
Coming up with a universal definition for “wasting money” is not as simple as it sounds. We’ve all heard the saying, one person’s trash...
Do You Have a Relationship with Money?
One major mindset shift is to realize we have a relationship with money. Yep, that’s right, a “relationship.“ I know that sounds a little...
Don’t Desire to Be Rich, Be Wealthy
Have you ever heard some say, “I don’t want to be rich, I want to be wealthy” and were puzzled by what they meant? There’s this notion ...
The Big Lie – More is Better
In Ken Blanchard’s bell-selling book, Who Moved My Cheese?, he uses the analogy of a ladder against a wall. Imagine the wall is the obstacle ...
3 Reasons Your Teen Shuts Down When You Talk About Money
Are you aware of the environment you’re creating between you and your teen when it comes to talking about money? If you find that your teenag...
How to Prepare for College Costs Even If You Haven’t Started Yet
Do you have a teenager who’s in high school or preparing to graduate? If so, you’re probably wondering, “where has the time gone?” It m...
What is a Money Script and Why Does it Matter?
Are you a spender? A saver? Do you love money or do you see it as the root of all evil? Have you ever wondered why you are the way you are with...
“Advanced Rationalization” – 6 Ways We Sabotage Our Financial Lives
I know what you see around you. Make a budget. Stick to it. Save save save. You dive in with gusto and are quickly met with obstacles, then frustratio...
What’s Your Money Personality?
Did you grow up in a household where money was always tight and you constantly heard the message, “we can’t afford it”? Or, did you exper...
5 Unique Ways to Talk to Your Teens About Money
The topic of money should never be off the table. If we want to raise teenagers who have a healthy relationship with money, we need to talk abo...
Stop the Insanity – 7 Money Talks to Connect with Your Teen in a Healthy Way
Words matter. The things you say over and over again – let’s call them your “mantras” – they matter. What you say about money – you...
Hiding in Plain Sight – 5 Ways We Waste Money and Don’t Realize It
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, if you want to get ahead financially you need to … wait for it … spend less money. I know, it so...
3 Things We Tell Ourselves to Justify Bad Money Behaviors
We all have deeply ingrained beliefs about money. Whether you’re a saver, spender, or money avoider, each of us acquires thoughts and beh...
Money Myths Series: Myth #4 – Financial Planning is Only About Investments
What comes to mind when you think about financial planning? Stocks, bonds, mutual funds? Although Wall Street is hyperfocused on investments as...
Money Myths Series: Myth #2 – Personal Finance is Too Boring and Complicated
Are you intimidated or bored to tears by your finances? First, let’s be clear, traditional money talk can be boring. Rates of return? Correla...
It’s Not All Bad News: 4 Smart Money Moves to Take Today
These are interesting times we live in. One day we’ll be able to tell our grandkids about the “Great Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020” and th...
6 Rich Habits to Incorporate into Your Life
At one point, the “rich” were looked up to in society. We saw their accomplishments and thought, “one day I’m going to be rich an...
Guiding Principles: Time is More Valuable Than Money
In the last blog, I introduced the concept of Guiding Principles – a collection of personal beliefs and values you design to guide ...
Should My Teen Get a Job?
If you’re the parent of a teenager, you’ve probably thought about whether or not she should get a job. I’m not talking about those ...
Gen X Parents Raising Gen Z Children in the Era of Excess: Am I Getting This Right?
Am I screwing up my kids? As a financial professional, I hear that a lot. There are a lot of parents wondering if their good intentions a...
Are You Talking to Your Kids About Emotionally Driven Money Decisions?
In my early adult years, I made some REALLY bad money decisions. I imagine many of us can relate to that on some level. I think back to t...
Budgets Are Bullshit – Part 2 “The How”
A NEW WAY OF THINKING Budgets don’t work for a simple reason – human nature. Seriously. I expounded on that in Budgets are Bulls...
Budgets Are Bullshit
One of the most common words you hear out of any financial professional’s mouth is budget. What if I told you that I don’t believe in ...
Raising Strong, Independent, Formidable Daughters
“Don’t be like Grandma Marie”. Doesn’t sound flattering, does it? Makes it sound like “being Grandma Marie” is a bad thing, a...
3 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Teaching Their Daughters About Money
As the father of five teenage daughters and a personal finance professional who primarily works with women, I have a unique perspective on what it tak...
I Just Got Paid and I’m Already Broke!
Ever get paid on a Friday and realize by Monday morning you have no money left?? Yeah, we have all heard that much of the world lives this way. But, d...