What would you think if I told you that you have two sets of priorities? Or that you have two sets of values? Perhaps you will deny it—“of course not! I know what’s important to me, and my values are clearly sorted in my mind.” Maybe so, if you’re like many people, your bank statement will demonstrate quite a disparity between the list of priorities in your head and the true priorities according to which you spend your money.…
What’s one thing that will produce dramatic results in your life, for good or for ill? Habits. Today, we’ll explore why habits are so powerful and what you can do to take advantage of an amazing source of power within your own life. Your Stomach Has Habits For our purposes, we’ll define a habit as something you do consistently, with little or no conscious effort or decision-making. One simple example that illustrates this point is a…
Ask five of your friends if it’s important to have money saved for an emergency, and you’ll likely get five affermative answers. Now ask the same five friends if they have such an account, and you’ll probably get some resounding no’s. Yeah, what do they know?! We’ve all heard from financial experts over and over again how important it is to have an emergency fund. “Three to six months expenses in a savings account or a…
Last week, we discussed the importance of including unusual but predictable expenses in your budget. Items on this list include things like car repairs, home improvements, large gifts, or vacations. By allocating a fixed amount each month, these big expenses don’t have to catch us off guard. For example, my wife and I set aside $60 each month for car repairs, which has been plenty for the minor repairs and maintenance that our vehicles have…
Most of us have been through the following story at some point in our lives: We resolve to “do better” with our money. That credit card company has taken advantage of us for the last time! We’re angry that we let ourselves get into such a vulnerable position and we’re angry that the credit card company hit us while we were down. So, we get out the yellow pad or the computer spreadsheet and we…