Sometimes we work for pleasure. But, more often than not, people work for money. Since working is an exchange of your time, energy, and talent it is best to find a job that you love and enjoy. However, many people are working in extremely tough and demanding job fields. I found an old resource (1988) – The […]
Is There A “Good Reason” To Get Into Debt?
Do you want something badly enough to borrow money? When it comes to debt, it’s a hard concept for me to endorse. I find it very hard to think that there are things I want badly enough that I would take on a debt to buy. But the general public obviously doesn’t share my concern. […]
Important Tax Rules For The Self Employed: Payments Are Coming Due!
The IRS defines a self employed person as one who: Carries on a trade or business as a sole proprietor Is an independent contractor Is a member of a partnership, or Is in business for yourself in any other way General Tax Considerations For The Self Employed If you earned $400 as a self employed […]
Do You Have Financial Purpose Or Do You Just Manage Your Money?
Steven Covey makes an important distinction between leaders and managers. Leaders are those who have vision and direction. Managers simply master the art of doing ‘it’ better and more efficiently. Covey offers the following illustration: The managers are those who are finding better swinging movements to cut more branches with less effort while the leader […]
Tax Considerations For Ministers
Since church ministers are in a unique tax situation it is important for all ministers to understand their unique tax situation. When you work and earn an income you will need to pay taxes. We should pay unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but if Caesar is offering you a tax break you should be […]
How To Teach Young Children About Money
How soon is too soon to teach a kid about money? Since it is hard to predict when your kids might “get it” I think it would be wise to have a system in place for when the child does.
How Much Money Do You Save By Wearing Nice Clothes?
“I’m going to change when I get to the LAX airport”. A friend of mine was recently flying from Australia to Los Angeles. He planned to wear a pair of jeans on the first flight and then change for his connecting flight within the States. “I always get treated better when I’m dressed up. You’re […]
More Vs. Less: Which Is Better?
We typically do it instinctively – we think ‘more’ is always the solution. If you are having money troubles, what should you do? Earn more money. If you are feeling depressed, what should you do? Spend more money. If you want to retire happy, what should you do? Save more money. If a product is […]
2 Compelling Reasons To Buy The Most Expensive House In Your Neighborhood
With the recent extension of the homebuyers tax credit and expansion to include a current homeowner tax credit, there is probably going to be a lot of people in the market for a new house. These credits are yet another way people can benefit from economic weakness. If you are in the market for a new […]
Wealth And Contentment: Two Peas In A Pod
The pursuit of wealth is one of the greatest illusions of our time. We think we will be wealthy when we come to a place in our lives when we can do whatever we want with money. One might imagine this to be the freedom illustrated by the phrase “financial peace”. Wealth, however, will never […]
Buy And Hold Investing For Beginners
When it comes to investing, there two distinctive strategies. The first is the buy and hold approach. The second is timing the market. Simply put, buy and hold investors keep buying (stocks, mutual funds, ETFS …) no matter what is happening to the market and hold those investments regardless of market conditions. This is typically […]
How Many Financial Accounts Should You Have?
Financial accounts are a modern day necessity. Most people have an account at a bank, if not multiple banks. At that bank they are likely to have a checking account, savings account, and even a CD. In addition, it is quite common for people to have multiple active credit card and debit card accounts. Unfortunately, […]
How To Deal with Out of Control Spending
“Where does all my money go?” “Why isn’t there any money left at the end of the month?” “I can’t pay all my bills every month.” If one of these phrases describes you, you probably have a problem with spending. Quite simply, your spending is out of control. People spend money for different reasons. If […]
How Saving for Tomorrow Improves the Quality of Life Today
One of the common criticisms of saving money is that some folks think that saving for tomorrow completely defeats the purpose of money. These are the ones with a live for today philosophy. The live for today philosophy claims, you could save your money for tomorrow and then have a heart attack and die. What […]
