Category Archives for Blogging

• Advice for Twenty-Somethings Getting Started Managing Money (Twenty): A concise, easy to understand, and most of all, ENCOURAGING note to my fellow twenty-somethings on how to manage their finances.  For a generation that grew up to watch the Tech Boom of the Nineties collapse during the Tech Bubble Burst and who saw the Great Recession hit right as they were entering the real world, there’s been an unfortunate trend towards avoiding investing or any other sort of risk, right at the time when they can most afford to take MORE risk.  This article is my attempt to get my fellow Generation Y people to resume their risk taking and to use all the tools at their disposal to increase their investments and side income earning now, when they are young enough to recover if anything goes wrong.

• Money For All Seasons I: Income, Spending, and Age  (Seasons): Using the four seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter – as a metaphor for the four different stages in our lives, I have set out some age related expectations regarding income, expenditure, investments and cash-flow. It is a common sense way to illustrate how our financial situation today carries into our future and that it is never late to change one’s financial trajectory. 

• What If You Find Out Your Co-Workers Are Making More Money Than You (Co-workers): A discussion with some co-workers led me to discovering that I was underpaid for doing the same job. I handled the situation by doing my research, building a game plan, and confronting my boss. This is the story of how it all went down.

• I Sold My Hair (Hair): Proof that you can make money doing anything!  Last August, my hair sold on Ebay for more than $100!!!

• 10 Ways to be Rich Without Being Wealthy (Rich): Money is a tool, not an end goal. You only need as much as of it as will be necessary to have the quality of life that you want. That has less to do with a certain salary or portfolio level than we think. Here are 10 forms of “wealth” that can lead to a rich life and require very little emphasis on having or earning a lot of money.

• The Value of Work (Work): You won’t get the same props (or paycheck) for vacuuming an apartment building as you would for performing open-heart surgery. But, that doesn’t mean a janitorial job is demeaning. It just means we don’t have the sense to appreciate it.

• Realising the Sacrifices Our Parents Made (Parents): Recently, when I saw a hitch hiker, I remembered my dad hitch hiking to work practically every day. I thought it was normal, but now realise that no, my parents sacrificed a lot for us kids. There is so much we can learn from how frugally they lived, although I couldn’t hitch hike!

• Two Ways to Save (and Make) More Money in Less Time, Using Principles of Economics (Economics): Economics may be boring, but it can help you to make more money and save more time for your family. Here’s what I’ve learned from economics and how it applies to my family finances. 

• Online Poker: Is It as Legit as Stock Picking? (Poker): There are those that believe stock picking is a lot like gambling — and those that believe online poker is a safer bet than stock picking. Could online poker be as legit as picking stocks?

• How Young Adults Can Still Thrive Financially (Thrive): With all that’s gone wrong in the economy lately, it’s hard to see the silver lining for today’s youth.  Most pundits believe that generation Y is screwed. Luckily, it’s not all doom and gloom.  There are plenty of opportunities for young adults to thrive financially. Here’s why:

• Key to Saving Money is Controlling Impulse Spending (Spending): Have you gone to the grocery store for milk and eggs and come home with steak and eggs?  Have you ever been tempted to buy something just because it was on sale?  Impulse spending can wreck your finances and is a major reason why most people have difficulty saving money.  Learning why you buy on impulse can be the key to saving more money.

• The Grass Isn’t Always Greener (Greener): We’ve all wondered at some time or another if another job would be better than the one we currently have. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it it’s actually a lot worse. This the story of my ill-fated job change and realization that we don’t really know what we have until it’s gone  

• 11 Things I Learned in 2011 (Things): 2011 was a crazy year, involving unemployment, landing a book contract, launching a new career, renovations, learning to adapt to new situations, and overcoming hardships. I share what I learned with all of that happening in this post.

• How Far Would You Go To Pick Up a Penny? (Penny): Most of us love free money, but how far would you go to pick some up? Would it matter who you were around, or how dirty the coins/dollars were? What if they were on the bathroom floor? These are all questions I pondered at a bachelor party recently… figured better that than some other things 😉 

• Should You Charge Your Boomerang Kids Rent? (Boomerang): It’s no longer a given that kids will move out on their own when college ends. In fact, there’s a term for this group – Boomerang Kids. Should you charge rent to these boomerang kids?

• Stop Crying That There Are No Jobs. Create One (Jobs): Be motivated by opportunity, not fear.Don’t dis-empower yourself by believing that someone else — someone smarter, richer, and probably better-looking — must create a job and bestow it upon you.

• It’s Okay to Spend Your Money on Things You Really Want (Money): Now for a little positive financial advice. Freely spend your money on things you receive a lot of value from, but mercilessly slash expenses elsewhere. This post explores how to put this into practice.

• How to Be a Conservative Investor (Investor): In a volatile stock market, people are always looking for ways to protect their money. Unfortunately, that often means getting too conservative and letting it sit in the bank earning little or no interest. Instead, I’ll show you how to be a true conservative investor and make real money, safely, in even a difficult economy.  

• 15 Ways to Grow and Protect Your Net Worth (Grow): We often talk about making more money, investing, saving, and reducing debt.  What it all comes down to, really, is increasing our net worth. This post takes a holistic look at increasing net worth, with 15 ways we can do so.

• 7 Financial Advisors I Would Like to Punch in the Face (Punch): There are plenty of financial advisors in my industry that give financial planning a bad name (Madoff anyone?),  and unfortunately they’re everywhere. I’ve been in the business for almost 10 years, and I’ve had countless run-ins with these types of advisors and despite my laid back personality, I would like nothing more than to punch them in the face, seriously. Here are some financial advisor horror stories that other clients have shared with me, the lessons learned, and let’s just see if you would want to pull a Rocky Balboa on their face, too.

• I Miss Checkbooks (Checkbooks): This post proves that something as simple as a checkbook can clear up a HUGE misunderstanding. Now that people rarely use checkbooks, I’m sure life will be awkward for many people, but mostly for me.

• Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest– The Complete Guide (Mortgage): Should I pay off my mortgage early or invest? Forget the dangerous half-truths and over-simplified conventional wisdom about getting out of debt. Instead, learn the many dimensions to paying off your mortgage early in this complete guide so you can make a smart financial decision that perfectly fits your personal situation.

• How to Retire Early (Retire): Here are the core principles and action items that can help you become financially successful, and retire sooner. I know, because I became financially independent and retired at age 50. I found that financial success is made up of one part family support, one part career choices, one part money management, and one part personal habits and attitudes. It’s not a quick or easy process, but there are definitely things you can do to accelerate your progress….”

• Why Cash Value Life Insurance Might be a Better Option Than Term (Insurance):  Everybody says that term life insurance is better than cash-value. But is “everybody” right? I don’t think so. Here’s why I think Dave Ramsey is wrong and cash value may be a better choice.

Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as (or that has happened since the previous Stage of) the competition.

• New Colorado Law Bans Trans Fats in Competitive Foods in Public Schools (Law): SB68 was introduced in January and signed into law by Governor Hickenlooper on Jun 4th.  Obviously, it’s not going to solve all of our dietary woes or make a huge dent in the childhood obesity problem.  But, especially if it’s combined with more time allocated for physical education and recess, it’s a step in the right direction.

• Are You Living Within Your Means? (Living): Do you constantly find yourself using your credit card to pay for basic expenses? Do you ever tell yourself “no” before making a purchase? These are classic signs of living outside of your means. In recent years, many of us have had to learn the hard way, there always comes a time when debt catches up with us. A good way to avoid debt overload is to live within your means. Simply put, you purchase things you can afford based on your current income. Read this post to learn the signs of living outside of your means and ways to get on the right financial path! 

   

• How I Save $828 Dollars A Year On My Phone Bill (Phone): As an addict to savings, my phone bill was an obvious place to do some digging. What I found was a lot of extra money in my pocket, and that good things get better. These are 4 of the biggest Moola Savings Tips to save on that ugly phone bill.

• The Ponzi Scheme of Psychiatric Care (Ponzi): This blog post struck a cord with a lot of personal finance bloggers. Anyone can relate to paying for something and not getting your money’s worth. It’s an especially sensitive topic where health is concerned!

• How I Blew Through $100,000 Before I Turned 21 ($100,000): At age 18, I had a cool $100,000 in my bank account (where’d that come from?). This is my story of what I did with that money over a 3-year span. I blew tens of thousands of dollars quicker than Justin Bieber can change his hairstyle! And you’ll never guess how much money I cannot account for. 

• What If You Find Out Your Co-Workers Are Making More Money Than You (Co-workers): A discussion with some co-workers led me to discovering that I was underpaid for doing the same job. I handled the situation by doing my research, building a game plan, and confronting my boss. This is the story of how it all went down.

• The One Thing You Need to Start a Small Business (Business): What’s the one thing you need to start a small business? It may not be what you think.

• I Sold My Hair (Hair): Proof that you can make money doing anything!  Last August, my hair sold on Ebay for more than $100!!!

• What’s The BEST Financial Advice I Can Give? (Best): When someone talks to you about their money problems and asks you for financial advice, is that really what they’re asking for? In my experience, they’re actually asking you for something else- they’re asking you to give them options they haven’t thought of yet. 

• Advice for Twenty-Somethings Getting Started Managing Money (Twenty): A concise, easy to understand, and most of all, ENCOURAGING note to my fellow twenty-somethings on how to manage their finances.  For a generation that grew up to watch the Tech Boom of the Nineties collapse during the Tech Bubble Burst and who saw the Great Recession hit right as they were entering the real world, there’s been an unfortunate trend towards avoiding investing or any other sort of risk, right at the time when they can most afford to take MORE risk.  This article is my attempt to get my fellow Generation Y people to resume their risk taking and to use all the tools at their disposal to increase their investments and side income earning now, when they are young enough to recover if anything goes wrong.

• Money For All Seasons I: Income, Spending, and Age  (Seasons): Using the four seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter – as a metaphor for the four different stages in our lives, I have set out some age related expectations regarding income, expenditure, investments and cash-flow. It is a common sense way to illustrate how our financial situation today carries into our future and that it is never late to change one’s financial trajectory. 

• My 12 Year Old Really Hates Debt (Debt): I want to teach my children about all aspects of money management, including debt and loan repayment.  I recently loaned my son $300 for a school trip and he paid it off in four months, without whining or complaining.  And…most importantly, he learned that he does not like debt and wants to avoid it in the future!

Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as (or that has happened since the previous Stage of) the competition.

• Realising the Sacrifices Our Parents Made (Parents): Recently, when I saw a hitch hiker, I remembered my dad hitch hiking to work practically every day. I thought it was normal, but now realise that no, my parents sacrificed a lot for us kids. There is so much we can learn from how frugally they lived, although I couldn’t hitch hike!

• My Next Home Is Going To Be A Hotel (Hotel): How much money could you save by not having to pay your electric bill, Internet, cable, or other expenses every month? Many people do not consider all of the little things that we spend our money on every month when we rent or buy a home. These items tend to be taken for granted as necessities, but these small costs can quickly add up. But, how much money could you save every month if you simply live in a hotel? The savings can actually be quite substantial.

   

• Two Ways to Save (and Make) More Money in Less Time, Using Principles of Economics (Economics): Economics may be boring, but it can help you to make more money and save more time for your family. Here’s what I’ve learned from economics and how it applies to my family finances.

• My Previous Job as a Pizza Delivery Guy (Pizza): In 2004, I worked as a pizza delivery guy.  I re-tell the story and my experiences of delivering pizza.  The reader has knowledge of what it is like to deliver pizza, and for individuals that delivered pizza, it brings back good memories.