We have a lot of consumer debt in the United States. A lot. In a recent study by WalletHub, Americans began 2020 in more than one trillion of credit card debt. The same study indicated that the average credit card debt per household was almost $8,000. And that was down from 2019 numbers.
As a little kid I can remember my grandparents reminiscing about the good old days and how much things used to cost. A pack of candy used to cost a nickel. A new car was a couple thousand dollars and they actually purchased their house for under $20,000.
Those of us who watch sports know are a lot of clichés. If you listen to an athlete interviewed before or after a game, you’ll hear a lot of the same things: “We’re taking it one game at a time.” “I’m just going pitch by pitch.” “We have to execute and play our game.”
For several years now, I’ve had a slogan of sorts. “Win the Month.” In this article, I’ll be applying it to personal finances, but it translates to almost any area of life.
News media, bloggers, influencers, advisors, and others, are often guilty of creating hard and fast rules. Writing authoritatively, we declare no flexibility or exceptions. It’s a “my way or the highway” message.
I buy used books whenever I can. The books are almost always in really good condition, and come at half the price. Some books you’d never even be able to tell are used.
I often hear people talk about personal finance like there is only one pathway to success. “Do this, not that” “The only way to get wealthy…” “That way is for suckers” “The only way is to make more” “Nothing else will work”
We’ve all heard about the lottery winner going broke after 3 years. Or the celebrity declaring bankruptcy 5 years after their prime. Being successful with personal finance is really about the process. And a huge part of the process is creating healthy financial habits.
Should you pay off debt or invest? There are so many answers out there—it’s confusing. One financial expert says to pay off all debt first, while another says invest before anything else. Your parents both think you should pay off debt before doing anything, while your aunt says you have to start investing young.
I used to finance cars. I thought that’s what you did with cars, so I followed along. I really didn’t think twice about it to be honest. I’ve changed my way of thinking over the years though.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to be good with your money. I like to look in unlikely places for guidance. Ever notice how
There’s a misnomer that we need all the information to start something. Information is good, but you don’t need to know everything right from the
There’s a new argument in the rent vs buy debate. It’s that housing costs (for homeowners) are infinite, while the cost to rent is finite.
If you’ve ever read my book or blog, you know I’m a huge proponent of keeping an emergency fund. Things go wrong and it’s critical