Relationships
Money & Marriage: Knowing Where You’re Going
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Last month we began a four-part series of articles on money and marriage, opening up with the importance of understanding where each person in the relationship is coming from with regard to money. This month, our focus is on knowing where you’re going financially. The most common financial topic couples have disagreements about is how ... [Read more]
Is Frugal the New Cool?
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
In today’s budget-conscious era, frugality is in. But for singles, how does penny-pitching play on the dating scene? As reported in The New York Times, ING Direct recently asked 1,000 people (presumably single people) what words would come to mind if they were fixed up for a date with someone described as frugal? The most ... [Read more]
Money & Marriage: Knowing Where You’re Coming From
Monday, August 2nd, 2010
God’s vision and intention for marriage is oneness. Unity. Each person making sacrifices, dying to self, for the good of the other and the good of the relationship. There are countless factors that get in the way of oneness: There’s our natural tendency toward selfishness. There are in-law issues, debates about who will do what ... [Read more]
Kids Ask The Darndest Things About Money
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Have your kids ever asked you a real stumper of a question about money? Consider this one, culled from a great series of blog posts from Ron Lieber at The New York Times: “You tell me all the time that the reason we have nice things and can go to a nice school is that ... [Read more]
High School Grads Not Ready for the Real Financial World
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Nearly half of recent high school grads say they are unsure how to manage their own banking or personal finances, according to a survey by Capital One. Now for the good news: the survey also found that money is one topic where parental advice can actually get through to teens. Among the students who said ... [Read more]
Saying, “I Do,” Without The Debt
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Call it a benefit of the Great Recession: the average cost of a wedding has dropped 30 percent from a high of $29,000 in 2007 to today’s mere $20,000, according to The Wedding Report. If you or someone you know is headed down the aisle sometime soon, here’s how to save even more. According to ... [Read more]
Building Your Networking Skills
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
One of the recession’s harshest lessons is just how fragile a job can be. A related lesson is the importance of continuous networking. Forbes.com recently presented a handful of networking essentials, including: Be more interested in others than you are in yourself. Learning to ask good questions and take a genuine interest in others will ... [Read more]
The Lawn Mowing Millionaire
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
If your child plans to work a summer job, encourage him or her to open a Roth IRA. According to a Mainstreet.com article, money you pay your child for chores won’t qualify, but money the child earns mowing other people’s lawns, babysitting, working a paper route, and many other jobs probably will. A Roth IRA ... [Read more]
Teaching Kids to Feed the Pig
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
Looking for ways to teach your kids about money? Consumer Reports recently highlighted “Feed the Pig for Tweens,” a financial literacy program for 4th through 6th graders. The free program teaches kids how to save, spend smart, and distinguish between needs and wants. Teachers can use the materials in their classes or parents can use ... [Read more]
A Mom’s Final Advice on Money
Friday, May 7th, 2010
Anyone who has lost someone they love will tell you that holidays bring back some of their strongest memories of those people. That’s certainly true for me. So, with Mother’s Day this weekend, I’ve been thinking about my mom who passed away in December of 2003. This year brought back a memory of a conversation ... [Read more]
Kids Who Do Chores Do Better With Money
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Parents of adult children who regularly did household chores while growing up are more likely to describe their kids as “very financially responsible” than parents whose kids did fewer or no chores. That’s one of the findings from a new Charles Schwab & Company survey. Parents whose kids did no household chores also described themselves ... [Read more]
Should You Pay Kids to Go Green?
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
A new web site, Green Allowance, encourages parents to use allowances to motivate their kids to develop environmentally friendly habits. The site fosters a deal between parents and their kids: the kids take on various energy saving projects, the parents split some of the estimated savings with their kids. Green Allowance sends report cards, showing ... [Read more]
For Richer, For Poorer
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
There was a stunning story on WalletPop recently of a man who told his wife of 12 years that he had $68,000 of credit card debt. Throughout their marriage they had maintained separate credit cards and apparently didn’t talk about how they were each using their cards. Now the man wanted his wife to co-sign ... [Read more]
Kids’ Media Use Growing Fast
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Today’s’ young people ages 8 to 18 spend over 7 and a half hours a day using entertainment media such as televisions, computers, cell phones, and MP3 players. As reported by the Kaiser Family Foundation, daily media usage among young people has grown by over an hour in the past five years. Broken down into ... [Read more]
Spice Up Your Marriage With a… Budget!
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Okay, a budget may not exactly add romance to your marriage, but it may help reduce marital money fights. A new national survey I commissioned from the market research firm Synovate found that married people who use a budget experience fewer financial disagreements with their spouse than those who don’t use a budget (see the ... [Read more]
Do You Work Too Much?
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Marriages involving a workaholic are twice as likely to end in divorce, according to a study done by Bryan Robinson, a University of North Carolina researcher and author of Chained to the Desk. In an ABCNews.com story, Robinson makes a distinction between workaholics and hard workers. While workaholics, of course, work more hours than others, ... [Read more]
A Lesson from Tiger’s Tale
Friday, December 4th, 2009
What Went Wrong? I’m not usually much of a celebrity gawker. But I have to admit that I have been completely drawn in to the sad story of Tiger Woods’ “transgressions.” Golf is my favorite sport and I have spent many a Sunday afternoon watching Tiger achieve yet another impressive victory. He is unlike any ... [Read more]
One Simple Word
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Do you find it more difficult to feel thankful this year? Even if you still have your job, you probably know someone who has lost his or hers. Or have the tough times made you more aware of and thankful for some of life’s simple gifts? We have felt the pain of financial loss this ... [Read more]
Kids Feeling Stress of Recession
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
The recession has impacted all of us, including children. As reported on FiLife.com, a new survey from the American Psychological Association (APA) found that 30 percent of young people ages 8 to 17 are worried about their family’s finances – their second-highest source of stress after managing school pressure. The survey also found a gap ... [Read more]
What I Believe
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
I am very excited about the launch of this new web site and blog. Switching from the eNewsletters I’ve been writing for the past three years to a blog will allow for more of a two-way dialogue with readers and will free me to write about more money-related topics. Since this marks the beginning of ... [Read more]
Text to Save
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Texting is usually seen as a high cost item, with teens sending their families off the financial cliff with their constant missives about what to wear and who said what. However, a new study reported on by the Wall Street Journal found that texting can be an effective way to foster increased savings. In three ... [Read more]
Teaching Kids About Money
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
Most kids have piggy banks – 85 percent of children ages 8-14, according to a new survey from T. Rowe Price. However, in many cases whatever money is going into those piggy banks is coming out just as quickly. More than 40 percent of parents who give their kids an allowance say it’s all gone ... [Read more]
Who’s On Your Board of Directors?
Monday, June 1st, 2009
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” – Proverbs 15:22 My friend, Brad, calls it their annual “Dixie Fraley talk.” Once a year, he and his wife, Nancy, meet with their personal board of directors, which includes their CPA, attorney, and financial planner. Brad and Nancy reveal their balance sheet, ... [Read more]
Easing the Financial Pain
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
Just about everyone is feeling the pain of our troubled economy. The extreme manifestations make headlines – suicides and murders that are somehow tied to financial problems. For most people, there’s just a nagging sense of financial anxiety. An ABC News article mentioned a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services web site dedicated ... [Read more]
A Teaching Moment
Monday, March 9th, 2009
With financial issues dominating news headlines, this is an especially good time to teach kids about money. And they could use some help. An LA Times article noted that many of today’s youth are already exhibiting the over confidence and lack of knowledge that have gotten so many adults into trouble. For example, a Charles ... [Read more]
Experiences Trump Possessions
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
What makes you happier–new stuff or enjoyable experiences? CNN reported on new research showing that for most people enjoyable experiences generate more lasting happiness than new stuff. Two key reasons are that experiences tend to involve other people and they’re better than material objects at generating feelings of vitality or “being alive.” I couldn’t agree ... [Read more]
Deals That Delight
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
One upside to a down economy is that lots of products are on deep discount before Christmas. But which deals will truly satisfy? According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, behavioral economists and psychologists have found that products that enrich your relationship with friends or family members rate the highest on the satisfaction scale. ... [Read more]
Giving THANKS
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
Isn’t it great that the holiday season begins with Thanksgiving? There’s something good for the soul about pausing long enough to take stock of all that we have to be thankful for. And while I’ve mentioned the following idea before, I think it’s worth repeating. One of the best ways to remember all that we ... [Read more]
Anchors in the Storm
Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” – Isaiah 40:7 (Note: I was going to conclude our five-part series on getting out of debt this month. However, with the current state of the economy I thought we could all use a refresher on the timeless biblical principles ... [Read more]
Getting Kids In The Game
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008
If there’s a child in your life that you would like to teach about money, a recent MarketWatch.com article offered up some good resources. It mentioned a downloadable computer program from Kidnexions. Priced at $29.95 and designed for kids ages 6 and up, the program helps kids keep track of their money, save toward a ... [Read more]
Mom’s Last Money Lesson
Thursday, May 8th, 2008
Anyone who has lost someone they love will tell you it’s the holidays that bring back their strongest memories of those people. So, with Mother’s Day fast approaching, I’ve been thinking about my mom who passed away in December of 2003. This year brought back a memory of a conversation we had about money just ... [Read more]
Story Follow-Ups
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
In a recent post I summarized an article about appealing your property assessments. One reader wondered what implications a successful appeal might have on his homeowner’s insurance coverage. In another article I had commented on the importance of married couples using joint financial accounts wherever possible. A reader wrote to say that even though many ... [Read more]
Raising Money-Smart Kids
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal had some good ideas for helping kids cultivate wise money management habits. Whenever your son or daughter tells you about something they desperately want, add it to a written wish list. A few days or weeks later go over the list to see what they’d still like ... [Read more]
Financial Infidelity
Friday, February 22nd, 2008
Financial unfaithfulness is widespread. That’s the apparent conclusion of a new survey conducted by Yahoo and research firm Decipher. It found that about half of all people in a serious relationship have committed some kind of financial indiscretion. According to an article about the survey on Yahoo Finance, the deceptions include lying about he cost ... [Read more]
It All Comes Down to This
Friday, February 1st, 2008
“No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:3 (MSG) If February had a theme, it would be, of course, love. Sure, Valentine’s Day has become a bit commercial, with everything from cakes to multi-carat diamonds available in the shape of a heart, but ... [Read more]
The Heart of the Matter
Tuesday, December 4th, 2007
“I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2:10-11 In his book, “The Progress Paradox,” writer Gregg Easterbrook tells an extraordinary story of forgiveness. Amy Biehl, an idealistic ... [Read more]
Lessons from the Mulch Pile
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:4 Have you ever walked through your neighborhood on a spring day and looked inside other people’s garages? Don’t the contents look familiar? Don’t they look remarkably similar to the contents of your own garage? ... [Read more]
Sharing the Journey
Saturday, July 1st, 2006
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Are you facing a challenging situation? Are you trying to accomplish a difficult goal? ... [Read more]
One in Marriage, One in Money
Monday, May 1st, 2006
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” – Ephesians 5:21 When we were dating and for the first few weeks of our engagement, my wife and I hardly ever had disagreements. Then we went to register for wedding gifts. We had little idea how dissimilar our tastes were. Talking with a good friend ... [Read more]
