My first words to you–my very first words (in the front book flap of Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck)–were “So many have income. So few have wealth.” While the remainder of the book addresses the key steps to address and overcome this unfortunate reality, I’ll hammer home one of the most critical points right now:
There [...]
Continue reading about Strategy # 4: Save early, save often.
Since procrastination requires no effort on your part, it may be your current “strategy” without you realizing it. If so, it’s a costly approach. Not planning for your future becomes more expensive each year you delay. Starting early provides huge advantages, including:
You develop appropriate spending habits while you are still impressionable.
You’ve [...]
Continue reading about Strategy # 3: Procrastination is very expensive
If you’re already in your sixties and you have never done any previous financial planning, you might not have the luxury of implementing appropriate financial strategies at a slow, deliberate pace. But if you are younger, you have much more time before you reach retirement age. This means you can go at a [...]
Continue reading about Strategy # 2: It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.
I had my first book signing event yesterday for Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck. It was a blast to personalize everyone’s book. Many were bought as gifts. My favorite inscription request was the person who asked me to address the note to his wife followed by “Start with chapters two and three.” (Don’t Be Cheap, [...]
Continue reading about Winning the Lottery Without Playing Lotto
Over the next several weeks, we’ll cover many different financial planning strategies. Please don’t even attempt to implement every strategy as I post them. Such a large undertaking is likely to leave you too burnt-out to address follow-up financial planning matters.
Furthermore, you are going to make mistakes. Doing so is both normal and expected. [...]
Tomorrow evening I will be signing copies of my book, Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck at the fantastic independent RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth, NH. The events include a free presentation, Q&A, and book signing. Things kick off at 7PM! Hope to see you there!
Over the next several weeks, I will provide 40 tips to help you get started with your basic financial planning. Some recommendations will be quite basic. Others may be less so, but none will be too confusing. Consider each tip in turn. If you’ve already executed a particular strategy, great! [...]
A few times a week I take a brief break from my workday at around 5 PM. This phenomenon is caused primarily by our nanny leaving at 5 and my wife sometimes being unable to get back home until later. In these situations, I usually watch my two-year old daughter for ten or twenty [...]
Continue reading about How a Swing Set Can Keep You in Balance
Today, in her fiscally fit column at WSJ.com, Terry Cullen discusses the difficulty of anticipating the right amount of money to put in your health care spending account.
You: Okay, remind me what this spending account thing is again?
Sure. Offered by many large employers, a flexible spending account (also known as a reimbursement account), allows [...]
Continue reading about The Inflexible Flexible Spending Plan
This morning, as part of my ongoing efforts to get the word out about how to live Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck, I taped an interview with Don Lancer of KYW, the station with more listeners than any other radio station in the Philadelphia region. So if you live in greater Philly, make sure to tune [...]
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