Awareness

Your feelings when you learn about other people’s financial decisions

There is a risk when you share specific financial numbers: other people may feel either envy or disdain. Some people will see a budget of $40 a day for food for two people and say, “Must be nice. That’s how … Read MoreRead More

Real numbers: Budgeting for a weekend away

Repeat after me: track or you will fail. It doesn’t matter if it’s money, or fitness, or watering your plants, if there is something you want to accomplish and it takes more than a single step to get there, you … Read MoreRead More

Why you waste energy trying to save on things that don’t matter

Have you ever spent five minutes in the grocery store trying to decide between the organic and non-organic item? Have you ever stood outside of Starbucks asking yourself if you could rationalize spending money on a coffee? Have you ever … Read MoreRead More

The weirdness of checks

I was recently in a food hall, one of those ones compiled by a real estate development company to give the illusion of a grass-roots, DIY, small-business-friendly establishment. Anyway, one of the more “hip” stalls had a sign by the … Read MoreRead More

The bridge: What you need when you retire early

One of my life’s goals is to become financially independent. This means that I won’t need to rely on work to earn an income. (Yeah, it would be nice if we as a society could move to something approximating universal … Read MoreRead More

What happens when you don’t track your spending on vacation

I love traveling. I love seeing new places, or even old places with a new eye. And vacations, those limited periods of time when we uproot our normal routines, are most often when we experience travel. While vacations are salutary, … Read MoreRead More

When to create a savings bucket

A bucket is my term for a savings account, used for either one-time or ongoing purchases. It’s certainly not a standard financial term. I don’t see it used much on personal finance sites. But the analogy should be clear enough. … Read MoreRead More

Is there a limit to how much you can earn?

I want to talk more about this enigmatic quote from personal finance and I-will-teach-you-to-be-rich guy Ramit Sethi: There’s a limit to how much you can cut. But no limit to how much you can earn. Ramit Sethi I talked about … Read MoreRead More

Why having a million dollars might still not make you a millionaire

I’ve long talked about the necessity of being a millionaire. We all pretty much need to be at least a millionaire, give or take, if we want to have a comfortable retirement, because it’s only in that way that we … Read MoreRead More