Budgeting

Surprisingly, studies show that onetime windfalls can actually impoverish you. They make you feel rich, which inevitably leads to overspending. But wealth is what you save, not what you spend.

Couples who have worked together on a budget already agree on the big picture. Once they make the hard decisions about what will help further the family’s values, specific purchases in each category are much less critical.

David Marotta discusses what to do with your “extra” money.

Take ownership of your own financial security and increase the rate you are saving and investing by at least the 2% Social Security tax cut.

Computing your net worth annually is like taking a sextant reading to chart your course toward financial security. Net worth gives you a snapshot of how much money would be left if you converted everything you owned into cash and paid off all your debts.

Financial resolutions usually don’t even last until the end of January. Making a permanent change in our behavior requires both time and a steely resolve. We can only develop financial character one action at a time. Here are seven practices to take you from pauper to prince or princess if you add one each year.

Having found that a longer holiday season translates into bigger profits, retailers like to extend every holiday season. The holiday season is now a four-month blast of marketing genius.

Everything in wealth management begins with savings. All wealth comes from producing more than you consume. Unfortunately, most Americans are better at consuming than producing.

Everyone knows a family with financial debt. Stop the bleeding.

Sometimes we make the mistake of deliberately budgeting the impossible. If you purposefully set the required spending in one category too high, you won’t be able to trim other categories to bring your overall spending into harmony.

Many budgets are doomed to failure because of the challenge of planning for unplanned spending. Here are some of the items you either did not put in your budget or they shouldn’t be in your spending.

Get control of the spending that breaks the bank. Certain purchases that are typically both unnecessary and unplanned are budget busters. Avoiding these financial slips requires hedging some of our worst impulses and constraining our desire for instant gratification.

They say that as long as Americans keep spending, the economy will be strong and unemployment will remain low. “Spend now and pay later” is poor personal policy.

Every University student knows they should have a credit card. You have to have a second form of ID on many financial transactions. You have to have one to establish good credit. And, the more you use them, the more you will accrue bonus points toward cash, mileage credits and various “free gifts”. P.T. Barnum said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” But it doesn’t have to be you.

Everyone knows a family with financial debt. Stop the bleeding. Apply emergency medicine.

Every year problems of debt and overspending frustrate millions of families. The problem has little to do with income, a lot to do with spending. Spending less than you earn is the essential foundation that creates the capital for investing and wealth building.

No matter how rich or poor you are, thrift is an integral part of your budget. Being thrifty is a godly and biblical virtue.

You are guarding against deadweight loss when the recipient can exchange the gift or return it for cash.

In 1985, an MIT professor won the Nobel Prize for a simple technique that squirrels have known intuitively from birth — you have to “squirrel” away some nuts during times of plenty so you can survive during times of scarcity.

Both mindless eating and mindless spending rely on our subconscious need to follow scripts to pace our consumption. Community plays a huge role in regulating our financial destiny–either a path of savings that builds real wealth or a path of spending that leads to impoverishment.

We all think we can’t be fooled by something as obvious as the the difference between height and width. But our brains are wired that way, without exception.

Just remove the decimal place. The $8.50 lunch you charge will cost you $850 in your retirement.

Your time is worth more than sifting through the ashes of advertising looking for valuables.

Themed rewards tend to be toward the low end and cash rewards are apt to be higher. Get the cash.

Here are seven steps you should take to weather any financial storm.

Managing your family’s cash is key to meeting your financial goals.

This year, give your family the gift of financial peace of mind. Celebrate the season simply.

When a hurricane threatens, making a plan and gearing up for emergencies is imperative. Economic emergencies happen too, but it may be less obvious how to prepare. Here are seven steps you should take to weather any financial storm.

It used to be that becoming a millionaire was regarded as a huge achievement. In today’s dollars, however, it is fairly trivial. The new rich is over $5 million.

Here we offer some sound advice on how to put the money you’ve saved to work for you.

If you’re like most of today’s college graduates, you may find yourself ill prepared for the real world of financial responsibility. You never saw how your parents lived when they were first married and struggling. Consequently, you may be basing your after-school expectations on an upper-middle-class lifestyle. Here is my financial advice for those of you learning to live on your own.

You owe it to yourself and your family to make certain you keep your financial New Year’s resolutions this year.

Last week we listed the ways university student are enticed into using credit cards. This week we will examine the economical impact of those initially small and convenient monthly payments.

Although 60% of college student’s pay off their balance each month, that leaves 40% who do not.

Learning how billionaires amass their wealth may expand your financial horizons and possibly stimulate some ideas that could lead to your name being added in the future.

Most people want to honor their debt. But many families have allowed their debt to spiral out of control, and they feel helpless, ashamed, and at a loss to know what to do. While bankruptcy isn’t anyone’s first choice, sometimes it is an important choice to consider.

It is possible to avoid driving a wreck without wrecking your finances.

This year, the busiest day will likely be two weeks later on Monday, December 11th.

Do whatever it takes. Ask your mother-in-law to hold your credit cards while you are getting out of debt.

Spending less money isn’t an end it itself. Directing your spending to what you truly value is what is important.

Keeping control of your finances means that you can have more fun with your money.

“Do I really want to spend my money in this way?”

The truly rich person is anyone whose income is greater than his or her expenses and whose expenses are sufficient to their desires.

Running a small business requires financial balance. Here are ten rules.

When you make a frivolous purchase, tell your spouse that you made it. If you can’t tell your spouse about the purchase, it isn’t worth the trouble. Above all, learn to work together in marriage. Being wealthy requires a husband and wife to both be frugal.

The real lifestyles of the rich in Charlottesville would get very low television ratings.

One of my favorite Christmas movies is the version of “A Christmas Carol” starring George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. I confess that I understand Scrooge’s character.

Admit your past debt mistakes readily. Like a former alcoholic you must be constantly vigilant against slipping up again.

You bought more things than you can pay for. That is an error in judgment. Given the evil in the world, your small financial troubles aren’t that bad.

Only after you have steeled your resolve not to borrow any more money are you ready to deal with paying off your current debt.