If you have ever made a budget, used it for a few weeks, and then completely ignored it, you are not alone. Budgets are a lot like New Year’s resolutions. They start with great intentions but fizzle out quickly. Most…
Introduction: Budgeting Made Simple At BUDGETING 101, I speak to how important it is to budget your expenses on the path to building savings. I personally budget my life across 30 items (personal savings, college fund, auto repairs, food, entertainment,…
I recently came across a survey from 2020 titled Mind Over Money, conducted by Capital One and The Decision Lab. It provided helpful insights on financial stress relief for those struggling with monetary concerns and looking for advice on how…
If you’re starting your real estate investing journey, you’ll quickly come across the term Cap Rate. This is short for Capitalization Rate. While not a perfect science for evaluating properties, Cap Rate is a great starting point to assess a…
Introduction There are a wide variety of opinions on how much you should spend on a car. While there are formulas to help guide you—and I’ll share a few in this post—the truth is, beyond the math, it comes down…
I have been thinking about this topic of Rich vs Wealthy a lot recently and what better time to get my thoughts out there than the start of a new year. You have a blank slate and the opportunity to…
As I discussed at The Very Basics of a Home Loan, Debt-to-Income (DTI) is one of three important criteria in qualifying for a home loan. Credit Score and the amount you are using as a downpayment are the other critical…
Refinancing the right way is not always as straightforward as it sounds. Over the years I have witnessed so many friends refinance for all the wrong reasons. There are certainly times when a home refinance makes financial sense but just…
There will be other posts here that go into greater detail behind home loans and the qualification process, but this one is meant to cover the VERY basics. If you want to read about the primary four loan types, read…
At first, it felt too early in the life of this site to write about retirement savings—but today, it suddenly felt like the obvious topic. Why? Because saving and building net worth makes more sense when there’s an end goal…
Introduction: Is Your Budget Leaking Money? If you couldn’t tell from Budgeting 101, I strongly believe the key to building wealth starts with a budget. Unless you’re making more money than you know what to do with, you need a…
Once you get your budget set, start to control your spending habits and build some savings, you need to really think about an emergency fund. In the same spirit that you cannot view your 401K as regular savings, your emergency…
I’ll say this many times: I’m not here to give you stock advice. I’ll share what I personally do, what I’ve done, and even the trades I’ve made—but my goal is to educate you. I want you to understand key…
There are many approaches to investing in stocks: day trading, value investing, growth investing, index investing, dividend strategies, and more. In the spirit of diversification, your portfolio might contain elements of several. But regardless of your investing style, one strategy…
Much of this site is about helping you save money and build long-term wealth. Along those lines, let’s talk about one of the most underrated tools for doing just that: the 15-year mortgage. When people think about buying a home,…
“Little Things Make Big Things Happen.” — John Wooden Atomic Planks may not sound inspirational at first, but the concept behind them absolutely is. It’s all about changing yourself for the better—just 1% at a time. Atomic Planks is meant…
Welcome to the Inspiration side of this site. I shared the short version of my story in the ABOUT section. I am 58 years old so there are a lot of stories to my life but this story is THE…
One of the biggest financial decisions most people make is where they will live. Should you rent, or should you buy a home? Both renting and buying have advantages and disadvantages that will impact your life, lifestyle, and financial future.…
Introduction Living paycheck to paycheck is a stressful reality for many people. In fact, far too many people face this situation today, which is one of the reasons I started this blog. One of the main goals of this site…
Introduction Dividend stocks are a type of equity investment that can provide investors with a steady stream of income. These stocks are issued by companies that regularly share a portion of their earnings with shareholders in the form of dividends.…
Building a good credit history has been discussed at Starting Early: Why Financial Habits Matter, but what is a credit score, why is it important and what can you do to improve it. What Is a Credit Score? According to…
When you’re young, it’s easy to think of retirement as something far off in the distant future. However, the truth is, that the earlier you start saving for retirement, the better off you’ll be in the long run and starting…
One of the main reasons I launched this site is because I’ve seen so many people make poor financial decisions, often struggling to live comfortably—let alone retire with peace of mind. I firmly believe we cannot rely on Social Security…
If I could go back and do things differently, one of my first wealth-building moves would have been to purchase a duplex. It’s one of the smartest ways to step into real estate ownership while also setting yourself up for…
Why Budgeting Matters Budgeting is most often viewed as a means to allocate one’s income to monthly expenses. You might view budgeting separately from saving, but they go hand in hand. How can you properly plan to save if you…
You might think the subject of this post is an obvious concept, but you would be surprised how many 401(k) early withdrawal requests cross my desk that are simply meant to cover unexpected expenses. This is truly why I felt…
Choosing the right account starts with understanding what to look for in a savings account. Most people immediately think about account features such as interest rates, ATM availability, and FDIC insurance. However, before looking at those details, you should first…
Apart from inheriting money or winning the lottery, saving money is one of the most important steps toward financial freedom. While the concept is simple, many people struggle to put it into practice. Recent data shows how common this challenge…
Developing strong financial habits early in life is one of the most important steps toward long-term financial stability and independence. Financial literacy, building and understanding credit, recognizing the value of financial freedom, and developing strong money habits are all important…