Archive | Budgeting

3 Guides to better personal financial success

3 Guides to better personal financial success

My wife and I have been teaching a Family Relations class at church that includes a section on money management. Writing all of these posts on finances has come in handy as I have a lot of material on the topic of money.

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The Donut Test: What over-indulgence does to your satisfaction

The Donut Test: What over-indulgence does to your satisfaction

This may seem silly but it’s true – donuts are a great way to test the law of diminishing returns. As a brief refresher from your school days, the law of diminishing returns states that at some point, each additional “unit” yields lower returns. In other words, you get less out of it than you put into it.

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Timebox your way to better financial health

Timebox your way to better financial health

Timeboxing is a concept normally used in project management, especially software development. This post is about breaking down a large task into smaller tasks and giving each one a due date.

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4 Tips to good (or better) budgeting

4 Tips to good (or better) budgeting

Budgeting is a very proactive activity. Budgeting is taking the time to decide in advance how you are going to spend your money and how you are not going to spend your money. A good budgeter will rarely end up in bankruptcy.

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QUESTION: Should you use your savings to help irresponsible or delinquent people?

QUESTION: Should you use your savings to help irresponsible or delinquent people?

Should you open your savings account to help others? What if you knew that helping them this one time wasn’t really going to change their situation. In fact, you may even be an enabler. Would you still help?

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Have you ever bought the Ziffer-Zoof Seeds that Dr. Seuss writes about?

Have you ever bought the Ziffer-Zoof Seeds that Dr. Seuss writes about?

If you have kids and are much of a Dr. Seuss fan, then you’ve probably read Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book. We were reading it to our two little girls a few nights and I suddenly realized that Dr. Seuss was a financial guy too.

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“How much do babies cost?” A dialog with a friend

“How much do babies cost?” A dialog with a friend

Some friends of ours who are expecting are trying to determine by how much their budget will be affected by the coming baby. The dialog reveals common fears and some simple tips.

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Losing your second income? 4 Ways to prepare

Losing your second income? 4 Ways to prepare

Both spouses work for several years until junior comes along and then mom decides to stay home. Unfortunately, they’ve become accustomed to living on two incomes. So how do you adapt?

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REVIEW: USAA Checking and Savings Account

REVIEW: USAA Checking and Savings Account

I’ll be honest. I don’t like switching bank accounts. I find it a hassle. But every now and then, I discover a reason or reasons so compelling, that the hassle doesn’t bother me.

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Getting divorced? Financially preparing for what’s to come

Getting divorced? Financially preparing for what’s to come

As I prepared to write this post, I wasn’t sure of the tone that I should take since I feel that I should offer my condolences to half of you while congratulating the other half.

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5 Financial activities to help kids appreciate Christmas

5 Financial activities to help kids appreciate Christmas

Young children are generally only exposed to the commercial Santa Claus story rather than the figure of a man determined to bring cheer to innocent and equally deserving children the world over.

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49 Expenses that are not emergencies

49 Expenses that are not emergencies

A list of 49 expenses that should not be paid for with money from your emergency fund.

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