The most popular approaches to debt elimination are: paying off the largest debt first, paying off the smallest debt first, paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first, and loan consolidation. In my book “Personal Finance Simply Understood” I walk through a detailed analysis of these approaches using various loan and debt amounts, and […]
Tag Archives: personal finance
Buying a home is a major event in our lives, and the excitement can easily overshadow the long-term financial commitment we’re about to make. This is especially true when we’ve found a home that we love. The property taxes, maintenance, and mortgage obligation that we’re committing to, often take a backseat to the excitement of […]
When we hear sales promotions that say that it will cost us pennies per day, or for just $1.00 a day we can have this or that, the idea is to keep us thinking in small numbers. But those small numbers add up and become big numbers over time. Well, it works the same way […]
We know that we should teach our children the “value of a dollar”, but the best way to go about it seems to escape us. Using an allowance may teach them to stretch a dollar, but in a pinch there’s more where that came from and they know it. Even when it’s tied to chores, […]
If you’re employer has a 401(k) plan and you’re not contributing, it’s time to take a serious look at the financial benefits these plans offer. Company sponsored 401(k) plans allow us to deposit a limited amount of pretax income (taken from our gross pay before taxes are withheld) to an account that grows tax-deferred. This […]
Tax season is upon us and most of the forms we need to file our income tax should have arrived or are available on line by now, and hopefully there’s a folder or envelope that we’ve kept throughout the year that contains the additional information we’ll need. Now the decision about how to file this […]
If you’re starting off the New Year with a commitment to better financial management, you might want to pick up a copy of my book Personal Finance Simply Understood. The book is a cohesive walk through every area of personal finance. I have posted blogs about debt elimination, compound interest, and saving, and each post […]
Since credit allows us to stretch out the cost of an item with payments over a period of time, this makes purchases on credit seem more affordable. Maybe I can’t afford $650.00 today, but I think that I can afford $65.00 a month for ten months, and so I buy the item using credit. I […]
The most popular approaches to debt elimination are: paying off the largest debt first, paying off the smallest debt first, paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first, and loan consolidation. In my book “Personal Finance Simply Understood” I walk through a detailed analysis of these approaches using various loan and debt amounts, and […]
What is personal economic value and why is it important? Our personal economic value is our earnings potential or what can we expect to earn between now and when we plan to stop working. As an example, if I currently earn $44,000 each year, I’m 32 years old, and I plan to retire at age […]
Personal Finance Simply Understood 