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 […]
We’re often surprised by our credit card statements, and not just because of how much we’re charging. The balance amount always seems to be a number that we wouldn’t have guessed, and some purchases that we expect to see aren’t on the statement, and some that we don’t expect to see are listed. This is […]
We don’t hear much about personal economic value, but when considering survivorship and life insurance it helps us understand and prepare for some really large numbers. Our personal economic value is our earnings potential, or what we expect to earn between now and when we plan to stop working. If I currently earn $124,000 each […]
For some people, their financial goals are to someday be out of debt or have a better handle on their financial situation. But these types of goals don’t lend themselves to an achievable plan, and progress can’t be measured. When we establish financial goals, we assess the things that we need and want in life […]
Let’s face it, prudent personal finance is like swimming against the current. We spend wisely and save according to a plan that meets short-term and long-term needs; we’re paying down debt, and more than the minimum on credit cards, and we’re making some sacrifices along the way. There are trade-offs in every financial decision we’re […]
Our saving plan should cover three essential areas: cash on hand for unexpected bills, money put aside to cover expenses in case our income is interrupted, and an account for later in life when we stop working or work in a reduced capacity. This approach protects our longer term savings from an unexpected withdrawal by providing for short-term […]
The most important factor in managing our personal finances is our control over where our money is going. Before we can establish financial goals or move forward with a financial plan, we need to have firm control of our spending habits. And our spending habits are most often driven by our lifestyle decisions. For instance, […]
Survivorship planning is an often overlooked area of personal finance or is limited to large obligations like a mortgage, but there are many smaller items that could add up to a large financial burden for our survivor. We should start by analyzing the ability of our dependents to continue financially without us beginning tomorrow. This […]
Financial headlines and articles about the federal budget in Washington, changes in HealthCare costs, interest rate predictions, and the daily changes of foreign markets, do their best to make a case for our attention. There is a continual supply of recommendations for financial changes we should make based on the latest news and insight. If […]
Personal Finance Simply Understood 