Eliminating Debt !

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 […]

Personal Economic Value

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 […]

Establishing Financial Goals

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 […]

Encouragement

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 […]

The 6 Elements to Survivorship Planning

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 […]

Whats New?

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 Planning: Getting Started

When we’re just starting out with little or nothing in terms of a personal finance plan, the task can seem daunting, even ominous. We struggle with where to begin, finding all of the information, condensing it, and determining a course of action. There are other important things demanding our time and as long as there’s […]