I’ve been thinking about a newborns recently and the need for a new baby financial checklist. These ruminations couldn’t be more timely. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, July and August have more births than other months. Cold winter months must lend themselves to romance! If you’ve recently become a parent (or a […]
Archive | Financial Planning
Financial Literacy Quiz
A recent NYT article provided a quick and easy way to determine whether you need a financial planner. The article pointed out that since 2009, most folks believe their financial acumen has increased. But according to this quiz, which has been administered consistently for several years, overall financial acumen has decreased. Talk about mismatched realities! The majority of […]
Improve Your Credit Score
You want to improve your credit score quickly but are unsure how to do so. In short, pay all your bills on time and use only one-third of your available credit each month. Doing these two things consistently will generate positive credit information that will raise your score. You can also lessen the impact of […]
Financial Integrity Check
Have you performed a financial integrity check? I was intrigued by how this life coaching technique pioneered by Martha Beck, the celebrated master life coach, could be applied to your finances. A recent article in BusinessWeek stoked my interest in an integrity check and a more in-depth integrity cleanse. In her life coaching experience, Beck describes […]
Financial Advice for Graduates (and Parents)
Graduates please pay attention to your finances. And parents heed this financial advice too if you haven’t been as vigilant as you could have been. Don’t avoid dealing with your finances because you don’t want to or don’t like math. If you avoid dealing with your finances now you will pay more in the long run […]
New Fiduciary Duty for Retirement Advisors
The Obama Administration recently finalized a rule to impose a fiduciary duty on financial advisors that offer retirement advice. This duty requires due care, loyalty, and utmost good faith when advising a client. This new rule puts investors’ retirement interests first and not the profit interest of the advisor selling a financial product. The rule […]
Five Spending Habits Examined
How your spending habits can help or hinder or retard your financial goals was examined in Part One of this blog. And to change your habits you need to examine why you do what you do. Many New Year’s resolutions center around curbing over spending. Listed below are five reasons that may influence your spending […]
3 Financial Planning Tasks for a Snow Day
These three financial planning tasks can make your snow day very productive. After shoveling the walk and building the snowman, try to complete one or two of these tasks. You know you’ve put them off. So why not take advantage of the snow day to get them done once and for all. 1. Obtain and […]