Blog

Mar 22

Adult Children and Money: Not Too Old to Learn New Tricks

It feels rewarding to help your children. When your adult children ask for help, they can, no doubt, be difficult to refuse. It might seem natural that you would or should help them reach certain financial goals, but when they approach you for money, you need to be careful. Obviously, every child and every situation is different: When your normally responsible child comes to you for help, if you are in the right financial position and you and your spouse are in agreement, it can turn out to be a very positive thing. When a not-yet-responsible child comes asking for money to get them out of a tight spot though, you might want to take some time to decide if it’s a good idea. To illustrate this point, I have a client story that I would like to share. A while ago we were approached by a mother and father who were concerned about their adult child, Carolina. They were mystified about her spending, and thought the smartest thing to do was to seek professional help. Carolina was in her 20’s. She was a mature student with a spending habit that, all told, was costing her parents over $45,000 a […]

Feb 23

This Thing Called Normal

I was told recently about a successful lawyer who wanted to write a book called Broke on Any Budget. He selected this title because, he was broke as a law student; broke as a junior lawyer, and even after he made partner in his law firm, he was still broke. As our careers advance, so does our income. Sadly, we often don’t see the same ‘advancement’ in our savings. There are many different reasons for this, but I would like to focus on one you might not have heard of before: It’s called Entitlement Spending. We all feel entitled to a normal standard of living. Many of us feel that normal clothes, a normal house, and a normal mode of transportation is our right. The question to ask, though, is what does normal mean to you? A normal lifestyle for someone who has just entered the workforce, earning $40,000 a year, isn’t the same normal lifestyle an established person earning $175,000 a year would expect, and vice versa. Their views and expectations will be different whether we talk about housing, vacations or even just dining out. As our income increases, we inevitably spend more money in order to match our […]

Jan 16

Blame Someone Else Day

According to Yahoo News, the first Friday the 13th of each year is officially “Blame Someone Else Day.” First started by Anne Moeller of Clio, Michigan in 1982, it’s said that Anne’s alarm clock did not go off, and she overslept. As a result, she was late for appointments all day long and spent the day spreading blame and making excuses for being late. A lot of people have the same attitude about money. It might be tempting to blame circumstances or other people, but passing the buck never fixed anyone’s problems, especially when it comes to money troubles or personal finance. When many clients first see us, they are initially quick to blame others for their own financial quandaries: They blame the banks, the credit card companies, sales people, shopping malls and often say “not having enough time to be on top of it,” is why they have financial difficulties. Worse, blame distracts us from finding the real cause of our problems. In order to get to the bottom of financial anxiety, we need to point the finger at ourselves and take full responsibility for our actions. Only by doing this can you begin to fix your own financial […]

Dec 20

The “Shopaholic” Spouse

Money may not be the root of all evil, but overspending can cause a whole lot of disagreement in a marriage. It’s assumed and fair to say that the less money a couple makes, the more arguments there are likely to be. If there is shopaholic in the relationship though, even top earning couples will fight about money.

Nov 16

Exercises for financial discipline

There are a lot of commercials out there which attempt to position certain products and services as a substitute for discipline. Offering “fast and easy” solutions, companies will wrap your debt into a line of credit, negotiate a lower balance on your credit cards for you and help to reduce your payments.

Oct 25

Put off procrastinating (You’ll be glad you did)

We all know that procrastination makes us feel guilty, stressed out, and frustrated. The vast majority of us also believe that having enough to live comfortably during retirement is of paramount importance. So why do we torture ourselves and put off the important things that will help us achieve financial freedom?

Sep 14

Be Decisive or Beware!

It’s one thing to save for your retirement. Saving the right amount is another thing altogether. There isn’t a worse feeling than getting to retirement and knowing that you don’t have enough.

Aug 15

What’s in a Goal?

We are taught that goal-setting is a prerequisite for achievement. But how do you know that you will be happy once you achieve your the goals you have set for yourself and your family?

Jun 21

Inspirational Mistakes

Look back before you try to move forward: The best way to take control of your financial situation is to learn from your mistakes. Figuring out what you have been doing wrong is the only way to start changing your financial behaviour.