Posts Tagged: Financial Discipline

How getting stuck in a wheelchair helped me stick to a budget…

Becomin’ Hip in Brooklyn Eight years ago I ended up in a wheelchair for 6 weeks. Here’s what happened… One day out of the blue my hip started killing me. I was walking like a penguin. I’m usually good at “pushin’ through the pain” but it was so bad we cancelled our weekend getaway to the in-laws. BTW, this wasn’t...

Getting rich on small potatoes

Watch your pennies.  It’s not terribly difficult to do, and the pennies, the little things, are usually what add up to big savings over time. I was speaking with a client recently who was introduced to the concept of tracking his daily expenditures. This task of “watching the pennies,” really had him questioning things. “What’s the big deal?” he asked...

Tax refund madness

The urge is typical. You’ve completed your tax return, happily confirming your hope the government owes you a refund. Before you’ve even received your refund in that recognizable brown envelope, it’s likely you’ve already earmarked that money for goodies you want, but haven’t had the chunk of cash to pay for. In the back of your mind though, you know...

Needs and Wants: The Difference

For some people, it can be incredibly difficult to discern the difference between what they want and what they need. Here is just one practical example: Let’s say someone goes to a mall to replace a broken dish. Walking through the mall, they see a shirt in the window that would go perfectly with one of their outfits. (People generally...

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.

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.