The Deprivation Cycle

No matter who you are or how much money you have there’s a good chance you’ve experienced the deprivation cycle. It’s that feeling of entitlement that you need and deserve something because of x or y. Work was tough today so I’m going out to happy hour. I haven’t spent money on ME lately so I’m caching in on a new video game. This is something that I have to battle with often even though I consider myself to be great at handling money.

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How Much Does that Really Cost – Opportunity Cost

When people hear the term opportunity cost they are transported magically back to their tenth grade economics class. Their eyes start to glaze over as they enter their mental time accelerator and wait to emerge on the other side of the “conversation.” Now I know no one wants to sit around and talk about opportunity cost, but it hits you where it counts so pay listen up.

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Successful Budget Meetings

When you’re getting your budget together those first few months, odds are it didn’t go off like Steve Jobs unveiling the iPhone 4.  Take heart though because we’ve all been there and figuring out what works best for your family is part of the process.  If you stick with it, you’ll find not only an [...]

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My Digital Envelope System

When I started using the envelope system to get out of debt years ago I struggled a lot. Conceptually the envelope system is very easy to grasp and use, however it was a lot harder for me to succeed with it in the real world. Where do I put 6 envelopes full of cash? Don’t forget to stuff them! Who’s got the envelope I need anyway? What about online purchases? These are a few of the challenges addressed by my (free) digital envelope system.

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My PayPal Digital Envelope

My wife and I just returned from our annual vacation to Colorado with some friends for some winter fun. Although I’ve been debt free for several years vacationing always seems to bring back some money stresses for me. The Problem: With vacation coming up we start planning and saving so we can do the things [...]

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The Envelope System

One of the keys to successful budgeting is sticking to the ammounts you budgeted (duh). Unfortunately this is easier said then done for most people. These days there are a multitude of websites, apps, and gadgets to track your spending and keep you organized. When it comes to results however, you just can’t beat the [...]

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6 Tips to Make Your Budget Work

If you spent any time studying personal finance, wealth building, or how to succeed with money you undoubtedly already know that budgeting is one of the keys. So why don’t more people do it? While conceptually budgeting involves little more than addition and subtraction, the reality of making that plan work in the real world often results in failure and ultimately giving up on the process. Here are some of the best tips from my experience for making a budget WORK!

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How Technology Undermines Your Budgets Success

So you’re finally giving this budget thing a real shot. Good for you! But, wait! Before using that spreadsheet or logging onto that helpful website, consider this: There is a lot more to successful budgeting than addition and subtraction. Spreadsheets and personal finance websites are not the right tool. At least not at first. Now, [...]

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The Five Ws of Budgets

So I’ve convinced you to start budgeting for success.  What’s next?  Well, first we need to go over a few ground rules to ensure your household’s success. Who? If you’re single, this is easy. It’s just you.  If you’re married, it’s important that both of you are involved in creating the budget.  That doesn’t mean that you [...]

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Budget for Success

What is it about budgets and budgeting that makes people cringe? I mean good, hard working people striving for success who just hate the ‘B’ word. Admittedly I was once a budget-hater too, but learning how to properly plan and budget has changed my life!

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