Halloween Profits – A Magic Moment

Seth Godin points out in That magic moment, “In the right moment, something goes from ordinary to precious. From everyday to essential.” The key to his insight is timing. Anticipating an opportunity before it arises (Halloween Profits) allows you to prepare and strike while the opportunity is fresh. When you read about the opportunity after […]

Simple Strategies for Donating As You Shop

Do you ever feel guilty spending tons of cash on Christmas presents, knowing there are many people in the world that could use that money to improve their situation in life? I know I do. With the upcoming holiday shopping season, Smart Money magazine reviewed several ways we can donate to a good cause while […]

10 Money Smart Ways To Get Re-Elected

What office are you running for? Did you know your seat as treasurer of your personal finances is always up for grabs? Sadly, thousands of people a year don’t realize this. They blindly hand financial control of their life off to credit card or debt consolidation companies. Will your financial constituents re-elect you this year? […]

Credit Card Hangover

Alcohol + Easy Credit = Big Money Consumer credit cards are a boon for the bar industry. This realization came to me last night at a friend’s surprise birthday party at a popular watering hole. We arrived early in the evening to gather for the surprise and people-watched as customers trickled in. The vast majority […]

Financial Checkup – Find a Mentor

Principle 4 – Find a Mentor What do many successful people have in common? They learned their habits from someone else who was successful. The search for a mentor is basically a search for experience. You are looking for someone who has accumulated knowledge and has turned their mistakes into learning opportunities. Who Should Be […]

Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts

How Much is Too Much? Since taxes are our biggest expense, we’re all looking for ways to reduce them. If your employer offers a flexible spending account you can reduce your taxes by setting aside pre-tax dollars from your paycheck for health care use. The question I fight with every year during open enrollment, “How […]

Ghostly Profits, Opportunity Costs, and Inflation

Golden Ghosts The ghosts should make me around 141% return on investment. I went against my own advice from a previous post, and made an investment in Halloween decorations. The positives and negatives I discussed still apply BUT I ran across an opportunity to buy at a 75% discount to the market price. How could […]

Financial Procrastination

401k Overachiever I contribute the maximum amount to my 401k each year. Earlier this year I updated my withholding percentage to 25% of each paycheck. The plan was to contribute the maximum as quickly as possible. Once I had hit the cap on annual 401k contributions, I’d use the money for other investments outside of […]

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