Evolving Personal Finance » psychology
Financial Ennui
I’m finding it difficult to care much about our personal finances these days, easily noted by the infrequent posting here. I actually find it very weird that I am not more engaged with our money, as I used to enjoy that so much. (Part of this is that I’m putting a lot of energy into thinking about other people’s finances for my business so there is less left for our own.) I know exactly when … Read entire article »
Filed under: budgeting, goals, income, psychology
The Danger of Side Hustle Income
If you’ve spent any time in the PF blogosphere, you’ve picked up on our preoccupation with bringing in extra income through “side hustles.” Even Kyle and I, who aren’t allowed outside jobs, have found ourselves swept into this mania. I now refer to Kyle’s almost-volunteer super-part-time weekend job running the sound board during some services at our church as a side hustle. Certainly the bit of money we bring in through this blog can be … Read entire article »
Filed under: books, income, lifestyle creep, psychology
Do You Support More Openness About Finances?
I guess I haven’t fully understood why money is the last taboo topic in our society. Obviously, I wanted to talk about money so much in my real life that I created a blog about it and I’ve only gotten worse since then. You can connect almost anything we do or value in life to money somehow, which is why writing in the “niche” of personal finance actually opens you up to writing about almost … Read entire article »
Filed under: blogging, goals, grad school, psychology, values
What Happened to the Term ‘Independently Wealthy?’
Recently I heard the term ‘independently wealthy’ twice in a weekend. To tell you the truth, I had forgotten that term even existed – I can’t think of a single time I’ve read it in the PF blogosphere since everyone uses ‘financially independent’ instead. I think they mean the same thing, though, right? They both mean that the person doesn’t have to actively work to sustain her lifestyle. The money could come from passive income … Read entire article »
Filed under: psychology
Anchored in this Anomalous Economy
I read often about the kids who have come of age during the Great Recession and Great Recovery (Millennials, broadly) and the predicted to be lifelong implications of having one of those birth years. While I think that many of those assertions are overly dour and do not ring true for me personally, I have been reflecting recently on how this current economic climate is such an anomalous one to become my anchor for all … Read entire article »
Filed under: psychology
The Thinking Person’s Guide to Dave Ramsey: Reasonable Baby Step Modifications
As we discussed in the two prior posts in this series, Dave Ramsey’s (DR’s) program for getting out of debt and building wealth works very well for some people but may be inappropriate for those who don’t agree with all of the underlying principles. The next two posts are intended for people are curious about following the Baby Steps loosely but who want to know what some reasonable modifications may be. In this post, we … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices, debt, emergency fund, giving, goals, psychology, savings
The Thinking Person’s Guide to Dave Ramsey: Underlying Principles
As I stated in the overview for this series, in this first post I will share what I have observed are the key foundational views of money on which Dave Ramsey’s entire program is based, the underlying principles. If you disagree with any one of these views, DR’s program is either not for you or you will want to make some modifications to follow it successfully. You Want to Plug in to a Simple, Universal Program DR’s … Read entire article »
Filed under: debt, psychology, savings, values
What Are You Gazelle Intense About?
This post was inspired by the recent Get Rich Slowly article on pushing vs. relaxing in personal finances. A “pushing” phase is when you are super intense about your finances and making sacrifices in other areas of your life, like relationships and health. Circumstances that should bring about pushing are living beyond your means, feeling a lot of stress about your finances, or when you are nearing default on a loan. Similarly, Dave Ramsey would … Read entire article »
Filed under: budgeting, debt, psychology, spending
Perfect Articulation of Plastic as Real Money for Young People
In episode of Freakonomics from 10/3/2013, Steve Levitt and Steve Dubner discussed a listener question that I thought was a perfect articulation of my opinion concerning the studies that show that people tend to spend more when using credit cards in comparison with cash. Steve Reta wrote: “This morning I was reading an article on how credit card spending is making us ‘irresponsible’ because it removes the ‘pain’ of paying with cold hard cash. I found … Read entire article »
Filed under: credit cards, psychology, spending
Aspiring to Make Money from Our Closet Has Wasted Emotional Energy
There’s nothing like moving to show you how much crap you really own and make you want to become a minimalist! Just working in our closet, I filled 2 giant trash bags, 1 suitcase, and 2 carry-ons with clothes that we rarely or never wear. And I’m not even done with that category of clothing. I’m like, ashamed to even be typing that, even though I’ve already confessed to you that we have too much … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices, psychology
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