Evolving Personal Finance » values
Why Do You Travel and How Much Do You Spend?
I recently wrote a post for a higher education blog that gave an overview of how Kyle and I managed and used our money in our last year of grad school (2013-2014), which I consider to be our most (financially) optimized year. The commenters and some people on Twitter really did not care for the post and criticized various aspects of it. Most of the criticism was around the theme that our stipends were very … Read entire article »
Why I Love Personal Finance: Universal Math Meets Individual Values
From about fifth grade forward, I wasn’t a big fan of math. Not to be too Barbie about it, but math class is tough, right? I apparently was fairly good at it, though, because I was put in an advanced math track in school (which just made it all the harder). By the time I got to calculus, I was pretty sick of the whole subject. Then, in my senior year of high school, I … Read entire article »
Filed under: values
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
Time and Money Spent Reveal Your Values – After You Normalize
I often hear axioms along the lines of “If you look at a man’s checkbook register, you can tell what his priorities are.” Ugh, that sounded a bit dated… “If you log into a person’s Mint account, you can tell what her priorities are.” The point is that you will naturally put money toward the things you value most and skimp on the ones you don’t. Your money tells the truth about what you care … Read entire article »
Filed under: values
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
Inexpensive House, Expensive Car
I’ve been taking frequent walks around our townhouse complex recently and I’ve noticed that there are a lot of pretty nice cars parked in the lots – sports cars, muscle cars, and some luxury brands. Two people just across the parking lot from us own an Audi and a sporty convertible. Beyond just the expensive models, many cars look close to brand new. Another thing I’ve noticed on my walks throughout this year are townhouses up … Read entire article »
First Values and Goals, Then Strategies
When you first encounter the subject of personal finance, you may be tempted to jump right into trying to understand the best debt payoff method, the right retirement savings vehicle, which investments to buy and when, or how to get the best credit card rewards. But without being properly motivated and focused by your own values and goals, hectic personal finance activity won’t result in satisfaction and will possibly burn you out. Before getting into … Read entire article »
The Real Reason I Am into Personal Finance
Kyle and I took the “Life Values Inventory” together last week – it’s a little tool that helps you identify your values and which ones you would like to be spending more or less time on. It was developed by people at my university so the career center and counseling services are always pushing it – it’s free so it’s worth checking out. Anyway, as I have previously identified “security” as one of my top 5 … Read entire article »
Filed under: values
Holiday Conversations around Money
Kyle and I have had a great time this week visiting friends and family in his childhood home of the greater Los Angeles area. I have particularly been surprised by the candid conversations we’ve been able to have about personal finance. My interest in this subject area has grown with the age of this blog and I enjoy hearing about the view of money from people in my who are not personal finance professionals or … Read entire article »
Ways to Monetarily Invest in Your Marriage
When I identified my top five values, it wasn’t straightforward to me how I would use money to further my value of marriage. Since Kyle and I don’t have kids yet, I figured every day hanging out at home was like a date, you know? Not really! There are many of non-everyday ways to invest in your marriage that money can make happen. It’s all about putting your money where your values are! Date Night Pretty standard … Read entire article »
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