Financial planning involves moving toward a future that fits your personal values. That “future state” can be envisioned as a goal. The first step to creating goals is writing something that is meaningful to you. The acronym SMART gives you a logical framework for developing goals that impact your direction in life. Without a directional bearing, we are a car … Read More
Five Easy Steps to Tame Your Food Budget
Without a doubt, the number one budget challenge I hear from clients is their food spending. Everyone knows to eat at home, but how can you do that? Don’t worry, Your Financial Mom is here to help! This article will give you a foolproof process to fix home cooked dinners and save money in five easy steps! My Eat at … Read More
Organize Your Budget with Kon-Mari
As a financial planner, I like having an organized budget. So, when I saw the show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, it became my new guilty pleasure. I started wondering how her tidying concepts could apply to our finances. Marie Kondo is a superstar in the world of organizing who has completely revolutionized the art of decluttering with her trademarked … Read More
How to KonMari Your Budget in 2020
As a planner, I like being organized. So, when I saw the Netflix show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, like many of you — it became my new guilty pleasure. For those unfamiliar, Marie Kondo is a superstar in the world of organizing who has completely revolutionized the art of decluttering with her trademarked “KonMari Method”. Her philosophy is simple: … Read More
Financial Planning for the Modern Family
David and Karen are a typical busy family. David works for a mid-sized firm in the marketing department and earns a good income. Karen is the primary caregiver for their three kids and does some part-time work on the side. They haul the kids to soccer and dance classes. Both volunteer with their favorite charities. They spend time at the … Read More
How to Navigate Your Financial Journey
One of my most memorable family vacations to date is a 17-day road trip winding through the northeast states in 2018. We hauled our trailer from South Carolina, through West Virginia to New York, across to Vermont and over to Maine, then through Pennsylvania and back home again. We made plenty of stops along the way—sometimes planned, sometimes spontaneous. But … Read More
The Value of Financial Discipline
Making the right decisions when it comes to your money can be tough. I mean, you’ve worked hard to earn it, so you can spend it on what you want when you want, right? Technically, yes…buuuut that doesn’t necessarily mean you should. This is where discipline comes into play. Discipline means being able to say no when you don’t feel … Read More
Focus on What Matters
It’s no secret that we live in a consumer-driven culture. In our quest for ‘more’, it’s considered normal to think “if I only earned $________ more per year” or “drove a ______ car” or “had a bigger house…” I’d be happy. In fact, as a Certified Financial Planner™, I catch myself thinking some of these same thoughts from time to … Read More
Do You Need a Financial Timeout?
At one time or another we’ve all been guilty of buying things that we didn’t really need. Sometimes it’s the newest smartphone on the market; at other times, it’s eating out when a home-cooked meal would have done the trick. No matter the reason, haphazard spending is the direct result of not having a plan in place when it comes … Read More
Clean Your Room: 4 Reasons to Get Your Financial House in Order
We’re only one week into 2017 and, if you’re anything like me, you’ve already grown tired of the New Year’s Resolution blog posts and social media overshares. While I’m not against the “New Year, New You” resolve, I worry that it’s too broad a goal to actually gain any real traction — at least in a year’s time. That’s why, instead of convincing … Read More