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Investing in the stock market can be life changing. Even simply contributing up to the employer match in your 401(k) can drastically change the lifestyle you can afford to enjoy during retirement. But just because investing can drastically improve your finances, you can really screw up your financial life if you don’t get some basics right. That’s why it’s so intimidating for many to get started. It’s not so much that it’s mentally taxing to invest in the stock market or that the basics are hard to learn. It’s the emotional aspect of investing that so many people find hard to control. If you are someone who’s intimidated by the power of investing, this post is for you. This post will give you the confidence to begin investing right away.
Set a Goal
It’s important to give yourself a reason to invest. Pick one of two ways to frame your investing goal. The first option is to frame it in a way of looking at what you’ll get by investing: a new Corvette, for example. The second way is to consider what you will lose if you don’t invest. For example, you may not be able to retire early, spend more time with the grandkids, or travel much…
Use whichever method works best for you, but set a goal. A goal will give you hope, hope brings action, and action brings achievement. [ continue reading… ]
I grew up in the 80s, and I can count on one hand the number of mothers I knew who stayed home with their kids, even part time. Now that I’m a mother myself, it seems as though the majority of the families I know have at least one parent who stays home at least part time.
The difference? According to a Pew Research Center report, the reason for the increase in stay-at-home parents is the rising cost of childcare. Weekly costs for daycare and other types of childcare have risen 70% since 1986, the first year these numbers were tracked.
Anecdotally, I know of zero parents with a daycare bill that’s lower than their mortgage bill. Crazy right?! It’s an incredibly frustrating Catch-22, especially for working mothers, since taking time away from a career can hurt your lifelong income but continuing to work can cost more than you bring in.
So how can you mitigate these overwhelming costs without completely restructuring your life? Here are four options for minimizing your childcare bill without having to change jobs or schedules. [ continue reading… ]
Gratitude often comes up when we talk about living a better life.
In fact, many of us know that an “attitude of gratitude” can reduce stress and allow us to feel better about life in general. It can also help our relationships with those around us.
But did you know that gratitude can also help our finances?
That’s right. Being thankful can help you improve your financial situation too. [ continue reading… ]
Things can get a little tense when it comes to money and relationships. I know that my partner and I sometimes have different financial priorities and that it affects our relationship.
We haven’t, however, had a lot of fights about money recently.
Some of that has to do with accepting what each of us cares about, while some of it is a result of our increasing income (there’s just more money to go around). We’re fortunate in that regard since it means we can reach our shared goals – and still have enough left over to spend on our individual priorities.
If you’re trying to avoid fighting about money with your significant other, there are some things you can try. Leo Willcocks, stress consultant and author of the book DeStress to Success, offers his suggestions for avoiding undue stress during financial discussions: [ continue reading… ]
Since you’re reading MoneyNing.com, I’ll assume you’d rather receive interest than pay interest. You’ll like this post.
I’m 26 and I’ve never paid a dime in credit card interest. Not paying interest is obviously ideal since I’m not spending money just for the privilege of borrowing money. But going further, this also means that I don’t need to be overly concerned with the interest rate when I shop for credit cards. Since I won’t be paying interest, the rate is really a moot point.
Whether you’ve paid interest before or not – this post will tell you how to keep from ever having to do it again. Let’s get going. [ continue reading… ]
All of us grew up playing games of some sort. Whether it was Tiddlywinks, Game of Life, Candy Land, or some good ol’ fashioned Monopoly, I’m sure we have fond memories of having some family fun around the card table. Now that we’re adults and have transitioned to “grown up things”, it doesn’t mean we have to forsake our inner child. Turning everyday chores into games can give us the motivation to complete our tasks. We may end up being more thorough in the process too. Plus, we can even bring some games into our financial lives to improve our finances. Try a few of these that I practice right now.
“The Plastic Fast”
The plastic rectangle in our pockets can be tamed. That’s the name of this game. Once a week/four times a month, give your debit and credit cards a fast and leave them at home. Commit to not using it at all for 24 hours and see if you can do it. Getting into the habit of leaving our money at home can help us from making unnecessary purchases. You will be surprised to see how much money was saved after a month. Added bonus: No online shopping that day will earn even extra savings. Like any game, you need to be strategic about the whole thing. For instance, you’ll need to train yourself to make sure to have gas and meals a day beforehand. Knowing that you’re about to do a 24 debit card fast will help your shop smart for those meals too. This game will save you some extra cash from extra purchases that you may otherwise spend on a whim. [ continue reading… ]
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