The Simple Dollar

It’s a pretty common story. Someone finds themselves in a bad financial situation, where “bad” varies a lot from person to person. “Bad” could mean being unable to pay one’s bills. “Bad” could be maxing out one’s credit cards. “Bad” could mean consistent overdrafts on one’s checking account. […]

Most life changes go through three major steps. At the start is the “honeymoon phase.” You’re enamored with the big goal you’ve set for yourself. You’re having fun exploring all the new changes you’re making in your life. It’s all novel and interesting. You’re seeing those first steps of progress and it’s super exciting. At the end is the actual achievement of the goal, which feels great. […]

In Monday’s reader mailbag, Eric asked a great question: I find it interesting that you write about things like time management and philosophy on a personal finance site. The connection seems thin at best to me. […]

Imagine two farmers – we’ll call them Adam and Betty – living a couple hundred years ago. Toiling the land was hard work and it took all they had to work their forty acres of land. Adam used all of his forty acres for wheat, and he was able to get 5 bushels of wheat per acre and he saved ten bushels for his own family’s food, so he would take 190 bushes to the market each year. […]