As many of you know, I’m a pretty avid tracker of my tasks and the things I need to do. I do it mostly because I need to get those things out of my head — where they distract me and keep me from focusing and sometimes are forgotten — and into some kind of trusted system, where I know they’ll be there for me later. Over and over again in my life, I’ve found that being distracted by things I need to remember, forgetting things I need to do and missing appointments has cost me time, money, relationships and opportunities, and as my life has become more and more full over the years, I’ve had to gradually evolve my systems and practices … [Read More...]

This is a question that pops up over and over again, both in reader questions to me and in questions I see on countless personal finance forums. A person has stabilized their finances and has a solid job. They’re spending a little less than they earn, don’t have a whole lot of debt, and are starting to build up some money in their checking and/or savings accounts. They’re aware that people can get better returns on their money than they can get in their savings accounts by investing, but they don’t know where to start. What should a person do in that situation? X steps to take before investing for the first time 1. Cover your bases Before you consider investing your money, … [Read More...]

Like many of you all across the world, my family and I are spending almost all of our time at home, practicing social distancing, trying to keep ourselves healthy and trying to not go too stir crazy. Of course, along with that comes a lot of financial and professional worry. For many families, finances and future employment are incredibly stressful right now, and that makes this unusual time even more exceptional. Our family’s solution has been to try to adopt some daily routines to keep us all sane, to stabilize our financial state as much as we can, and to preserve our health and relationships. Let’s dig into this a little bit. What’s the value of establishing a daily routine? In a situation like … [Read More...]

I have a full-time — job. I have three children at home. I have a wife and a marriage to keep healthy. I’m a homeowner. I have lots of family and friends who need some of my social time. I have a number of community commitments as well. I have hobbies and interests that want some of my time, too. I also have all of the basic human upkeep that everyone has — sleep, hygiene, food, and water. Here’s the truth: there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to give the time I need to give to each of those things. It simply isn’t there. A common strategy, and one I leaned into for many years, was to take a lot … [Read More...]

When I think back throughout my life, I can see a few big turning points that really stand out. When I was a senior in high school, I had three scholarship and financial aid packages for college that stood out head and shoulders above the rest. They were all offers from good four year schools, each one with a different set of strengths, and each in a different region of the country — one in the Midwest, one in the South, and one in the Northwest. I actually filled out the paperwork to accept the offer and agree to attend each of the schools. I sealed those envelopes and thought about them for a long while — several days, in fact — and finally dropped one in … [Read More...]

Most people who find their way to The Simple Dollar have one key thing in common: they want to achieve some level of financial success that they don’t currently have in their life. For some, just keeping their head above water without continuing to rack up overdrafts and finance charges is all they want. Others want to get rid of a few debts. Still, others might want freedom from debt entirely or to retire comfortably or even early. All of us are drawn together by that common thread: we want more out of our money than we’re currently getting. Here’s an interesting question, though. What exactly is that “more” that you want out of your money? When you think about the financial success … [Read More...]

We’re going to go down a road for a while that seems to have little to do with personal finance, but bear with me for a while. I think you’ll find the journey interesting. It isn’t very often that I can say with complete seriousness that an article changed my life. How Will You Measure Your Life?, an article by Clayton M. Christensen that appeared in the Harvard Business Review in 2010, meets that threshold for me. When I read that article, my primary motivation in life was to simply secure a “good life” for myself and my family. That motivation had led me to frugal living and some difficult but rewarding career decisions, but it hadn’t really changed who I was as … [Read More...]

Over the last couple of years, I’ve become a regular listener of Jocko Willink’s podcast and I’ve enjoyed a couple of books written by him, most notably Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual and Extreme Ownership. Today, I wanted to talk about a few of the core ideas that he shares on his podcast and books and how they apply to one’s finances and life. So, let’s back up here. Who is Jocko Willink? Wikipedia offers a nice summary: Lieutenant Commander John Gretton “Jocko” Willink (born September 8, 1971) is an American retired officer in the United States Navy, who served in the Navy SEAL teams, podcaster, and author. His military service saw combat actions in the war in Iraq, eventually commanding the … [Read More...]

Almost every self-improvement goal, whether it’s straightening out your finances or losing weight or getting yourself fit or earning a challenging degree or getting a black belt, comes down to two elements: the fight and the results. The fight is the journey to get there. It’s the work you put in. It’s the struggle against internal signals telling you to quit and encouraging you to be lazy. The results are what you see when you win that fight. It’s the outcome you can show to the rest of the world. The fight is internal. It’s a battle inside of you, above all else. Are you willing to overcome the resistance inside of you, the voice telling you that you can’t … [Read More...]

In last week’s Dozen Pieces of Inspiration, I made a reference to the website Five Books, where people in various fields recommend five books related to that field. Since then, I’ve been tossing around that very idea in my head over and over again. If I were to recommend five books in an appropriate category for The Simple Dollar, probably “Financial and Life Improvement,” what five books would they be? One book was very easy to pick. Two others came pretty quickly on their heels. With the two other slots… I had to struggle a little bit, but I think I came around to some wonderful choices. So, without further ado, here are the five books I would choose if I were to … [Read More...]

My mother-in-law makes this absolutely delicious lentil casserole. I’m not sure of her exact recipe, but I know from home experimentation that this is a close approximation: Lentil Casserole 1 pound dry lentils 2 cups water 1 large can diced tomatoes 1 cup diced bell pepper 1 cup diced onions 1 cup diced mushrooms (optional) 1/2 cup chopped celery 2 garlic cloves 1 1/2 tablespoons “savory” seasoning (equal parts thyme, cumin, coriander, paprika, black pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, with two parts salt) 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix all ingredients except cheese thoroughly and spread in 9″ by 13″ baking dish evenly. Cover with aluminum foil (or other cover) and bake for 105 minutes. Add shredded cheese evenly on top and remove aluminum foil. Bake for 5-10 more minutes until cheese … [Read More...]

The “Books with Impact” series takes a deeper look at specific books that have had a profound impact on my financial, professional, and personal growth by extracting specific points of advice from those books and looking at how I’ve applied them in my life with successful results. The previous entry in this series covered The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few years, it’s that if you want to succeed at any life improvement goal, you have to alter your normal daily routine such that every single day naturally produces some progress toward your goal. I was really able to observe this through my own personal experience with personal finance. I spent a … [Read More...]

At some point about three years ago, I was browsing a self-improvement book at the library, just leafing through the pages. I truly wish I could recall what book it was; all I can remember is that it was probably a new release about two or three years ago, and it might not have had anything to do with finances or self-improvement at all. I happened to stop on a page in this book where it laid out an interesting exercise for self-improvement. It said to make a list of ten moments in the last year where you really felt good. The book encouraged the reader to try to not think about special events or big moments, but rather try to focus on the … [Read More...]

One of my favorite self-improvement tools, whether it’s for financial improvement or fitness or diet or moral improvement or whatever, is the 30 day challenge. It’s a tool I’ve used for years to nudge myself in a better direction and establish better habits in my life. For those unaware, a 30 day challenge is simply a challenge to oneself to adopt some sort of lifestyle change for thirty days. It might be something very discrete, like “meditate for 15 minutes each day for 30 days.” It might be something like “eat only 1800 calories a day for 30 days.” It could be something like “don’t speak negatively about coworkers for 30 days.” I wrote about financial applications for 30 day challenges in the past, … [Read More...]

This is the last entry in an eight part series exploring the connections between your finances and other areas of your life. A few weeks ago, I started a series exploring the connections between personal finance and the other “spheres” of my life. The first entry covered the connections between one’s physical life and financial life, the second entry covered the connections between one’s mental and spiritual life and financial life, the third entry covered the connections between one’s intellectual life and financial life, the fourth entry covered the connections between one’s marital life and financial life, the fifth entry covered the connections between one’s parental life and financial life, the sixth entry covered the connections between one’s professional life … [Read More...]

This is the seventh entry in an eight part series exploring the connections between your finances and other areas of your life. A few weeks ago, I started a series exploring the connections between personal finance and the other “spheres” of my life. The first entry covered the connections between one’s physical life and financial life, the second entry covered the connections between one’s mental and spiritual life and financial life, the third entry covered the connections between one’s intellectual life and financial life, the fourth entry covered the connections between one’s marital life and financial life, the fifth entry covered the connections between one’s parental life and financial life, the sixth entry covered the connections between one’s professional life … [Read More...]

This is the third entry in an eight part series exploring the connections between your finances and other areas of your life. A few weeks ago, I started a series exploring the connections between personal finance and the other “spheres” of my life. The first entry covered the connections between one’s physical life and financial life, the second entry covered the connections between one’s mental and spiritual life and financial life, and today we’re looking at one’s intellectual life and financial life. As noted in the first entry, I tend to view life as a bunch of “spheres,” or areas of focus. I really like Michael Hyatt’s list of nine such “spheres”: physical, mental/spiritual, intellectual, social, marital, … [Read More...]

A few years ago, a movie called The Gambler came out, starring Mark Wahlberg. It was a decent movie – I’m not here to do movie reviews – but there was one portion in the middle where a minor character played by John Goodman gives a monologue about what a person should do if they find themselves up a couple of million dollars. Here’s that speech, but be aware – it’s full of adult language. The point of Goodman’s monologue in the movie is that if a person ever finds themselves with a couple of million dollars, that person should build their “fortress of solitude.” In his terms, that consists of a decent house with a good roof, a reliable car, … [Read More...]

This is the second entry in an eight part series exploring the connections between your finances and other areas of your life. Last week, I started a series exploring the connections between personal finance and the other “spheres” of my life. The first entry covered the connections between one’s physical life and financial life, and today we’re looking at one’s mental and spiritual life and financial life. As noted in the first entry, I tend to view life as a bunch of “spheres,” or areas of focus. I really like Michael Hyatt’s list of nine such “spheres”: physical, mental/spiritual, intellectual, social, marital, parental, avocational (hobbies), vocational, and financial – they cover much of what life is all about. … [Read More...]

This is the first entry in an eight part series exploring the connections between your finances and other areas of your life. This past Monday, as I was writing the introduction to the weekly Reader Mailbag, I made the observation that a big part of my personal finance journey over the past several years has been discovering the connection between personal finance and the many other “spheres” of my life. I tend to view life as a bunch of “spheres,” or areas of focus. I really like Michael Hyatt’s list of nine such “spheres”: physical, mental/spiritual, intellectual, social, marital, parental, avocational (hobbies), vocational, and financial – they cover much of what life is all about. At an earlier point in my … [Read More...]