Recently, I celebrated the second anniversary of the day I left my law firm job. And while it’s been tremendous, and I have no regrets about leaving, it hasn’t been complete smooth sailing because of certain psychological problems with early retirement. Most people question the...
There are no shortage of marketers and, let’s face it, parents, telling us that we’re not good enough. It’s easy to fall into that trap, but I’m here to tell you – you’re good enough, you’re talented enough, and, goshdarnit, people like you. You have...
Being bad at math is often used as an excuse to be bad with money. Never mind that one still needs to learn about and manage one’s own finances. Still, no matter how badly one’s math grades were – money is not about math; it’s...
This seems like a uniquely divided time in our country. It seems like a time when discussing politics without hate, or even discussing politics at all, is impossible. Half of Americans feel uncomfortable discussing politics with someone with whom they disagree. 50% of Americans say...
With the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, it’s difficult to keep friendships alive, let alone strive to be a better friend. Of course, that doesn’t mean that this is a time when we can let our relationships fall by the wayside. We need our friendships now...
Too many people think talking about money is tacky. I’ll admit it’s uncomfortable and awkward, but anything worthwhile and unique has some built-in hurdles. Instead of talking money with friends, people turn to experts. Experts, however, don’t much care if you succeed or fail. They...
We often dismiss the effect of a single consumer’s actions. But our choices change us, and even changing one person’s world is very significant. And if you change enough of people’s worlds, you ultimately change everyone’s world. When we engage in values-based spending, we can...
It’s a surprisingly controversial statement – women should pay in relationships. The notion that the man should pay is engrained in our culture. People usually bring up reasons like the pay gap and tradition. The difference these days is that we can’t assume anymore that...
Often our goals are difficult because they require too many decisions to break out of our rut. But if we redesign our lives so that making good decisions is easier, we can become successful without any willpower. You don’t need self-control to brush your teeth,...
January 1 is easy. You’re filled with excitement and hope. And you’re surrounded by other people with the same optimism. January 2-5, you might still be coasting on that optimism and the successes of your past. And January 6 onward is hard. Ok it’s all...
There’s so much bad personal finance advice out there – so much clutter. It’s time you all learned how to KonMari your finances. Get rid of the bad advice – the tips that are wrong, or don’t fit you or spark joy in your life....
Not every legal job pays well and some pay so poorly that lawyers are forced into side hustles. As lawyers, though, side hustles come with a word of caution. Practicing law on the side has a slew of pitfalls that could imperil your job and...
Why are my friends and family so miserly with money even though they have acquired enough of it? It’s because being good with money is a habit, and as such, it doesn’t turn off. The trick to getting better with money is to create good...
Personal finance is personal – one person can choose vacations over a nice house whereas another person would rather keep her creature comforts (and herself) at home. Both the people listed above are prioritizing what they want – which is good and not cheap. Cheap...
Throughout President Obama’s administration, there was a lot of talk about student loan forgiveness. Nothing happened and I eventually ended up paying off all my student loans in 2014. Now with President-elect Biden’s impending administration, more people are talking about student loan forgiveness again. Typically...
