Personal Finance

Quote of the Week: “Not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” Oprah Winfrey. Tough love is an expression used to describe treating someone sternly, or perhaps even harshly, with the intention of helping that person in the […]

Quote of the Week: “The art of living easily as to money is to pitch your scale of living one degree below your means.”  ~ Sir Henry Taylor. Every now and then we all go through a rough patch financially which results in having to live from paycheck to paycheck. This can often lead to

Quote of the Week: “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” ― Dave Ramsey. No matter how much we earn, our income does not seem enough to pay for all routine expenses. As our income increases, our needs seem to increase as well. This is because of

 Quote of the Week: “Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.” – Colin Powell.   Taking control of your finances and making plans to achieve your goals are the first steps towards mastering the financial planning process. Robust financial planning ensures a sustainable and secure future. Though taking

Quote of the Week: “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.” – Warren Buffet. The first step to building up your investments can be daunting. There are a lot of things you need to put into consideration in order to achieve optimum growth

Quote of the Week: “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” ~Abraham Lincoln. Saving early and often is probably the most powerful and sure way to achieve a comfortable retirement. Those who allow time and compounded returns to work for them are more likely to have

Quote of the Week: “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” ~Abraham Lincoln. As January comes to a close, we need to take stock of the month that sets the tone for the rest of the year. Many of us set goals every year. You can

Quote of the Week: “Become so financially secure that you forget it’s payday,” Anonymous. It’s that time of the year when we regret not following through with our plans and goals in the previous year, and promising ourselves to do a better job this year. If you are reading this, life has given you another new start and another

“One penny may seem to you a very insignificant thing, but it is the small seed from which fortunes spring”. ~ Orison Swett Marden Most children become aware of the concept of money long before can add or subtract. Up until they start earning a living, and sometimes well beyond that, most kids are apt

“Earn Nicely, Spend Wisely, Live Happily.” As the year comes to an end and the holiday season finally approaches, our already hectic lives get even busier. Parties, family gatherings, work, children’s school events, and shopping all compete for precious time. There is a lot to do this time of year and that includes some financial

“Money like emotions is something you must control to keep your life on the right track.” Natasha Munson Once again, it is the season to make merry after working hard the entire year. It can also be a time when the wallet seems to shrink very fast if spending is not controlled.  It is a

“.Too many people spend money they earned… to buy things they don’t want… to impress people that they don’t like.” – Will Rogers Money always seems to slip through our fingers so easily. Wealthy people know that in order to build wealth, you must be able to keep money in your pocket and have methods

“We are the makers of our own state and individuals who realize this fact need not, ought not, to wait for collective action. ~ Mahatma Gandhi Sustainable and renewable are two words that have become somewhat mainstream in the last few years. These words are generally used in an environmental sense when discussing energy and

“Save a part of your income and begin now, for the man with a surplus controls circumstances and the man without a surplus is controlled by circumstances.” ~ Henry Buckley “Paying yourself first” is a commonly used phrase which refers to the practice of automatically saving or investing your income before you start to spend

“Spending is quick, earning is slow” ~ Russian Proverb Generally, people have a strong inclination to spend more if they have more.  There is a tendency among most individuals to increase their spending whenever their income increases, this is called lifestyle inflation. It is often experienced when an individual increases their expenses following an increase

“The gratification of wealth is not found in mere possession or in lavish expenditure, but in its wise application.” ~ Miguel de Cervantes There are various economic uncertainties that affect our retirement plans, including market volatility, inflation, and personal life circumstances. Consequently, it is not easy to make accurate predictions on investment performance decades into

“Nothing becomes real until it is experienced”~ John Keat. Just like picking up a book and comprehending the words on each page, financial literacy means being able to pick up a bill, bank statement or transaction history and truly understand how it affects you. Not everyone is at the same stage of financial literacy. Some may

“There are no shortcuts when it comes to getting out of debt.” – Dave Ramsey. Retiring without debt is a worthwhile goal, but a difficult one to achieve. It requires a lot of discipline and sacrifice. If retiring debt-free is your goal, follow these steps to make it happen: Make a Plan Unless the financial

“The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations.” – Jacob Lew. The cornerstone of saving is figuring out what your goals are, figuring out what your time frame for those goals are, and working backward from there. We all have multiple goals that we need to

“The first wealth is health.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson. Wealth creation is a concept we would all want to master. Our effort to earn more or spend less to create wealth is a dominant driver in the wealth creation process in the short term. We all work hard to move up the income ladder to

“The goal of retirement is to live off your assets-not on them” ~ Frank Eberhart. Retirement planning not only provides the much needed financial security, but it is also a safety net and a nest egg for your future. When you no longer have the strength to work, you need to be in a financial

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” Dwight D. Eisenhower. Many people have a financial to do list they would like to achieve at any time. These can include travel, starting a business, saving or giving back. However, a step many people forget is to actually write down what they plan to do. Taking time to list

Don’t fight about money because after you have said mean things to each other, the amount of money in the bank will be the same – Anonymous Study after study has show that money is one of the main reasons couples fight. Money issues, in whichever form they take, can test the foundation of any

“I am indeed rich, since my income is superior to my expense, and my expense is equal to my wishes.” Edward Gibbon. A new year comes with new hope and new dreams. We plan and start our journey hoping to improve different areas in our lives. New lifestyle choices are adopted and we promise ourselves

Economics can be an intimidating topic sometimes with all the concepts, numbers and calculations. As complex as the principles of economics may seem though, we can apply them in our day to day financial decisions to derive full potential for our personal finances. We will look at a few concepts and how you can use

“We were not taught financial literacy in school. It takes a lot of work and time to change your thinking and to become financially literate.” Robert Kiyosaki. As it has widely been known, the best things in life may be free, but most things cost money. A parent imparts so much to their child-like learning

  “Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas. The goal is to enjoy it the fullest, but not so fully that you run out of money.” Jonathan Clements. After many years of working, retirement is anticipated with excitement by most people. Some envision it as a time to rest and relax as they

‘It may take you months or even a few years to build up an adequate emergency savings fund. That’s okay.’ Suze Orman. We all hate unpleasant surprises, and that’s what financial emergencies are, not desirable at all. This is because they often change our plans drastically. The experience is even more troubling if you do

‘Savings, remember, is the prerequisite of investment.’ ― Campbell R. McConnell Saving is emphasized in every personal finance class, seminar or blog, and rightly so. Setting aside money for the proverbial “rainy day” is a wise move as more often than not, the rainy day, eventually comes. Knowing that you don’t need to borrow to cover

“It is never too early to encourage long-term savings.” – Ron Lewis Arguably, every adult understands the value of saving and nobody can complain about having a few extra shillings set aside for the proverbial rainy day. However, in our quest to save more, we might make a few mistakes along the way. Some of