By 2 Cents on June 7th, 2011 | Category: Money Psychology |  Tell your money where to go. Don’t ask where it went.
~ Unknown
We spend a lot of time here kicking around different ideas on how to manage your money. What’s the best way to spend it, save it, and invest it? It’s all about controlling your money rather than letting it control you.
From the beginning, I intended the “balance” part of Balance Junkie to be a bit of a double entendre. It refers to the quest for a healthy financial balance sheet as well as a well-rounded life balance sheet. Putting money in its place means paying enough attention to it to manage it wisely, but not enough to let it become more important than it is. Today we take a look at how to balance these dueling propositions.
Your Money: Micro Management
The term micro management usually [...]
Read on and enjoy … Putting Money In Its Place
By 2 Cents on December 1st, 2010 | Category: 20 Cents |  This is a special edition of our monthly 20 Cents roundup. Balance Junkie was born one year ago today. It’s been a pretty eventful year in the financial world, and I’m grateful to everyone who has shared their thoughts here over the past 12 months.
I hope to continue to grow our community in the coming year as well, but I’ve been told I need to be a little more forceful with self-promotion. It’s not something I’m terribly comfortable with, so if you know anyone who is interested in personal finance, economics, and life balance, please don’t be shy about mentioning BJ or forwarding articles you find particularly interesting. If you want to suggest anything you’d like to see more of on BJ, go ahead and send me an email.
I’d like send out a special note of thanks to Balance Junkie readers and to my [...]
Read on and enjoy … 20 Cents from November 2010: BJ First Anniversary Edition
By 2 Cents on November 10th, 2010 | Category: Life Balance |  If you can’t change the world. Change yourself. And if you can’t change yourself then . . . change the world.
~ The The, from the song “Lonely Planet”
I’ve spilled a fair number of pixels laying out why I think the extend and pretend monetary policies of the past few decades have been a mistake. You would think that strongly opposing many of the ideas that have guided western culture over the course of my lifetime might make me cynical at the least, and bitter at worst. Not at all.
While I’ll admit to feeling occasionally frustrated about some of these things, I can’t say that any of them cause me to lose sleep or feel too negatively about the world we live in. Why?
Context Is Everything
I can’t change what’s happening out there, but I can change my reaction to it. Here [...]
Read on and enjoy … If You Can’t Change the World . . .
By 2 Cents on September 3rd, 2010 | Category: Book Reviews | . . . too many people are unwilling to do what’s necessary to get their financial house in order. . . . Everyone wins when we have our financial affairs in order.
~ Scott Feher, Your Life & Your Money
If you’ve been reading this blog for any period of time at all, you know that I write a lot about imbalances in the global economy and in our society at large. Scott Feher, author of Your Life & Your Money, seems to have noticed some of the same trends. He writes:
“We live in an age of delusion. . . . Our biggest delusion is a sense of entitlement. . . . People delude themselves into believing everything is fine while engaging in behavior that’s definitely not fine. Then, when something goes wrong, they stand there blankly and do nothing about it, expecting somebody [...]
Read on and enjoy … Book Review: Your Life and Your Money
By 2 Cents on July 2nd, 2010 | Category: 20 Cents | We’re halfway through 2010 already. The kids are out of school and I hope to spend some quality time with each of them over the next couple of weeks. I hope you get to enjoy some R & R as well. In the meantime, I have 10 great articles for you to ponder as you sip a cold beverage on your patio!
1. Ryan at Lifestyle Shock encourages us to look at the really big picture by linking to a very thought-provoking video of Vaclav Smil in 9 Billion People + 1 Planet = ?. I would encourage you to read the post and watch the video when you’re in a state of mind to really let it sink in. I wonder if we’ll let this problem reach a crisis before we really get organized and do something about it. I hope not, but [...]
Read on and enjoy … 20 Cents from June 2010
By 2 Cents on June 23rd, 2010 | Category: Life Balance | You must have control of the authorship of your own destiny. The pen that writes your life story must be held in your own hand.
~ Irene C. Kassorla
Update: This article was included in the Carnival of Money Stories: Spending Wisely Edition posted at Sweating the Big Stuff. Thank you!
Women aren’t very good with money. Men aren’t very good with children. Children aren’t ready to learn about finance. These are just a few of the stereotypes that various forms of media might try to sell us. All women are supposed to be interested in the latest lipstick, not the latest financial headlines. All men are supposed to be interested in beer and sports, not wine and symphonies. Are you buying it? Did you know you have a choice?
It’s pretty easy to get wrapped up in stereotypes, even if we [...]
Read on and enjoy … Stereotypes: Toss the Rule Book & Write Your Own
By 2 Cents on June 16th, 2010 | Category: Saving | My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.
~ Errol Flynn
Update: This article was included in the Festival of Frugality: Summer Edition posted at Where’s My Rolling Pin? Thanks!
I recently received a request from a doctoral student to fill out a short questionnaire on savings methods. The survey was directed at personal finance bloggers. Two different savings approaches were explained, and then respondents were asked which they would prefer, and to what degree. I wasn’t quite sure if I completely grasped the spirit of each approach, but I answered the questions to the best of my ability.
The two approaches proposed by the doctoral student are the circular savings method and the linear savings method. I’m going to outline both of them as explained by the author here, and I’d be
interested in your thoughts on [...]
Read on and enjoy … Which Is the Best Way to Save Money?
By 2 Cents on June 14th, 2010 | Category: Money Psychology | I don’t like money, actually, but it quiets my nerves.
~ Joe Louis
Update: This article was selected for the Best of Money Carnival #56 posted at Free Money Finance. Thank you! It was also included in the Carnival of Financial Planning #147 posted at The Skilled Investor. Thanks!
Money, or the lack of it, can cause a lot of stress. It can lead to tremendous personal or family strife and even wreck marriages. This issue has really come to the forefront during the financial crisis of the past couple of years. A lot of folks have really struggled with financial, psychological, and physical health problems as a result of excessive debt levels, employment issues, and insufficient emergency funds. A lack of money is undoubtedly stressful.
But how do you explain the fact that wealthy people can experience a great [...]
Read on and enjoy … Does Money Reduce Stress?
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