.10 ‘Normal’ Money Habits That Are Actually Harmful

Andrew Lisa Wed, April 27, 2022

Just because you get into the habit of doing something doesn't mean it's good for you -- and gnawed-on fingernails and cracked knuckles aren't the only proof. Some of the worst habits that tend to die the hardest show up not only on people's bodies but in their financial lives as well.

From the way people budget to the way they spend, save and invest, minor sins are easy to come by. Like so many bad habits, some people don't even realize they're making money-related mistakes at the time. Or they realize it but find it hard to change.

.A Bank Teller Reveals Secrets and Debunks Banking Myths

Katherine Muniz Updated: Apr 28, 2022

Bank secrets revealed and debunked by an unnamed bank teller at a major bank on bank practices, teller capabilities, and consumer money moves. We all know what a visit to a bank branch will bring. Average consumers have no clue what goes on behind the glass windows of their bank's local branch.

We talked to one bank teller from a major bank and he debunked some myths, as well as shared a couple secrets of his own.

.The Things People Say About Money

And What to do About It — So Your Voice is Heard

Sherry Parks Mar 7

I remember it as clearly as if it happened yesterday. I was right in the midst of my accounting career and was working my way up the ladder. At that point, I had already received several pay increases and promotions.

I was out shopping with my mom and I don’t remember exactly what we were talking about, but I do remember my mom’s words. She came out with this zinger:

​“If you can’t live on $25k per year, then something is wrong with you”. Let me tell you, this wasn’t in the 70’s or 80’s. This was in the 2000’s. A time when the average annual income was between $45 and $50k.

.If Money Could Talk - By Greg Habstritt

A Powerful Perspective You’ve Never Heard Before – "If Money Could Talk"

Most people think they know me. They don’t. I am not what most people think I am. I am not the paper in your wallet, or the coins that jingle in your purse. I am not quietly sitting in your bank account, hoping to be used one day. You cannot see me, feel me or touch me. I am an idea. I am energy.

I’m neither good nor evil. I am only what you decide that I am, and I fulfill the role that you create for me.

.The Relative Value of Money

By Kevin From Financial Panther

There’s a concept that I’ve been thinking about over the past couple of years, especially as I’ve made this transition from a full-time, professional, real job, to a quasi-fake job as a blogger and gig economy worker. It has to do with a concept you could call the relative value of money.

When I think about what that means, it’s basically the idea that money you earn from one activity might be worth more to you personally compared to the money you earn from another activity.

In fact, it might be worth so much more to you that you’ll opt to spend your days earning money in that manner even if it means you’re making less money from an objective standpoint. This concept has really come into clearer focus to me over the past few years and I think it helps explain why I’ve made a lot of the work decisions I’ve made.

.How To Never Worry About Money Again

The No-Sweat Way to Protect Yourself From Financial Disaster By laura goldstein

Building a bigger rainy-day fund may feel daunting. Start by breaking it down into manageable chunks.

That nagging feeling that a bit of bad luck—a medical emergency or a layoff—could derail your finances is widely shared. A new survey from the American Psychological Association found that 54% of people rated paying for unexpected expenses a very or somewhat significant source of stress.

And people across the income spectrum tend to be underprepared. A Pew Charitable Trusts analysis finds middle-income households typically have the equivalent of 20 days of income to tap, and even high earners have just 52 days. Building a bigger rainy-day fund may feel like a daunting task, given all your expenses and savings goals, but you can start by breaking it down into manageable chunks.

.The Ten Commandments Of Personal Finance
From The Retirement Manifesto By fritz@theretirementmanifesto.com

Is it possible that there are some basic principles upon which your personal finance journey should be built? It turns out there are. I’ll warn you in advance – you may not like some of them. Just as THE Ten Commandments guide us away from our personal nature which is sometimes tempted to do things which seem fun at the time, but lead to long term harm, these “Personal Finance Commandments” can guide you away from doing things which will bring harm to your long term financial goals.

In full transparency, I didn’t come up with the original list. That honor goes to this article from MoneyStepper, which I just read tonight. I liked the concept and the guidelines presented so much, I’ve decided to build on the original article with original thoughts of my own, including the “10 Commandments” title.

.How to Find Your Money ‘Why’

By Katherine Fusco

There are lots of reasons to spend money, some good, some bad, most compelling. Of course, this is by design. Not spending money, though… that’s a trickier thing. The reasons not to spend—or to save, if you’d like to put it more positively—are often vague, rooted in a fuzzy sense of what one should do.

When people are tired or temptations are especially aggressive (hello, holiday season!), the vague I should pay off my debt crumbles in the face of beautiful store displays or delicious scents wafting from strategically open bakery doors.

.Risk Is What You Don’t See

Jan 14, 2020 by Morgan Housel

Harry Houdini was more than an escape artist. Anything that made people gasp interested him and was something he would try. One of his famous tricks was letting big men punch him in the gut as hard as they could. Houdini – an amateur boxer before becoming a magician – said he could flex his muscles in a way that could absorb any blow. The stunt matched what people loved about his escapes: the idea that his body could conquer physics.

One day in 1926 Houdini was resting in his dressing room after a performance when a group of students from McGill came in to visit. One of the students, Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead, asked, “Is it true, Mr. Houdini, that you can resist the hardest blows struck to the abdomen?”

Without warning he then began slamming his fist into Houdini.

.5 Ways To Cash In on Your Spare Change

Jennifer Taylor Fri, April 22, 2022

You’ve been collecting spare change for quite some time now, and your piggy bank is about to bust. The time has come to empty it, but first you want to decide how to put your savings to good use.

After spending months — or even years — collecting these coins, you want to do something meaningful with the money. Here are five ideas to consider as the best use for your spare change.