.How To Rebound From a Bad Financial Year: 2020 Edition

By Andrew Lisa January 20, 2021

Follow these steps to improve your financial health.

Many Americans toasted the end of 2020 and woke up in 2021 realizing that while the end is in sight, we still have a long way to go to conquer the pandemic and right the economy. You may be one of millions of Americans who lost their jobs, closed a business, faced unexpected expenses or experienced some other major loss due to COVID-19. The first thing to know is this: You are not alone.

Even more comforting, you still have the power to achieve financial freedom despite the setbacks of last year. With a little effort, you can shore up your budget, reduce your expenses and manage your financial recovery. The following short list of actions you can take right now will help you improve your financial health this year.

.40 Money Habits That Can Leave You Broke

By Alaina Tweddale November 19, 2020

Don't fall victim to these bad financial habits. Big or small, some financial habits can zap a solid financial plan and leave smart savers with empty wallets. To avoid buyer’s remorse and similar guilt about neglecting your finances, you need to know what habits might be costing you extra.

1. Your App Addiction

In the list of things to waste money on, smartphone apps are a big one. Those $1.99 purchases seem inexpensive enough, but they can snowball — especially if you have kids who are adding to the overall purchase price or frequency. Consider free app downloads exclusively or cap yourself and your family with a monthly app budget.

.Savings Tricks From Regular People Who Are Sitting on Millions

Saving $1 million is possible with good financial habits.

By Joel Anderson

One million dollars is a major milestone for almost anyone. It’s the sort of nest egg that can fund a generous lifestyle in retirement or even build your dream home. However, for many, it’s also a pipe dream. Understanding how to make a million dollars is a question for the wealthy, not the average American.

However, in many ways, that’s a dangerous misconception. In fact, building up your savings to $1 million certainly isn’t easy, but a lottery ticket or huge business deals aren’t the only paths available. For plenty of people, smart budgeting, strategic investments and just good old-fashioned horse sense can combine to create the sort of habits that will put $1 million well within reach, even if you’re living a relatively modest life.

.Here’s How Much Emergency Cash You Need Stashed If an Emergency Happens

Are you financially prepared for a national emergency?

By Jaime Catmull December 17, 2020

You’ve probably heard time and again that it’s important to have a rainy-day fund set up “just in case” something unexpected were to happen. But we’re now at a time when having an emergency fund is more vital than ever.

The coronavirus pandemic has already had devastating effects on the economy at large and, on an individual level, it has led to job loss and reduction of hours for many workers around the world. Even if the coronavirus’ financial impacts haven’t hit you personally yet, here’s how to be prepared in case it does — plus how to set up a fund for unexpected future national emergencies.

.Tips To Keep Your Finances in Order Without Sacrificing What You Want

Cameron Huddleston Wed, January 20, 2021,

If you’re trying to live on a budget, you might not feel like you can have the things you want. But you don’t have to resign yourself to living a bare-bones existence if your budget is tight — it’s possible to live on a budget and get some of the stuff you want.

Create a Budget That Prioritizes Needs

If your income is limited, make sure it covers your needs first. “Food, shelter, clothing and utilities are needs,” said Donna Freedman, author of “Your Playbook For Tough Times. “The rest is just a series of wants.”

Creating a budget can help. List the expenses you have to pay to survive. Add them up, and then subtract them from your income. If there’s not much left over, you might have to make some sacrifices. Don’t think of cutting out wants to cover needs as deprivation, though — think of it as a smart use of available funds, Freedman said.

.Survey Says We're Keeping Too Much Money In Cash — Do This Instead

Shane Murphy Wed, January 20, 2021

A survey says we're keeping too much money in cash — do this instead

Despite the economic calamity of the past year, a recent study says just over half the country has managed to squirrel away some cash since the first lockdown. That’s encouraging news — however, almost 80% of savers are planning to keep their money liquid by leaving it in their checking or savings account, the Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economics of Recovery Study reveals. While it’s always a smart idea to maintain a healthy emergency fund — experts suggest keeping enough cash on hand for three to six months worth of expenses — dumping all of your savings into a bank account is rarely the best move in the long run.

It’s tempting to play it as safe as possible right now, but your future needs will still be there once the pandemic is over. Here are some things to consider before you bury your savings in the bank.

.10 Simple Habits of Money-Smart Individuals

Tracie Fobes Wed, January 20, 2021,

Mark Cuban. Warren Buffett. Michael Bloomberg. Most people will never be as rich as the world’s wealthiest billionaires, but you can still learn from their smart money habits. From ditching debt to paying bills on time, fiscally savvy folks have developed good habits and plans that keep them in financial shape. And with a little effort, you too can master their tricks for managing money. If you’re looking to break bad money habits and get on more solid financial footing, follow these fiscal tips from the pros.

Have a Written Budget

Many people have a budget — sort of. They know who they have to pay each month and how much. However, they don’t have anything in writing.

.Why We Go Wrong

John Lim | January 16, 2021

I’VE LONG BEEN flummoxed by the difficulty people have managing money. It all seems so intuitive: Save, invest, repeat. Buy more when the market falls and a lot more when it crashes. Rebalance by adding more to losing asset classes—which today means buying value and international stocks.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m no financial genius. I’ve made my share of blunders. But I also know that being a do-it-yourself investor has saved me boatloads of money. When I’ve encouraged colleagues to do the same—imploring them that “it’s really not that hard”—I’ve received only steely stares and blank looks.

It’s slowly dawned on me that the financial demons people wrestle with are real and of Herculean proportions. Finance is a minefield that few navigate without getting maimed. It’s replete with mirages—what you see is often not what you get. Our instincts hurt us more often than they protect us. Actions that are sensible in every other realm of life lead us astray in finance.

.Money Lessons From Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

By Dave @ Accidental Fire · Published January 18, 2019

Martin Luther King Day will be celebrated this coming Monday in America. It’s a federal government holiday, so I’ll be off. As a semi-retired and semi-quasi-professional blogger and graphic artist, I wasn’t planning on working anyway.

Sadly, many companies in the private sector do not recognize this holiday. So many out there will be working away, fighting to pay off the loans on their ill-advised auto purchases.

Speaking of which, in a speech two months prior to his assassination, King had this to say:

Do you ever see people buy cars that they can’t even begin to buy in terms of their income? You’ve seen people riding around in Cadillacs and Chryslers who don’t earn enough to have a good T-Model Ford. (Make it plain) But it feeds a repressed ego…

You know, economists tell us that your automobile should not cost more than half of your annual income. So if you make an income of five thousand dollars, your car shouldn’t cost more than about twenty-five hundred. That’s just good economics….But so often, haven’t you seen people making five thousand dollars a year and driving a car that costs six thousand? And they wonder why their ends never meet. That’s a fact….

.Whole New Game

Joe Kesler | January 19, 2021 Humble Dollar

BASEBALL USED TO BE a game where managers would go with their “gut.” But Brad Pitt changed everything. In the movie Moneyball, Pitt played Billy Beane, the first baseball general manager to use data analytics to great success—and suddenly it was all the rage.

Today, from a typical game, seven terabytes of data are gathered, everything from the arm angle of every single pitch to the exit velocity of hit balls. Teams then interpret these numbers using sophisticated algorithms, so managers have the insights necessary to make decisions based on statistical probabilities rather than intuition. Big data analytics now drive baseball decisions on and off the field—because the process has proven to work.

The traditionalist in me revolts at this dehumanization of baseball. But the investor in me sees an opportunity to learn from baseball’s experience. I see two key lessons.

.There Is No Such Thing As 100% Safety, There Are Only Trade-Offs

January 17, 2021 · by The Escape Artist · in Investing ·

Like many other people, I get emails. One thing I noticed about these emails in 2020/21 is that many of them ask whether I am “staying safe”? Sadly not…I have been involved in that dangerous activity called “life”. Scientific studies show that 100% of lives end in death.

Perspective

When I was at primary school we learned about something called “history”, a place in the past where many interesting things happened. For those not familiar with history, it was not always safe. There were wars. There were plagues. There were papercuts. I don’t have enough space in a 1,500 word blog post to cover everything in “history” but a lot of dangerous stuff happened, health & safety be ******.

This makes me wonder. Did we get more risk averse in recent years? Did we come to take safety, comfort and convenience for granted? Has a cult of safetyism, an extreme form of desire for safety, taken over our schools, universities and our public discussions?