.The Official Steps to Do After You Win the Lottery

Find out about all the proper steps to take if you hit a huge jackpot in this video!

166,112 views• Mar 27, 2021

9 - The Big Decision Sometimes a little bit of self discipline can go a long long way. That’s especially true for people who win the lottery. I mean, let’s say you win a lot of money, such as 100 million dollars. That easily qualifies as a life changing event.

8 - Stay Anonymous The easiest way to save yourself from a lot of trouble after winning a giant lottery is to tell as few people as possible. If you’re able to, don’t tell anyone that you won the lottery!

.How to Help Loved Ones Financially

Lending a hand without breaking your bank.

Christine Benz: Hi, I'm Christine Benz for Morningstar. Many financially stable people may wish to help loved ones who are struggling financially. Joining me to discuss what can often be a sticky situation is Michelle Singletary. She's a Washington Post columnist, and she's also the author of a new book called What to Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits. Michelle, thank you so much for being here.

Michelle Singletary: Thank you so much for having me.

Benz: Let's start with something that you emphasize in the book. And you do cover this topic about how to help loved ones who are struggling financially. One thing you say is to just start with a self-assessment, if you want to help someone else, take a look at your own financial situation and make sure that you are actually equipped to do so. Can you talk about that?

.Why Money Is Important and The Role It Plays in Our Lives

By Todd Kunsman Invested Wallet

At some point, you may wonder why money is important and start to analyze the role it plays in your own life. And our society has plenty of different viewpoints when it comes to money and happiness, how much money is truly enough, and how to better with money. I’m sure you have heard many of the different sayings about money too, whether funny or to hit a particular point to make you think.

You know the ones, like:

“Money doesn’t buy happiness.” – Proverb

“Money is the root of all evil.” – 1 Timothy 6:10

“Having money isn’t everything, not having it is.” – Kanye West

But you’ve probably heard many proverbs, famous quotes, or other sayings from people around you. And while there may be some truth to not let money dictate your entire life and choices, money IS important.

.Is $10,000 A Lot of Money? What You Need To Know

As you begin building your net worth and reaching new financial goals, you may set your eyes on reaching $10,000.

Is $10,000 A Lot of Money?It’s a pretty big milestone to hit, especially if you are starting fresh in your financial journey.

The first time I had $10k saved, I had to refresh my bank screen a few times because it didn’t seem real. After all, prior to that goal I typically never had more than $1,000 saved at a time!

And although this is a nice sum of money after you reach this milestone and the excitement wears off a bit, you may stop to wonder a few questions:

Is $10,000 a lot of money? How far will this amount take me? What should I do with this amount of cash?

.There Are 7 Money Personality Types, says psychology expert—how to tell which one you are (and the pitfalls of each)

Published Wed, Apr 28 2021 Ken Honda, Contributor

We often stress about the importance of financial literacy, such as gaining a strong understanding of how money works and having the resources to make informed decisions.

But when it comes to establishing financial health, one thing most people fail to consider is their money personality type — or their approach and emotional responses to money.

We each have our own beliefs and emotions about money, and they are mostly shaped by our individual life experiences (e.g., passed down from our parents or influenced by our current situations).

.The Power of Financial Habits

Samantha Lamas Feb 10, 2021

Adopting mental shortcuts can help you stick to a budget.

Many financial decisions force us to balance what we want now against what’s better for us in the long term. In this classic want/should conflict, a “want” is something that grants immediate pleasure, while a “should” is something that offers benefits much later--such as healthy retirement savings.

We all know we should be doing things like saving for retirement, paying off our debt, or monitoring our spending, but these "shoulds" are hard to put into practice. Why? Because we are human. We aren’t made to think 30 years from now, even though we should be doing so. With that in mind, how can we get ourselves to accomplish our "shoulds"? One way is to develop healthy financial habits.

.Does F.I.R.E. Prevent Divorces?

By FIRECracker April 26, 2021

The F.I.R.E. movement, which stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early.

In my last post about not losing yourself in retirement, reader Steve posted an interesting question in the comments:

“Any thoughts on the FIRE couples that get divorced? One would think that not having money issues (the #1 stressor for married people) and achieving a monumental goal together would strengthen that bond, but apparently there is more to it.” –Steve

This got me thinking. If money, which is the #1 reason why couples break up, is no longer an issue, why are FIRE couples still getting divorced?

Now, I’m no relationship expert and this is me taking a wild stab at it, so feel free to take it with a grain of salt. Having seen some friends and family get divorced for reasons other than money, I’ve noticed that marital problems don’t just drop on a couple by surprise and then explode their marriage like a grenade. Instead, they pile on gradually like a gentle snowfall. And because it sneaks up on you, you don’t realize until it’s too late that you’re trapped in a blizzard, praying you won’t die a horrible frostbitten death.

.7 Common Money Arguments in Marriage — And How to Tackle Them Together

By Jeremy Brown Apr 20 2021, 5:31 PM

From misaligned financial visions to lack of follow through on previously set financial goals, these money arguments are very common.

Arguments about money are about more than money. In every heated discussion about overspending, mismanagement, bills being ignored, issues of envy, guilt, shame, fear loom large. Financial therapists and counsellors understand this, which is why, in addition to helping with brass taxes financial decisions, they also look at the emotions behind money arguments. This better helps individuals and couples gain a better sense of the complex mechanisms at work so they can make better decisions and have fewer arguments.

“For many people, the thought of entering financial coaching or money counseling means something is or has gone wrong,” says AJ Bishop, Chief Executive Officer and the Founder of My Wealth Conscious Coach. “Sure, they understand and know they have a disconnect around money, but it’s not an unworkable topic.

.3 Important Lessons I Learned from Collecting Baseball Cards

MAY 10, 2021

A few weeks ago my dad asked me to list a few baseball cards on eBay. The cards were 2001 rookie cards of Ichiro Suzuki and Albert Pujols. To my surprise, each card sold for several hundred dollars really fast. Listing those cards brought back old memories of collecting baseball cards as a kid. This post goes over three important life lessons I’ve taken into adulthood from my time collecting baseball cards.

My Saturday nights as a pre-teen were often spent swapping baseball cards with friends. My best friend lived three houses up the street and was my main trading partner. We’d often have sleep-overs filled with wrestling videos, video games, and an all-out baseball card exchange.

Yes, I was (and still am) a huge nerd.

.Sleeping with Cash

Andrew Forsythe May 6, 2021

HERE AT HUMBLEDOLLAR and in many other places, this point has been made: The best investment portfolio isn’t the one that’s theoretically or empirically superior. Rather, it’s the one that lets you sleep at night. What I’ve found, as far as my portfolio goes, is that the necessary prerequisite for a good night’s sleep is one thing above all else: an oversized cash reserve. By that, I mean a cash hoard that can handle not only the most likely contingencies, but also unexpected ones—and then some.

I typically keep enough cash to finance our normal expenditures for at least six years. In fact, with the current bubbly stock market, I’m above that level. To back that up, I also have a decent allocation to bond funds, consisting mostly of an intermediate-term municipal fund in a taxable account and total bond market index funds in retirement accounts.