“What a month this week has been?!” COVID-19 has forced “non-essential” businesses have been ordered to shut down. People are confined to their homes and advised to stay home. The economy is in a free-fall. It’s a crazy time to be alive right now. Even crazier, it could get much worse before it gets better. So what steps can you take now to protect your personal finances? How can you protect your family not only from the COVID-19 pandemic but also from the coming recession that could result from all of this economic unrest? Let’s dive in and talk defense.
Read MoreMM019: 15 Personal Finance Resolutions for the New Year
We come into January energized and refreshed to conquer the world. We set ambitious resolutions so we can better ourselves and achieve our goals. And then, almost as quickly as we made the resolutions, our resolve falters and we give up on our New Year’s Resolutions. But, WHY do we have a hard time sticking to our resolutions? HOW can we set ourselves up to accomplish our resolutions? And WHAT are some attainable personal finance goals that we can strive for this year? That, and more, in this episode!
Read MoreMM018: The Importance of Reflecting at Year’s End
This time of year, specifically during the week between Christmas and New Year’s, I always like to take a beat to reflect on the previous year and do some heavy planning for the upcoming year. It’s usually pretty quiet at work and at home (with the exception of school kids running around the house), but my headspace is usually pretty clear. So, I wanted to talk through some of my own reflections in the hope that they might inspire your self-reflections as well.
Read MoreMM017: How We Cut the Cord Without Losing Our Sanity
Almost exactly a year ago, we cut the cord and ditched our cable. Along the way, we learned a few things that might be helpful to you as you consider cutting the cord. The fact is, nobody needs a 200-channel cable package; you’re just paying for extra channels that you’re never going to watch. So, why not streamline your budget and only pay for the TV that you actually watch. Come join the groundswell of cord cutters that are challenging the status quo and getting the same series, sports and movies they were used to, but for only a fraction of what they were paying to the cable company. This episode talks about how to do it.
Read MoreMM015: How to Create a Money Binder
If you manage your family’s personal finances, what would happen if the worst happened and you were no longer “available” to manage the household finances? In our house, I manage the finances, and Mrs. Modest is perfectly okay with that. If something happened to me, I don’t know if my wife would know the location of all our assets. Enter, the money binder. In today’s episode we talk about the importance of a money binder and how to create one today.
Read MoreMM013: The Power of Small Dollars for Personal Finance
There’s this misperception out there that you need to have a bunch of money socked away before you can invest in either a retirement account or taxable account. Some of this advice comes from popular pundits who promote a debt-free-first lifestyle, some of it comes from the legacy model of investment advisors that only work with clients with a minimum threshold of investable funds. The fact is, the sooner you start investing, no matter how small that number is, the more exponential the growth of your nest egg. The math is crazy!
Read MoreMM011: A Tribute to Moms
Let’s take a quick departure from our regularly scheduled personal finance programming to talk about moms, specifically about the two most important moms in my life, Mama Modest and Mrs. Modest. It’s because of the money management principles that my mom (tried) to instill in me early on in life that set the foundation for my interest in personal finance and money management. So, today’s episode is a quick tribute you, Mom.
Read MoreMM010: Setting SMART Personal Finance Goals
That which is measured improves. Easier said than done when you’re trying to figure out your personal finance goals for the next 30 years. So how do you keep you personal finance goals on track? It all starts with SMART goal setting. In this episode we’ll work through the foundations of setting big and small SMART personal finance goals so you can stay on track to reach your modest millions.
Read MoreMM009: Being Happy with “Having Enough”
Society encourages us to work hard so we can keep working our way up the corporate ladder so we can ultimately find success at the top. Along the way, we’ll see our income increase and almost inevitably so will our lifestyle. But, as we’re chasing happiness and always looking for more, what happens when we realize that happiness might have been at our heels the entire time. It’s time to put our personal and financial goals ahead of what society tells us our goals should be.
Read MoreMM002: How to Set Up a Budget
Today, we tackle how to set up a budget, the cornerstone of any personal finance plan. The household budget is where it all starts, and without a firm foundation in place, it’s easy for our long-term savings and retirement goals to slip from our grasp. That changes today when we work to conquer the household budget keep more of our hard-earned dollars. Budget nerds, unite!
Read More
