Pimp Your Finances

Welcome to the Carnival of Financial Goals.  I chose music for the theme because it’s a great source of motivation for me.  It helps me focus when there are distractions, and it drives me when I need a little more ”ummph” to accomplish a hard task.
There were more than 100 submissions this month, but unfornately, they [...]

One thing I’ve noticed about goals is that after you decide on them, you feel a wave of enthusiasm.  The sky is the limit, even if expectations are low.
Then reality kicks in.  You experience a few failures, and if you’re lucky, a few successes.  But regardless of how much progress you’ve made, you start feeling down.  The [...]

I put a lot of thought into resolutions, but in the past few years, I’ve struggled to find the right scope for my goals.
I’ve tried focusing on the big picture, and choosing resolutions like “improve finances” or “be healthier.”  One thing I like about these type of goals is that it’s hard to be daunted by them.  Most [...]

I recently read about an entrepreneur named Scott Campbell.  This past November, he launched ScotBlog - a blogging and social community for those of Scottish heritage around the world.  It appears to be the first site of its kind.  In a little more than a month, the site has already attracted 70 registered users and 10 groups.  It can definitely [...]

In one of my first posts, I started a series called “Get out of Debt!“.  It chronicles my quest to pay off all my consumer debt.  All $10,793.86 of it.
All of it is on 0% interest cards, but I’m still uncomfortable having any debt, let alone that much.  It’s manageable now, but if something happened [...]

Do what you got to do.  And say what you got to say.  Do what you go to do.  Yes, start today.  Start today.
- Smashing Pumpkins, “Window Paine”
The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.
- David Chilton, “The Wealthy Barber”
When it comes to motivation, we’re our [...]

J.D Roth, author of www.getrichslowly.org, recently answered 20 questions for me.  I picked his brain about how to start a website/business, entrepreneurship, goals, the economy, and lessons that he’s learned over the years.
Most people reading this have heard of his site, but in case you haven’t, Get Rich Slowly is a blog that preaches sensible personal finance.  Its message is [...]

If you’re like me – or an estimated 13% of people who made resolutions last year – one of your goals was to improve your finances.  For some, the goal was debt reduction (52% of all finance resolutions).  For others, it was saving money (24%), making more (13%), or investing more (7%).
Regardless of what your resolution is for next year, the time to start [...]