Anxiety disorder. Depression. Panic attacks. Intense phobias. Our brains are incredibly complex pieces of meat. Just like other parts of their body, they can break down and not work quite right. Yet, society often treats ailments of the mind as something either not to be spoken of or something…
What’s the single most important piece of personal finance advice you would give a person? I’ve heard this question (or variations on it) many times. I have a very simple answer to it. Whenever you buy anything, ask yourself why five times . That seems really off the wall…
I have a quick four question quiz for you to run through in your head. Just give your snap response to these – don’t think about each one too much. What is a wedding supposed to cost? What is an automobile supposed to cost? What is a home supposed…
2010 has seen a ton of books released already that I’d love to read, from The Politician by Andrew Young to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. (I happen to be passionate about books, of course – perhaps your passion is films or video games or…
When I was a child, I went to the store with enough birthday money in my pocket to buy a new game for my Nintendo. After carefully thinking about the options before me, I whittled my choice down to two video game titles: Rampage and Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest…
Every other Sunday, The Simple Dollar reviews a book of interest. Over the last few years, I’ve come to believe that the biggest key to personal finance success is controlling your own psychology and impulses. Our entire lives are filled with quick decisions we must constantly make – and,…
Christmas has always been a challenging time of the year for me. During various years, within a week or two on either side of Christmas, my grandfather (who I cherished ) died of cancer, a great uncle that I was very close to also died of cancer, and one…
As I sit in my office and look out the window, I can see a number of people and a few pieces of construction equipment busy at work about a quarter of a mile away. It just happens to perfectly line up that I can see the workers if…
Recently, I was reading a great article at The 99 Percent entitled The 40-30-30 Rule: Why Risk Is Worth It . I originally intended to include it in my weekly roundup, but as I thought about the 40-30-30 idea, I found that the connections to careers, personal finance, and…
Over the last month, I’ve mentioned a technique I call “the five whys” two or three times. The technique itself is simple: when you see something in your life that’s not working like you want it to, you start asking “why” until you come to something where you can’t…