Goal planning can be tricky. I think most of us set goals based on past experience. But the most inspirational goals come from envisioning a better future that looks and feels different than our past. Stephen Covey explained this concept in his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” with Habit 2: Begin With

As the founder of Dr. Budgets, you can safely assume I have a good handle on my spending. But, even I have blind spots when it comes to my household expenses. Amazon Prime was one of those blind spots. In early 2019 we canceled our Amazon Prime subscription, and we haven’t looked back. If you

My life is built around systems… that’s just how I’m wired. For Dr. Budgets, I have systems for managing potential clients, new clients, and coaching clients. I also have financial systems around the money that flows in and out of the company. On the personal side, I have systems for tracking my time, loading the

I read a book last year that I may have changed my life. It is called “Simplicity Parenting” by Kim John Payne and Lisa Ross, and it’s sooooo good. The premise is that kids (and adults) are stressed out by having too many choices and too much stuff. Not to over-simplify it, but the authors

When starting to work with clients, the first thing we do together is look for easy ways to cut spending. Since I’ve been doing this for a long time, I can quickly identify a few things we can discuss with the potential to save hundreds or thousands of dollars per year with minimal impact on

An emergency fund (or cash reserve fund) is important to your financial security. I would say paying off high-interest debt and building up an emergency fund are the foundation of your financial stability. This rings even more true during these unprecedented times. But, when should you tap into your emergency fund? What constitutes a financial

What is the true cost of a larger house? Since my wife and I are thinking about moving from our condo into a single-family home within the next year or two, I asked myself, “Is that a sound financial decision?” To answer that question, I decided to crunch the numbers for our situation. I knew

Our lives have been turned upside down because of the pandemic, so I wanted to share what you can do now to financially prepare for life after COVID-19. As a side note, if you are facing financial hardship right now, please read our last post titled Coronavirus Outbreak Financial Tips. Since we don’t really know

In light of the coronavirus that is sweeping across the globe and the economic implications thereof, I wanted to share some coronavirus outbreak financial tips to help you weather the financial storm brought about by COVID-19. As a money coach, I support my clients by encouraging them to track their income/expenses, and holding them accountable

How much time do you spend looking at your phone or a screen in general? Well, just like mindful spending will improve your quality of life, being mindful of how you spend your time can have a similar effect. I recently read a book titled “Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World”