Business

Making good money decisions is a lot harder than you think.

No teaching you how to balance a checkbook or have savings accounts work. There’s no intro to personal finance course in school- although there’s a very very strong case that there should.

We learn about money by experience- we learn how to be mindful, how to save, why to save, and how to have big picture goals by experience.

I started to become really interested in personal finance almost a decade ago while in University- I was making a really good salary but just not seeing my bank account balance go up. That’s when I started writing about personal finance- and this blog was born.

The most important that I learned from my almost 10 years of personal finances wins and losses is that having a goal that I work thru is key. And that’s what drives me to be more mindful of my finances.

It’s helped me set myself up for future success, allowed me to buy properties, cars, fund holidays, and work for myself.

So your turn- our friends at Lowest Rates are really curious about your best personal finance tips/lessons, and if you are willing to share it with them, you’ll be entered #MyMoneyAdvice contest for your chance to win a MacBook.

The deets:

The #MyMoneyAdvice contest begins on September 17th, 2018 at 9 a.m. EDT. and ends on October 15th, 2018 at 5 p.m. EDT. No purchase necessary to enter.

Head over here to enter now:

Personal finance has been such a personal subject for so long that not everyone feels comfortable sharing their secrets- but it doesn’t have to be. And while getting schools to teach courses isn’t in my power (yet), I’m a firm believer in learning from the collective wisdom. So go ahead and share your tips, because you never know who might need that lesson.

This post is in partnership with Lowest Rates. 

If you’ve spent any time following the news of late, you’ll likely have seen or read at least one feature pertaining to online security. Facebook is perhaps the most high profile of the many corporations to have had their slightly shady information gathering techniques exposed, and if nothing else, this spotlight on the subject is enough to get you thinking.

It makes you wonder exactly what sort of information about you is out there and accessible, and the rather disturbing answer is likely ‘a lot’. You see, the internet might be an essential resource for most of us, in both a private and professional capacity, but it’s also a tool that can be used to track and trace our identities, and to find out some rather revealing stuff about us.

This could not just paint us in a negative light, but potentially be incredibly costly if it fell into the hands of hackers. The obvious conclusion one must draw from this is that it’s time to start taking our privacy seriously. Want to know how to do that? Then read on to find out…

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It’s Time to Introduce the Love of Your Life to Your Mates

Icebreaker games are different to conventional icebreakers. For starters, significant preparation is needed to create the ideal icebreaker game. What’s great about icebreaker games is that they can be enjoyed by people across age groups, and on any occasion. Of course, something extra special is required when you’re introducing your new lady love to your friends.

Run-of-the-mill stuff simply will not suffice. A challenging icebreaker game that requires interaction, engagement and a little awkwardness is ideal for creating the perfect setting. At the heart of any successful getting to know you game is laughter. Humor always goes a long way in bringing people together.

Game #1 – If I Could Have I Would Have

Kicking things off is a rather interesting game known as If I Could Have I Would Have. There are plenty of stories out there about people who are seeking a different way forward. These types of stories abound in books and movies on a personal and professional level. If you had an opportunity to start all over again, what would you do? This is the premise of this game. To get started, each your friends should write sentences on pieces of paper.

These should be folded up into slips and deposited in a bowl. Then, everyone, including your girlfriend, should remove a slip of paper from the bowl and write their name on it and then complete the sentence. The start a sentence should have a follow-up sentence. Another variation of this game could be everyone adds additional sentences to the slips of paper until it has gone through the entire group. This generates plenty of laughs for the group. By the end of it all, your friends will absolutely love your girlfriend and they may learn a thing or two about themselves too.

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One of the worst things that can happen to someone looking to implement responsible personal finance strategies and reduce debt is seeing an investment go south. There are legitimate debates about whether or not it’s wise to invest before paying off debt in the first place. But plenty choose to set aside a portion of their wealth to grow in financial markets while trying to get out of debt. And for people who make this decision, getting trapped in a declining investment can be seriously problematic!

The tricky part is how to recognise and get out of a truly declining investment. Let’s say you’ve invested in Starbucks because it’s pumpkin-everything season and their sales are probably going up. But then the stock dips a couple of points. Do you abandon ship? Do you double down and buy more shares during the lull? Or do you wait for news that might explain why it dipped and go from there?

Every situation is different and should be treated as an individual scenario. But here are a few general tips for responsibly exiting an investment.

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