Good Financial Reads: Rein in Your Spending

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Catch up on some of the latest posts with this week's roundup:

You’re Not Wasting Your Money on “Stuff.” But Is That Enough?

by Meg Bartelt, Flow Financial Planning, LLC

Do you know what you spend your money on? Are you happy with your spending priorities? Do you buy precious few “things” and spend most of your money on experiences (including food)?

My clients go through an exercise exercise in which they track how much they spend in the course of a month, and on what. Though there’s variety at the edges, the results are similar across all my clients:

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Be the Casino: Rules for Winning at Finance in an Uncertain World

by Britton Gregory, Seaborn Financial, LLC

It's widely understood that there's a very clear way to win at gambling, one that cuts through all the stratagems, card-counting, and statistical analyses that are fascinating to look at but ultimately unprofitable. And that is this: be the house. 

And why is that? It's straightforward: in order to win, the house just has to stack the odds of any given game slightly in its favor. The Law of Large Numbers (yes, that's a thing) says that over the long term, over hundreds or thousands of games, the house will win more than it loses, and thus turn a profit.

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Stop Lighting Your Money on Fire. Please.

by Britton Gregory, Seaborn Financial, LLC

No, seriously, stop. Everyone knows there are a lot of things you "should" do to save money (or earn more), and you're not doing those things. Plus, there are things you don't know you should be doing.

I know what you're thinking -- a lot of those things take time and energy, and if you're like most tech professionals I know, those are in short supply! 

Except here's the thing -- a lot of them don't have to take time and energy, just money. And if you're going to make more money than you spend, then why not? Otherwise, you're just throwing money out the window due to unnecessary lack of optimization.

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Making the Most Out of Your Summer Spending

by Brian Thompson, Brian Thompson Financial LLC

Ah, warm weather!  You see short sleeves everywhere.  Restaurants are putting out patio furniture and opening windows. Crowds of people are out enjoying the sights, especially here in Chicago.

Summer brings so many great things — vacations, shorter work days, and extended hours of sunshine.  However, that extra enjoyment comes with a cost.  And of course, I’m talking actual dollars. So before you get too deep into your summer spending, I want you to keep a few things in mind.

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