In the Disney film Glory Road, a star basketball player at Texas Western University is on the verge of flunking out.  In desperation, the coach summons the young man’s mother. She marches onto campus and proceeds to turns her son’s world upside down. She even attends class with him and “volunteers” him to recite all …

3 Ways to Avoid Wrong Business Priorities Read More »

Why are so many of us bad at keeping the secrets we should keep, but good at keeping those we shouldn’t? Like the financial secrets you’ve been keeping from your spouse. Gulp. Oh, yeah. Those. I’m convinced this happens because some financial realities are painful to face. And yet the pain of dealing with those …

When Keeping Secrets is a Problem Read More »

When the iconic Mission Impossible music starts blaring, we all know what’s coming.  A fuse has just been lit! The clock is ticking!  It’s up to Ethan Hunt (played perfectly by Tom Cruise) and his talented team of spies to save the day again (they’ve done it six times so far).  They’ve got two hours, …

Tom Cruise and Your Financial Future Read More »

“Don’t get a haircut!” That was my father’s reaction years ago when I told him I was about to have a professional photograph taken.  I was baffled. I had no more hair then than I do now. Why this odd advice? Dad proceeded to tell me about his own experience. He’d once had his picture …

The Problem with Financial Plans Based on Sad Stories Read More »

Some see “debt” as the foulest of all four-letter words.  “All it does is reveal a lack of discipline,” they insist. “All it does is cause major stress.” I agree it’s a bad idea to use debt to buy items that decrease in value over time. And, yes, indiscriminate borrowing often stems from a failure …

Some Surprising Thoughts on Debt Read More »

On this day 245 years ago, the Second Continental Congress signed a declaration that the 13 American colonies were no longer under British rule.  That feisty letter—which our forefathers sent “across the pond” to King George—effectively said, “As of today, we are free to build and become a different kind of nation.”  We call the …

More Than Fireworks and Hot Dogs Read More »