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  • Learning from mistakes: A real-life example

    Posted May 21 2008, 05:58 AM by Karen Datko
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    This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.

    Mistakes are a part of life. We all make them. But like turning lemons into lemonade, we can benefit from our mistakes and make the most of them, or we can run from them and pretend they don't exist.

    This hit home for me recently in an e-mail exchange I had with a reader. In a recent post about peer-to-peer lending, I made a mistake.   Read More...

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  • Investing in yourself: Build self-confidence

    Posted May 01 2008, 09:11 PM by Karen Datko
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    This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar.

    As I sit down to write about the value of investing in self-confidence, I keep picturing one of my closest friends. She's got a lot going for her, but she often finds reasons to think that she's a bad or unworthy person. She often doesn't have the self-confidence to step up and grab the ring, even though her talents have entitled her to it.   Read More...

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  • 5 steps to conquering a debilitating fear of change

    Posted Apr 09 2008, 05:29 AM by Karen Datko
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    This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.

    Fear of change can be a powerful, all-consuming force in our lives. It can keep us from pursuing our dreams. It can keep us in a destructive relationship. And fear of change can cause us to make some really bad investing choices.

    I had to confront my own fear of change six years ago. At that time I was partner at a very large firm. I had worked eight hard years to make partner and had enjoyed the fruits of my labor for two years as a partner. And then I quit. I quit because I was tired of choosing my career over my family. So I took a six-figure pay cut and accepted a job that wasn't nearly as prestigious.

    It was one of the most frightening things I've ever done. I kept asking myself -- am I nuts for doing this? I went from a corner office to a windowless office literally the size of a broom closet. I went from being the boss to being an absolute nobody. And it was the best career choice I ever made.

    The decision taught me a lot about confronting my fear of change. From that experience, I learned five steps that can help anybody overcome a debilitating fear of change.   Read More...

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  • What if you won the lottery?

    Posted Apr 07 2008, 05:03 PM by Karen Datko
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    A newspaper story about Ford Motor Co. warehouse worker David Sneath walking off the job after winning the Mega Millions jackpot prompted "JLP" of All Financial Matters to wonder what he'd do if he won the lottery. He asked his readers the same question.

    Sneath, 60, is taking a lump sum of $59.6 million after taxes. Fishing for walleye plays a large role in his plans. JLP said that if he won, he'd give a lot away to charity and family members, fix up the house, put in a pool, buy a vacation home in Colorado, and invest the rest of the money.

    Many of JLP's readers presented common-sense or even modest plans for the imaginary windfall. In fact, Ernesto wrote, "I would for sure buy myself   Read More...

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  • Investing isn't just about money

    Posted Mar 21 2008, 06:06 AM by Karen Datko
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    This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar.

    When I first sat down to write the "Investing in yourself" series, I was thinking mostly about financial investments -- how you can invest money in yourself in order to increase your earning potential. What the series actually pointed out to me is that investments take on a lot of forms, and you can often transform one type of investment into another.

    For example, take The Simple Dollar. For me, it's a money investment (hosting fees), a time investment, an intellectual investment and a bit of an emotional investment, too. What do I get out of it? I reap some financial rewards, increased knowledge and understanding (as a result of the research), improved writing skills, a network of acquaintances, and the wonderful feeling one gets from helping someone.

    Is it enough reward for the time investment? I believe it is, but it's probably not an exchange everyone would see value in.

    There are lots of ways to invest in something.   Read More...

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  • Should personal-finance advice differ for men and women?

    Posted Nov 09 2007, 07:43 AM by Karen Datko
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    This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar . My wife was leafing through David Bach’s " Smart Women Finish Rich " when she asked a very astute question: Is it really necessary for men and women to receive different personal-finance advice? I’ve puzzled over how to answer this for months, knowing what I want to say but realizing this issue is bound to get me in hot water with some segment of my readership. However, it’s a worthwhile issue to discuss, so here goes. It’s not necessary , but it is useful for men and women to receive different personal- finance advice. Why? Men and women simply think differently , and a big portion of personal-finance success is psychology. Even if there were a clearly optimal way to manage your finances, it would take psychological effort to achieve it. If men and women think differently, the advice that will help them achieve it will be different. Let’s look at this a bit more closely. From the article linked to above at LiveScience   Read More...
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