Many people dream of becoming wealthy, but they don’t think carefully about what that really means. They incorrectly assume that being wealthy means having a large income. How much money you make is meaningless. It’s how much money you keep that matters. Rich people make lots of money. Wealthy people save lots of money. Which would you rather be?
Companies are designed to make money—that is their purpose for existence. They typically make money by offering a good or service that others find valuable, creating a win-win transaction. They solve a problem or fill a need, and we give them our money in exchange. Despite the benefits of a free market, not every business solves a problem well, and just like people, they can create more problems than they solve.
Last weekend my wife and I hosted a dinner for another married couple and their two young boys. For me, it's the holy grail of family friendships because all the sub-groups get along great: Our kids are buddies, our wives are longtime pals, and the husband and I enjoy each other's company.
Here are a few tips to help you win the tax game.
The longer the time horizon you have to invest, the more money you are likely to make. And the longer you stay in debt, the more money you lose.
Owning your own business isn't for the faint of heart, but if an entrepreneur is successful, they can create wealth for themselves and often for others too.
When I presented my TEDx talk last year on How Monastic Wisdom Can Improve Your Finances, I hoped it would reach a large audience and could help a lot of people. I'm thrilled to report that it reached 60,000 views this month. In November, some wild card of internet search algorithms caused the views to spike to over 60k hits, and still growing.
While more stuff won’t bring much happiness, meaningful experiences do fill us with joy. This holiday, give your friends and family an experience that helps them connect with you and those they love.
In addition to poor financial literacy, I’m convinced that many bad money habits and unhealthy financial decisions originate from unprocessed trauma. As a result, most self-help books on finance are stuffed with useful information yet fail to produce the lifestyle transformations needed to build wealth or use it productively.
Last week I accompanied my friend Rev. Richard Rohr to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican. The meeting between these two men—one a Catholic theologian known for confronting the social justice issues of our time while living in poverty in Albuquerque, the other surrounded by wealth and luxury while using the power and influence of his position in service of a more inclusive Catholic Church— showed me you don’t have to choose between wealth or poverty to develop a rich and meaningful spiritual practice. The only choice is to be kind and loving, regardless of your income.
The key to overcoming money stress in a marriage is finding a communication style that works for both of you and making it an intentional conversation.
Women and primary caregivers typically face a wage penalty of five to 10% per child, and the median annual earnings of full-time working moms are about 30% less than that of fathers. This can translate into over a million dollars in lost wages over a lifetime.