Couple Money Podcast: Build Your Marriage and Wealth Together

Ron Lieber,  NYTimes money columnist and author of The Opposite of Spoiled, discusses how to raise money smart kids who are generous.  [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/CM_020_The_Opposite_of_Spoiled_Teaching_Kids_about_Money.mp3″ ] Talking About Money with Our Kids Whether we plan to or not our kids will pick up their financial habits based on what we say and do around them. We can look back at our parents and get an idea of how they shaped us. So how can we make sure we’re giving our kids a good start with money? In this episode Ron Lieber, NY Times columnist and author of the newly released The Opposite of Spoiled, will share the latest research to help parents raise kids who generous and smart about money. We get into: * whether allowances should be tied to chores * how parents can encourage gratitude * how early you can begin with financial foundations Hope you enjoy!   Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. Resources and Links from the Episode If you want to learn more, I highly recommend that you check out The Opposite of Spoiled as it does a thorough job of tackling some of the trickier situations of raising a financially savvy kid. You may also want to check out: * Too Young for Finance? Think Again – Elmo and Lieber discussing the difference between needs vs wants * Lieber’s columns at the NYtimes * Why You Should Tell Your Kids How Much Money You Make Thank You to Our Partners Support for this podcast comes from partners like Personal Capital. Easy to set up & easy to use. You can have all your investments, income, and expenses all pulled into one place. Did I mention it’s free? Why don’t you give Personal Capital a try today? Thoughts on Raising Money Smart Kids I’d love to hear from you – what are some of your child’s biggest money questions? How have you talked to them about your values and money?

Last week we started the conversation on finding the best way for you to invest for retirement. Today we’ll talk a bit about rolling over your old 401(k) into an IRA. Why Rolling Over Your 401(k) Makes Sense There are a few reasons that make rolling over your retirement money a financially smart move. * More Control: One complaint some people have with 401(k) is that they can only choose what is available in the employer plan. * More Choices: Tied with control, you generally also have more choices with an IRA. You can rollover your account with a ton of providers including brokerage firms, online discount brokerages, banks, mutual fund companies, and robo-advisors. * Lower Costs: Reviewing my husband’s 401(k) plans, I’ve noticed that the mutual funds selected aren’t the cheapest. They are actively managed and have fees associated with purchasing them. Having an IRA can allow you to find lower cost funds. Simplify: I’ve seen people move their money to also consolidate their account, but usually it’s simply cutting down accounts and using the best one they currently have. Where to Rollover Your Old 401(k) For those looking at moving their money, the good news is that you have plenty of provider who would love to have your account. There are a few thing you’d probably want to keep in mind when looking for a provider: * Solid Reputation: Is this a brand who is known for their dependability and outstanding customer service? * Account Fees: Do they charge an annual fee to maintain your account? Are there minimum investments and or contributions you need to make to avoid these fees? * Investment Fees: Even if you go with index funds, double check to make sure your provider are competitive with their charges. I definitely like Vanguard and Betterment as places to invest your IRA contributions. They are both some great no hassle, low cost options that make it simple to invest in your future. Want More Information on Bettterment? Read How to Set Up Your IRA in 20 Minutes or Sign Up and Open an Account. No matter whomever you choose, just check in enough to make sure they are treating you and your money with respect. If you have a provider you’d like to give a shout out to, please share them in the comments below, I’d love to get the word out on companies treating their customers right. Until next time, take care!

With retirement seeming so far in the distance and budgets being squeezed, some couples have postponed or taken a break from investing. In this episode, I’ll go over how you two can get started: * I’ll begin with how you can invest even if you don’t have a ton of money to begin with * Mike Piper – CPA, personal finance author, and the voice behind Oblivious Investor – offers a low maintenance and effective way of investing * Finally, I’ll look into whether or not using a robo-advisor is a practical investing solution I hope you enjoy! [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/CM_019_How_Index_Funds_Can_Be_the_Best_Way_to_Invest.mp3″ ] Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. Investing Made Simple with Mike Piper Our special guest this episode is Mike Piper, personal finance writer over at Oblivious Investor and contributor to sites such as The Wall Street Journal and Money Magazine. He’s written several personal finance book, including Investing Made Simple. He was also a financial advisor with Edward Jones. During the interview Mike goes over a few essentials on investing, including: * advantages of index funds * what asset allocation is * when robo-advisors can be helpful * what to do when your 401(k) doesn’t offer index funds Looking for more information about investing? Please check out his posts on Why Invest with Index Funds? and 8 Simple Portfolios on Oblivious Investor. Is Using a Robo-Advisor Right for You? At its core, robo-advisors offer investors portfolio management that reduces the need for more traditional human advisors. By automating some of the process and eliminating the middle man, they can offer these services at a relatively small cost. In many cases, they build an asset allocation after having you fill out an interview style assessment, taking into account your age, risk level, and time horizon. This is not a solution for everyone, but it can be a practical solution for couples who have a basic understanding of asset allocation, low fees, and want an uncomplicated, maintenance option. Having said that, not all robo-advisors are created equal. When choosing one is best suited to manage your money, you have to consider such factors as: * Investment Services: asset allocation, automatic rebalancing, tax harvesting * Fees: While less fees is great, make sure the quality of service doesn’t suffer with it. * Control: Do you want to keep your assets with the company or do you prefer to keep them where they are? * Customer Service: Do you want a completely automated service or would you like a human to check in on your portfolio? We use Betterment for my husband’s IRA and have been happy with them.

Last week the topic was about getting the best deals while shopping online. While it can a wonderful way to easily compare prices, in rare cases it can also be an opportunity for hack to snatch your personal information. One of best ways you can protect yourself is by making sure your passwords are stronger. Today’s show has some tricks and options you can use to create stronger passwords. [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/QA_Session_18_Creating_Stronger_Passwords_and_Passphrases.mp3″ ] Creating Strong Passwords and Paraphrases The first big rule you should be aware of is -> Use a unique password for each of your important accounts like your checking and credit cards. Yes, it means you have a lot more to memorize, but it’ll protect your finances. Mix Up Your Passwords Try to get your password to be a series of uppercase and lower letters, numbers, and symbols that can’t be found in a dictionary or figured out by hacker who has just a scrap of your personal information. That means your password should not be something common like a birthday, anniversary date, or your child’s name. In fac,t if you want a list of passwords to avoid, here are the most common passwords used. Memorizing a cryptic string of letters isn’t your strength? Consumer Reports and Microsoft have a few ideas to help you. * Use a sentence. * Use a passphrase. They are usually longer than a password and include several words. Here’s an example to give you an idea: Say you enjoy racquetball. You can create password racquetball fanatic and replace letters with numbers and symbols so it becomes racqu3+Ba11Fana+1c LassPass and Password Managers If this sounds too complicated and you just want a 123 solution, you might into a password management system. I use Lastpass to help me access access my work accounts on different sites. It’s installed as a browser add-on and can generate strong passwords for me. Now every site has a unique password and I don’t have to keep track of every single one.  I can access the password vault by logging in at the website with my master password. Hope that helps you. If you have any ideas or suggestions on making your online shopping experience safer, please send them in. Join me next episode catch my interview with Mike Piper from Oblivious Investor and discuss how you can create an investing strategy that is efficient, effective, and easy to manage!

As more of more of our shopping is being done online, I thought I’d dedicate today to making sure that when you shop your hard earned money is being maximized and getting a fantastic bargain. To help me do just that, today’s guest is Michelle Stinson-Ross, social marketing manager for Offers.com. If you want to find out more about Offers.com or get answers to your shopping questions, please reach out to them on Twitter and Facebook. In this episode we’ll go over: * how to safely shop online * finding the best deals online and, * making sure you get the customer service you deserve [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/CM_018_Online_Shopping_Hacks_to_Save_You_a_Ton_of_Money.mp3″ ] Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. 5 Tips for Safe Online Shopping Shopping online can be convenient, but it’s always smart to take a few precautions to protect your finances and identity. Shop at Home With public Wi-Fi widely available users should remember that it is not secure and hackers can access the connection to steal your information. For the same reason, you shouldn’t log into private accounts or enter confidential information when using public computers at locations such as libraries and hotels. Pay with Credit Cards There are a couple of reasons to use credit cards when paying for your internet purchases. There is only a $50 limited liability for unauthorized purchases with a credit card while it can become unlimited after 60 days with a debit card. Additionally, if you do not receive the products or services purchased a credit card issuer will investigate a disputed charge and usually refund your money. Review Before You Buy Before making the actual purchase, review the amount and all charges. Are there any “hidden” fees you weren’t expecting? Make sure all coupon or promotional codes are applied. I’ve had the browser error when making a purchase and didn’t know if it went through and not. When you get your bills, make sure the transaction matches and there are not any unauthorized charges. Keep Records of Your Shopping Keep all correspondence related to a transaction until you at least receive the merchandise or service. I don’t leave the site until I either get a confirmation email with the details or print out the page. For larger purchases, make sure you have a copy of the terms. For example, does that vacation package include meals or not? What is the cancellation policy for the hotel reservation? These are important details that can end up costing you money if you don’t know. Be Careful with Your Website Don’t click on links from search engines unless it is a URL you recognize. Scammers work to get their fraudulent sites returned by search engines with the goal of phishing your personal information. Make sure the site accessed includes a security indicator such as a lock (depending on browser) and the URL includes https before entering personal information. Be suspicious of unsolicited emails even if it appears to be from a known retailer. Go to their site directly to make sure it’s not a scam message.

One of the first questions parents deal with (or rather hear about) after having a little one is deciding whether or not to have another. If they do want another baby, they have to decide how far apart they want to space their children. Today’s episode is about figuring out what would work for your family and circumstances. This is most certainly an enormous personal decision so I’ll highlight a few factors you may want to consider so you can start off the conversation. [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/How_Far_Apart_Should_You_Space_Your_Kids.mp3″ ] Your Personal Health and History Personal health is something you don’t want to gloss over when it comes to how close or far apart you want to have your children. Pregnancy is an enormous physical and mental transformation that affects mothers differently. According to the Mayo Clinic, that mothers who waited at least 18-24 months before trying for their next child had reduced complications with their pregnancies. However they cautioned that further research is needed. When I spoke to J about how he and his wife decided when to try for their second child, he mentioned that considering how long it took with their son, they wanted to go for sooner rather than later. Fortunately things worked out quit well and their second son arrived last spring. Finally, you may want to set up an appointment with a trusted health care provider to discuss your specific circumstances and possible risks. Impact of Children on Your Finances and Careers Since this is the Couple Money Podcast, I’m going to bring up some financial impacts of having more than one child, such as: * one partner may have to leave the work force for a while if daycare costs are prohibitive * long term costs of one spouse taking off time from their career to deal with the children * once children are old enough you have to look at extracurricular activities * if you two agree to pay for college, having children fairly close together can be an huge expense For some families, the best solution is having them sooner while other may want to space them out and stagger some of the costs. Thoughts on Having Children Even with careful thought and planning sometimes life has other plans. Keep communicating with one another as you both navigate this huge decision. If you want to share your family’s stories on how you decided what was best for your family, please leave a comment below or tweet me @CMoneyPod. Until next show, take care!

Becoming parents has been the greatest joy and challenge in our lives. How do we know if we should have another? J Money from Budgets are Sexy shares the realities and fun of being a father of two!  [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/CM_017_Baby_Makes_Four_Having_More_Than_One_Kid.mp3″ ] With the upcoming arrival of our second baby, my husband and I have been thinking more and more about how things will be changing with the family dynamics. Even though we are less stressed about certain things this time around, we still have plenty of questions and concerns about what to expect. Deciding on Having More Than One Kid To prepare myself and other couples for this transition, I asked J Money from Budgets are Sexy and Rockstar Finance to be on the show. In today’s episode I asked J for his take and thoughts on: * the differences between getting ready for the first and second child * when they decided to have more than one kid * how they found the right childcare for their family * the financial and parental realities of keeping up with two young ones in the house Happy to say that he relieved some of my concerns and gave me some ideas on how we can balance work with our soon to be bigger family. Want to prepare for your little one? Listen to my episode on how to save for your baby! I share how you two can build a baby fund quickly and easily. Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook! Fatherhood with J Money He’s known by many to be a hustler, working hard to achieve his personal and financial goals. Forbes recently profiled J for having grown his net worth to almost half a million. During that time, he and his wife also became parents to two beautiful boys. Curious about how manages to keep everyone and thing in place, I spoke with him and he was kind enough to share what we knew. We covered a lot of things including saving up for a baby, how much kids costs, and finding a daycare for your little ones. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I have. Thank You to Our Partners Support for this podcast comes from partners like Personal Capital. Easy to set up & easy to use. You can have all your investments, income, and expenses all pulled into one place. Did I mention it’s free? Why don’t you give Personal Capital a try today? Thoughts on Having More Than One Child As always, please chime in on the site to share your own family’s stories. Having different perspectives can be incredibly helpful.

Last show’s topic was getting rid of your car loan faster. For some couples it’s a huge debt that eats up a big chunk of their monthly budget. As stressful as it can be, there’s another situation that can make car loans even more taxing -when you owe more than what the car is worth. Upside down car loans are worse because they are loans on a depreciating asset. Your will continue to lose value even as you make your payments. [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/How_to_Sell_or_Refinance_an_Upside-down_Car_Loan.mp3″ ] Options With an Upside Down Car Loan When you’re trying to get out of a car loan (upside down or not), you have to have all your numbers in front of you. It comes done to either selling your car or refinancing it to better terms. We’ll go over some tips to help you just that in today’s show. Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. Refinance the Car This is a long shot because you have to account for the difference between what you owe and what the car is worth. Here are a few ideas to help fill the gap. * Sell some stuff * Get a temp job * Use your tax refund * Get a line of credit If you’re able to gather up that money, call up or visit your bank or credit union. Speak with someone at your local branch and see if you can work out a refinance. Sell the car If at all possible, my advice would be to sell the car. If your budget is already stretched, removing this debt as fast as possible can be a huge relief. The problem of course that what you sell the car for will most likely be less than what you owe. So what do you do with the difference? Before you put the car on the market, talk it over with your current loan provider and explain to them that you’d rather owe them a few grand then the five figure debt you’re in. Selling the car means that you have to be able to transfer the title so either they can work with you and get an arrangement made or you may have to go to your local credit union or bank and take out a personal loan to cover the difference. So what if you have things in place, just how do you sell your car for the most you can? * Know Your Car and Buyer – Go ahead and picture who would be the most likely person to buy your car. When you put the word out you want to make sure highlight the features that matter most to them. * Tailor Your Ad – Do you have a Honda Accord? Make sure to emphasize it’s reliability and how easy it is to maintain. Got a convertible you need to get rid of? Talk up how much fun it is and how fast it can go. * Clean Your Car – You’d be surprised at how some people mess up their chances of getting buyers by not cleaning up their cars. When we were selling our old one, I had several people compliment the care I took. People associate clean cars with well maintained cars. Remember how clean it was at the dealership?

One big expense that many couples have in their budget is their cars. Besides maintenance, gasoline, and insurance, there are plenty of families dealing with a car loan or two. While having reliable transportation is a necessity, going into debt for it doesn’t have to happen. In this episode I’ll go into: * how I got into a car loan and what should’ve been clues that it wasn’t within my budget * our plan to become debt free and how we paid it off early * creating a system to buy our cars with cash While not everything may apply to your situation, I hope our story can encourage you to get out of debt and into the habit of saving for big purchases. [smart_track_player url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/Paying_Off_Car_Loan_Faster.mp3″ ] Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. How We Paid Off Our Car Loan Faster My husband and I agreed that having this car payment was not in our best interest and we worked head to pay off the car loan early. The first step in paying off the car loan is finding money in your budget. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck this may impossible. For us, we  began to optimize our monthly  expenses. Some of our strategies included: * Examined our budget line by line. We looked at what was necessary and what was important to us and we’ve kept that in. everything else was reduced or eliminated. * Shopped around for the best deals. We looked at what companies could take care of our needs at the best price. We compared cell phone companies, cable options, and even car insurance to trim our expenses. (this actually produced the bulk of our extra payments as we were able to save about half on car insurance) * We had cheap fun. We looked for happy hour deals around town and met with friends then. We had potlucks which meant stepping up our cooking skills a bit. * Snowflaked payments. Our tax refunds and stimulus check went to lower the principal. With this joint effort we shaved a few years off the loan. If you’re curious about the specifics, please check out this detailed post on how we paid off the car loan early. Buying a Car with Cash With the car loan paid off we had some extra money in our pockets – it felt great.  However we also knew that even if we did our best with maintaining our cars, they wouldn’t last forever. We needed to get started on our car fund. Building Up a Car Fund If you two are saving up for your next vehicle, you should begin by honestly evaluating your current car’s condition. According to Consumer Reports, well maintained cars last on average 200,000 miles. I know that some may hate the idea of driving a car that long or owning an older vehicle, but please keep in mind that cars depreciate around 60%-70% in the first 5 years. The longer you can go without car loans, the bigger the fund for when the time comes to shop for your next car. If you’re looking for general guidelines, here are my recommendations: * Current Car is between 1-3 years old- Wait 5-6 years for your next car

Last week Mark and Lauren from the Simpler Happier Podcast shared how they were about to cut back on their previous lifestyle, become debt free, and have a stronger marriage. Today we’re looking at how you can get started with simplifying your life so you’re have more time and money for what really matters to both of you. [smart_track_player url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/10_Ways_to_Simplify_Your_Finances_to_Save_Money_and_Time.mp3″ ] Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. Looking for Meaningful Wins As you’ve heard on the podcast all this month – changing habits and developing a new system of doing things takes more than just willpower. Having a reward or win can be a powerful motivator. How many times have you’ve been frustrated by making a huge change and saving only chump change. Don’t worry about the latte factor, instead go for big wins that matter to you. What constitutes a big win is personal, but for myself it’s either: * an easy change, where I can save a few hundred each year * trimming a monthly expense by 20% or more It’s not a hard and fast rule, but those wins tend to fuel me to continue cutting back on expenses. 10 Ways you Can Simplify Your Finances Give your budget a boost this week by doing a test run and simplifying.To jump-start you two, here are 10 ways: * Switch to a 50/30/20 Budget * Automate Savings at the Beginning of the Month * Focus on One of Your 3 Biggest Expenses and Slash It by 20% * Only Use Cash When Eating Out * Skip Out on Credit Cards * Schedule Your Bills to Be Out within 48 hours of Your Paycheck Coming In * Track Your Spending with a Small Notebook * Don’t Buy Any New Stuff * Shop Around with Your Car Insurance * Call and Cancel Your Cable Pick one or two and try it out for one month. Sometimes with a shorter commitment, you’re more likely to keep a new habit or system. This isn’t wasn’t about forcing or making you feel guilty enough to change, it’s about giving you two ideas so you can find what works best. If you want to bump up your chances of keeping the changes, share it with me. Leave a comment on site, tweet me, or chat on Facebook.

For many couples financial independence seems out of reach. Mark and Lauren from The Simpler Happier Life Podcast show how they made the transition from stressed over finances to happy and debt free.  [smart_track_player url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/Simplify_Your_Finances_Have_Happier_Marriage.mp3″ ] Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. Many couples use credit cards to keep them afloat as they take care of essentials and to keep up with their neighbors and friends. It doesn’t have to be that way though. Live Simple, Be Happy Years ago, Mark and Lauren Greutman were in that boat. While they had a large home, beautiful and healthy children, and great jobs – but they were also struggling with debt. The good news is that they were able to turn it around and on today’s podcast you’ll get to hear their story. Besides helping couples improve their finances on the Simpler Happier Podcast, Lauren has also built a huge community of frugal families over at I Am THAT Lady. As we chatted during the interview, Mark and Lauren took the time to share: * how they achieved the typical American dream, but how their debt affected their marriage and family * when they decided they needed to change and what was the first thing to go * how simplifying their lives made their marriage stronger and their finances solid You’ll notice that Lauren and Mark have no problem being completely open about what went well and how they coped as couple through the transition. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did! Catch the Simpler Happier Podcast If you want to get more details into the Greutmans’ story, download the premiere episode of the Simpler Happier Podcast. While you’re at it, subscribe to the show. Mark and Lauren have some great topics and guests to help you define your own financial independence.

Last week the topic was about making 2015 a better year for your marriage and money by making SMART goals and changing habits. This show we’re going to: * explain the difference between making and changing a habit * how to decide which habit to change first [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/Creating_and_Changing_Money_Habits.mp3″ ] Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. Making a Habit Versus Changing a Habit Before we get into how to pick out which habits to tackle first, I want to go ahead and clarify a few things on making and changing habits. There are 3 basic components to habits: * Cues * Routine * Reward When creating a new habit, you want to identify what your triggers work best for you. For example, maybe you want to cut back on your spending during the work week. You can try out a cue, like carrying a small notebook with you or using your smartphone to track. As far as rewards, you can make it a goal to set aside some of the money you save (like half) and use it for a big purchase you’d really love. If you want to change a habit, you don’t want to adjust the cue or rewards, but rather use them and change your routine instead. What are Keystone Habits? Now that we have an idea of how change happens, the next question many people have is where do I start? This is where keystone habits come in. At its essence a keystone habit is a behavior that starts a chain reaction with your other habits. Power of Keystone Habits in Your Life Let me give you an example with a popular goal people make every year – getting into shape. There are a ton of ways you can go about it: * change your diet * join a gym * exercise with friends After considering all your options, you decide to try something easy and relatively quick – a morning jog. You get some good running shoes and have them by your bed so you can just wash up, get dressed, and do a 20 minutes around the neighborhood. After a couple of weeks, though you notice that in addition to running, you’ve also made some other changes to your daily routine. You don’t by the donut shop as much. You drink more water throughout the day. You enjoy running so much you invite your spouse to join you on the weekends. This one habit – running in the mornings – has led to big changes without you having to consciously create each and every one of them. Identifying Keystone Habits Now we arrive to the difficult part – how do you know which habits are keystone? While there isn’t a magic formula, Chares Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, found characteristics of these habits you can look out for: * gives you a sense of small victories * creates small platforms * establish a culture where excellence is contagious And if you look at the example of the jogging habit, you can see those:

Want to start 2015 with a bang and build up your marriage and money? Today’s show is made for you. In this episode we talk about: * Why Most People Fail to Achieve Their Goals * How Habits Form and How We Can Change Them * Create Systems to Break Through and Have Success While the focus is on money, I really hope you use this information for other aspects in your life and reach your goals for this year and beyond. [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/CM_014_Make_SMART_Goals_Change_Your_Habits_and_Build_Systems.mp3″ ] Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. The Problem with (Most) Goals “I’m going to lose 10 lbs.” ‘I’m going to pay off my debt.’ “I’m going to switch careers.” We hear these goals and more every January, but just how many people actually achieve their goals? Failure almost seems set-up at the beginning when people make their goals. The most common mistakes tend to be: * They’re too vague. * No deadline. * No incentive. * Not realistic Does that mean we should stop making goals? No, it just means you have to make SMART goals Make SMART Goals SMART is an acronym to help you construct a constructive goal. * Specific: Be explicit on what you want to achieve. * Measurable: How do you know when you reached your goal? Pick a number and keep tabs on your progress. * Attainable: Looking at your budget, can you achieve this goal? * Realistic: Look at your past behaviors and see what would be reasonable. * Time Based: Make a deadline for your goal. It’ll make it easier to break things down into smaller steps that you can work towards. So let’s take your investing more for retirement goal. Using the SMART formula that could become -> “I want to invest $2,000 into my Roth IRA account by December 31st by contributing $167/month.” As you can see how this is an improvement – you have measurable goal with a general plan to follow. Making change though takes time and for most people, it means changing our habits. Easier said then done, right? Fortunately we can change our habits thanks in part to recent discoveries in neuroscience and psychology. Charles Duhigg’s book The Power of Habit shows us how we can do this. Change Your Habits, Change Your Life We underestimate the power of habits and one reason is how easily we slip into them. Duhigg cited a study done at Duke University in his book where researchers found that over 40% of the decisions we engage in on a daily basis is a habit. But just what is a habit? There are 3 basic components to habits – cues, routines, and rewards. * Cues – triggers for behavior * Routine – behavior you want to modify

I can’t believe 2014 is almost over! I have to say this past week’s podcast theme on giving has me motivated and pumped to give more in 2015. To wrap up this year, then I thought it would be wonderful to share a snippet from another couple who have made giving a part of their finances. Today’s giving story is from Mark & Lauren Greutman, hosts of the Simpler Happier Life Podcast. I had the pleasure of interviewing them for an upcoming show about how they transformed their marriage and finances by simplifying their lives. [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/How_Your_Family_Can_Effortlessly_Give_More.mp3″ ] During the interview we also talked about how they as a family give to causes that matter most to them, both through spontaneously giving and budgeting which I included today. Mark and Lauren also mention how their charitable giving plan was different when their budget was a bit tighter some years ago. Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. Can’t wait for you to listen to their story; they’re so thoughtful and honest. The Simpler Happier Life Podcast If you want to catch them before that show, please listen to them on the Simpler Happier Life Podcast. They teach people how to prioritize their money so they too can live their new American dream. You can subscribe and get all of their new episodes as they are released or you can download episodes individually. A few of my favorites are: * 13 Things you Should Never Pay For * Are We Robbing Our Kids By Giving Them Too Much? * Money and Marriage – Having Those Hard Conversations I hope you and family have a great week and I’ll chat with you in 2015. Take care!

Welcome to the Couple Money Podcast! I’m so happy that you’re joining me, especially this week since the topic is giving back. I think this is a wonderful way to wrap up the year – not focusing on money problems, but on how to use it and your other resources to help out causes and charities dear to your heart. In this episode we’ll cover: * how you can budget more giving and spontaneously give without busting your budget and, * we’ll explore ways you can give back and help others without donating money I’ll also be including the tips and stories some of you have sent in. Together I believe we can make 2015 a year of giving more. [smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/couplemoney/traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/CM_013_How_to_Give_More_in_2015_and_Beyond.mp3″ ]\ Subscribe to Couple Money Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or copy this link to use with a podcatcher of your choice. You can also find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. If you’re stumped on where to start giving, I have a few charities you might want to look into: * Feeding America * Charity: Water * DonorsChoose Giving as a Family Preparing for this episode, I asked around to see if anyone wanted to share their giving stories. Aja from Principles of Increase was kind enough to answer my questions about giving more.  Besides donating money as a family she and her husband give their time and example to help her daughter learn generosity. Who/What/Where do you give and why? Giving is actually a line item in our budget. We give both personally and through my business income. Since we are Christians, we give our tithe (10%) to our local church who in turn supports the poor, widow, local youth, etc. We also give our time. Since we live in a “under-resourced” community, there are many people that live at or below the poverty line. We bring food to people in need, especially our elderly neighbors. I will cook and my oldest daughter likes to bake and bless neighbors with cookies. Since we home school, my daughters hang out with me all day. Every Wednesday, we go to a local high school and participate in a Bible study & mentoring program with teenage girls. Then there are the miscellaneous, impromptu-type gifts. One of my employees home’s was broken into earlier this week. We are taking her dinner tomorrow. My 5 year old saw a deaf man asking for money in a store once, she made us go back and give him money! It was inconvenient to go back, but how could I turn down a 5 year old down? I try to be very intentional about letting my children see our attempts to bless others, so they can do the same. Through our my business, I also engage in a number of pro-bono activities. I am on the board of a local non profit organization. There, I help with their workforce training program and donor database. Through my software consulting business, I give small non profits a number of hours to configure their donor databases for free as well. We encourage our children to be tithers as well. They give 10% of the money they earn through chores and other jobs to help support the work of our church. How has giving changed your family’s perspective? Giving is essential in helping us, especially our young girls,