Wishing For The Midas Touch? Exploring Money Worship
In the second of this four-part series on money scripts, let's explore the category that Dr. Brad Klontz calls Money Worship. Unless you have always envied the mythical "golden touch" of King Midas,...
Money Script Categories: Money Avoidance
Money scripts are beliefs we have acquired about money and how it works. We are usually unaware of these beliefs, in part because we see them as facts—"just the way it is." We typically hold 50 to...
No, Home Title Thieves Can’t Steal Your House
Home title theft. This is a "threat" I only learned about from frantic radio commercials warning that your home can be stolen from you. They claim thieves can deed your property to themselves and...
Teaching Money Skills Essential For 21st Century
For our ancestors, even as recently as the 19th Century in many places, survival skills were hands-on. If you didn't know how to build a house, farm, hunt, butcher animals, sew, and cook, you...
How Healthy Life Habits Can Save You Money
Is maintaining good physical health a worthwhile investment? The statistics suggest that in the long run, poor health will cost far more than the money or time it takes to maintain good health. Most...
Eight Aspects of Financial Trauma
In a recent column, I discussed financial trauma—money-related occurrences that, either as single extreme events or chronic patterns, can overwhelm a person and become traumatic. Some emotional...
Leaving Money Wisely To A Spendthrift Heir
A common estate-planning question is whether it makes sense to leave inheritances with strings attached. My typical answer is "it depends." It's natural to want your legacy to be used wisely, but...
Recovery From Financial Trauma
When you hear the word "trauma," what comes to mind? The death of a loved one, severe injury or illness, a natural disaster, physical or sexual abuse, wartime combat? These are the things that I...
The Financial Freedom of Owning Less
"Money is freedom." This popular money script contains considerable truth. Having money can provide a lot of options and flexibility that are not possible without money. However, since all money...
Why We Avoid Getting Advice From Financial Professionals
One in four Americans didn’t get a routine medical checkup in 2019, and 3.3 million Americans have never had a regular checkup. These alarming statistics were presented in a March 18, 2020, Business...
Monthly Child Tax Credit Payments: Understand The Options
In July, families eligible for the federal Child Tax Credit will begin receiving monthly payments instead of waiting to receive an annual credit when they file their 2021 tax returns. One parent of...
Frugality Syndrome: Making The Shift From Saving To Spending
I have exhibited tendencies toward pyromania most of my life. As a Boy Scout, my favorite activity was starting and stoking a campfire. As an adult, my best birthday gift ever was a flame thrower...