Money Management

Living With The Realities Of A Flat Economy

Sep 28, 2026

For three years, clients have been asking me when the economy will get back to normal. I have started answering that this current flat economy may be the newest redefinition of normal, one of many I’ve seen in 40-plus years of writing about money. Home sales, auto...

How Fed Interest Rate Increases Could Raise Your Household Debt

Sep 14, 2026

For most of my career I’ve heard predictions that the federal debt would end in collapse. The warnings have come from both parties, usually from whichever one is not in power. Not having seen a collapse yet, I’m skeptical of new warnings. A recent one...

Small Steps Can Help Couples Begin Changing a Cycle of Money Conflict

Aug 10, 2026

A common pattern for couples who are trying to manage their spending goes like this: The partners sit down together, look at the numbers, lay out a spending plan, and agree on what has to change. This works for a few weeks. Then either or both slip back into old...

Trusted Help From a Daily Money Manager

Apr 27, 2026

If your elderly mom needs assistance with daily money matters, but you live three states away, where do you find the help she needs? For years the best I could offer in this situation was a referral to a bookkeeper. Now I know of a better option—a daily money manager....

How The Tax Code Got So Complicated

Mar 2, 2026

If you’re wading through the process of preparing your tax return, you may well be asking, “Why does this have to be so complicated?” I hear some version of this from clients every year. The forms feel endless. The rules seem arbitrary. Even financially savvy people...

The Lag Between Loud Tariff Headlines and Quiet Price Increases

Feb 16, 2026

Early last year, the drama around tariffs dominated news headlines, market predictions, and interactions between the US and our allies. Yet for most Americans, daily life went on with little obvious impact on prices for goods. At least not right away. The costs...