How to pay yourself first when you’re broke
How to pay yourself first when you’re broke Let me tell you about something I had to learn before I ever became a successful investor. Before I ever got my financial life together. Before I ever even made myself a budget. It’s the principle that led me to the...
The ULTIMATE Guide to Investment Accounts
Ready to open an investment account and start building for your future? Congratulations! Now that this important decision is made, however, you may feel overwhelmed as to what kind of investment account you need, where to open it, and what exactly you’ll put in it....
Build generational wealth with stocks
Did you know you can create thousands or even millions of dollars out of thin air by investing in high quality stocks? With the right strategy, when you invest in stocks this way, it requires little money, minimizes your risk and can produce huge returns!...
How much should you contribute to your 401k?
Meet James and Dawn. They have the exact same workplace retirement plan, a 401k. Over their careers, James saves more than double what Dawn saves. Who do you think is wealthier after 40 years? Read on to find out who, and how!
Italy Vacation Part 2: $4000 in Free Hotel Upgrades, Travel Rewards, and Savings
In Italy Vacation Part 1, I covered how I saved $2000 on our Groupon Getaway Italy vacation deal and the $1000 in freebies and travel credit we received at the airport. I’m happy to report that our hotel upgrades were even more successful...and we...
Italy Vacation Part 1: $4000 in Travel Rewards, Savings and Free Stuff
My husband and I just returned from Italy. Italy. Was. Fabulous. In this 3-part series, I’ll explain the tricks and strategies I used to stretch my dollars to the max on flights, hotels and meals for our anniversary vacation to Italy, and collect thousands...
The 10 Steps You Need to Take to Start Investing
You’re ready to make your money work. You want to start investing to build wealth for yourself and generations to come. Yahoooo! I am so excited for you! Before you get started investing, you have to create a solid foundation for yourself! Read on for the 10 steps a...
No Means No: Why My Child Is Still Not Required To Share With Yours
No is not a dirty word Perhaps you read the post I naively authored on a whim in last April, entitled “MY CHILD IS NOT REQUIRED TO SHARE WITH YOURS”, after a trip to the park with my son Carson. The post, to my shock and horror, was then shared a quarter of a million...
Choosing Your First Travel Rewards Credit Card: 3 Things To Consider
You've been eyeing it. You've been monitoring your credit score, and you're dying to take the plunge into travel hacking. Yesss! Who doesn't want to travel the world for free? But where to start? If travel hacking is a brand new term for you, check out the basics of...
6 steps to a great credit score, without going into debt!
If you don't have any credit history, you probably know you need to have some. You may have made attempts to build your credit by applying for credit cards or loans, and were denied. Frustrating! Building healthy credit doesn't have to be complicated or put you into...
Put Yourself In a Position of Power
I teach investing. My role as an educator was somewhat of an accident, or rather, chosen for me. My very first course was Zero to Investor, which is all about how to find, analyze and buy profitable stocks. It was actually not something I planned to create...I was...
Step-by-Step: How to open your Roth IRA and why you need one (with video clips!)
Why should you open a Roth IRA? Most of my posts contain a reference to a Roth IRA. It’s my favorite type of investment account. If you’re brand new to investing, this is the investment account you want to open and start buying stocks in. With a few exceptions, this...
My 10-year Old is Buying Coke
I know I’m not the only one who had to begin adulthood without an inheritance. To be honest most of us didn’t inherit solid money sense or an understanding of how money works. Now that I’m a single mom of a ten-year-old there are things that still baffle me about...
Travel Hacking: A 5-Star Life on a 3-Star Budget
I filed bankruptcy in 2008. Shortly after, I started teaching myself how to invest in stocks. My credit came second to building wealth. It was kind of an afterthought. I didn’t use credit for years, thinking that if I invested well, I’d have no need for it. Then, I...
Pay Down Student Debt The Easy Way!
But wait, here is the kicker. I could not believe my eyes…
You can use your Upromise cash back to pay down your own existing student loans, no new credit card required!
I chat with so many people on a daily basis who struggle with 5 or 6 figure student loan debt.
Roth IRAs are (financial) life
What is a Roth IRA? A Roth IRA is a type of retirement account. It's a very popular option for those looking to build real wealth because you can purchase stocks, bonds, notes, precious metals, and even real estate inside it, and anything your investments earn are...
Tutorial: Make Your Kid Rich With $10 A Week
Build Wealth From Birth I recently had a huge response to a post I made on Facebook. If I had known I would have such a response to my ramblings, I’d have had this tutorial all ready to go. I was mentioning that I’m cheap and shop for clearance for my kids all year...
Wealth vs Income
Picture in your head a wealthy person. What do you imagine? Meet Brandon. Brandon is 34. He’s an attorney. Brandon earns an impressive salary and enjoys the finer things. He owns a home in a gated community, and he and his wife both drive brand new, luxury cars. He...
401ks Are Where Dreams Go To Die
Employer-Sponsored Plans Are A Great Way To Stay Poor If you follow me on social media, you probably this post with saw me running my mouth recently about investing fees. I'm going to continue to do so here, because fees make me irate. I’ll get into Dave another day....
Here’s Why You Can’t Save Any Money
Look...it's time for a budget. I need everyone’s attention here, please. Is everyone here? Great. I’m going to tell you something for the 5000th time. YOUR WEALTH IS NOT GOING TO COME TO YOU BY YOU MAKING MORE MONEY. I need you to really understand this. Wealth means...
Your Current Budget Is Costing You Thousands
In our digital age, there’s no excuse not to have a budget. There are all kinds of apps, planners, and calculators that take relatively little time to use. You can even use pencil and paper (which I’m actually a fan of; I need to be able to scratch out all my little...
Raise Your Credit Score Automatically
Building and maintaining good credit are an important part of financial health. Good credit and bad credit can make the difference between owning your home or renting an apartment (or worse, not being able to find anyone to rent to you). Not to mention that if you...
10 Reasons You’ll Be Working Until You Die
Most people dream of a time when they can quit their day job and pursue what they truly love. Yet, when you ask young people about retirement, they tune out, equating “retirement” with “walker” and “adult diapers”. Retirement is not about being old. It’s about no...
The Common Risk People Take With Their Money (And You’re Probably Doing It)
You're on the right track. You're budgeting, you're spending less, and you've trimmed your bills. You've automated your savings and haven't dipped in even once. Go you! About that, though. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'd be doing you a disservice if I...
I Love A Good Stock Market Crash
In August of 2015, the stock market dropped to its lowest point in 3 years. Earlier in 2015, in January/February, the stock market took another sharp downward turn. These weren’t technically “crashes”. Crashes happened in 2000 and 2008, where the S&P 500 saw...
Digit Is A No-Brainer Way To Save Money
It can be hard to start saving. I'm a huge fan of automation, to eliminate room for error or temptation. But it can be challenging to even automate your savings if you don't even have a budget. When you start automating you have to decide on an amount meaningful...
When Life Hands You Lemons: A Tale For Beginning Investors
What does a box of lemons have to do with investing for beginners? Sit tight, my soon-to-be investor friend. You’re about to find out. You’re in your early 20s and your grandpa has just passed on. Please accept our sincerest condolences. You’ve been notified that he’s...
Saving Money Is A Hard Way To Get Wealthy
You'll hear me talking about saving money over, and over, and over again. It’s because that's where many Americans get stuck in getting their finances on track. Learning how to keep money in your pocket is an integral part of wealth-building, it's true. But frugal as...
The Easiest Way To Save Money
I've been asked more times than I can count: How do I save money when I have no money left over from my paycheck? This is important, so I'll get right to the point (shocking, I know). First it’s important to establish your goal. When you know why you’re saving, you’re...
Tutorial: Make Your Kid Rich With $10 A Week
The Kolberg kids own stocks. Lots of them. I’m cheap. I shop for clearance for my kids all year long for my boys’ birthdays, Christmas, special surprises, and so forth. However, the most important gift I give my kids for holidays and regularly throughout the year, is...
14 Reasons You Need To Buy Stocks
Stock investing is the path of least resistance to financial freedom. Stocks have a low barrier to entry. You don’t need to already be wealthy to own them. They are the perfect place for a beginner to start building wealth. No need to save up, raise money or take out a loan to begin collecting shares of stock that generate profits. You can become very wealthy with little money if you have enough time to let your stock investments build and grow.
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