Understanding Action Steps

Understand Yourself: Over time we can learn to achieve more if we understand what is going on in our thinking about money. Here are some techniques for learning to understand our money behaviors and guide them in a positive direction.
Money Memories: How do we develop our thinking about financial matters? Many of our attitudes go back to early experiences with money. What are your money memories and how do they affect your thinking today?
Why Not Save?: Saving habits grow out of our attitudes toward saving. When we better understand our thinking and behavior related to saving money we can better improve our savings habits. These ideas will help us understand and change the way we think so we can more effectively develop a personal habit of saving.
Slave to Money?: Do you sometimes feel that your life is overly restricted by your financial obligations? The truth is, some people feel that way all the time. This action step article guides us into an exploration of our personal feelings in this area with a goal of developing a greater commitment to escaping this undesireable feeling of slavery to debt.
Credit Offers: We all get those offers for low interest credit. Some of them can sound really tempting. But are they really as good as they sound? Here are some realities that many people do not think about.
Increasing Income: One of the primary reasons people do not make more money than they do is that they do not look at income in the most productive way. Make this one change in your thinking and you may see your income go up dramatically over the next few years.
Do I Need Life Insurance?: What is the real purpose of life insurance? When we understand the real value of insurance we will make different choices than when we buy based on the advertised pitches of the insurance industry. Here is the key to making your life insurance decisions wisely.
What? No Respect?: As soon as people find out you have money in the bank instead of a pile of credit card bills on your desk, you find their attitude toward you changes. Unfortunately it is not all for the good. Here is how to manage this new condition to make your life happier.
Debt Elimination: Especially with the more difficult financial times, there are a lot of companies offering to help you eliminate debt. Are they really able to deliver? Or are they out to make a buck at your expense leaving you in worse shape than ever?
Dangerous Living Trusts: Living trusts can be a great tool for managing your assets, but there are some real dangers in setting one up. Understand this risk, however, and you will do well to have one in most cases.
Who do You Trust About Money?: Who can you trust when it comes to money? Not everyone with advice has our best interests at heart. Here are some thoughts to get you thinking in the right direction.
Understanding Financial Choices: All of our choices have consequences. How we think about them and how we make our choices is critical. Understanding how we make our decisions can help us make better ones.
Understanding Overspending: Overspending has been an epidemic in America for years. Many of us just can't seem resist spending, whether we can afford it or not. Understanding this habit can help us kick it.
Which is Best: CD or CD Fund?: Putting yur money into a CD or buying into a CD fund are two different things altogether. Only by understanding the difference can we make good choices about these options.
Understanding Financial Freedom: Understanding the true nature of financial freedom is a must for anyone who wants to experience it. Surprisingly few people understand much about it at all. This is a good place to start.
Financial Advisors—An Explanation: Financial advisors come in all shapes and colors. Even their names or titles are confusing. Begin your understanding of this topic by looking into this article now.
Understanding Index Funds: Index funds are without a doubt one of the best investments out there. But this is another area where there is great confusion because there are so many types of index funds being offered by most investment companies. You can begin to develop your understanding of this topic by reading this introduction to index funds.
Why Choose a Roth Over a Traditional IRA?: In most situations a Roth IRA is preferred over a traditional IRA. It is important to understand the difference between the two and when to choose which so you can make the best decision about your choice.
Making Sense of the Housing Mess: Everyone talks about the housing mess in America, but not everyone understands how and why we got where we are. Here is a brief introduction to give us a basic understanding of the situation, one that we do not want to see repeated (but very well may if we do not make a serious effort to understand it).
Do I Really Need a Will?: Everyone probably needs a will, but a lot of folks don’t have one. Reading this article will help us understand why we need one and hopefully spur us on to get the job done.

Updated: March 2010 Disclaimer Privacy Contact

Dr. James G. Salmons

Understanding Action Steps