What is your biggest lie about money? Washington Post personal finance columnist Michele Singletary lists her five favorite money fibs.
Here’s No. 5:
I> don’t understand why I’m always broke. This is the biggest lie. You could figure this fib out if you really thought about it. It’s about needs versus wants. Be honest: You’ve moved too many of your wants to the needs side of your budget. So when you look at your budget, you don’t see what should or could be cut.
My biggest fib over the years? I’m going to file my expense reports on time this year. Really. It has never happened.
What’s yours?
Have you noticed an increase in articles on the high and rising cost of owning a pet? It’s good information and the money adds up with nearly half of all American households owning more than one pet. But any pet lover will agree with this wonderful point of view, The Price of Pets Worth It.
I like the idea of giving my daughter the responsibility of taking care of a pet. But I’m also realistic enough to know she’s too young to fully live up to that responsibility. At 7, she’s simply not going to always remember to feed the animal. And I have no illusions about the kitty litter.
But she deserves a pet. She deserves to have an animal to call her own — one that she loves and plays with, and one that loves her back.
I may not have taken care of Coco and Shan as much as I should have. But they were my friends. I played with those animals all the time, and as an only child growing up without my parents nearby, I held onto them at night. They made me happy, and gave me a deep sense of affection for animals that I still have today — despite my cranky, 44-year-old, knee-jerk rejection to my daughter’s initial request for a pet.
Amy and I want her to have the same experiences, even if that means we ultimately are the ones caring for and cleaning up after this animal.
Been there. Done that. Couldn’t agree more. No regrets. My dog Mollie is 12 years old and a spry Wheaton terrier. She’s a real pain, especially on our early morning walks when its below zero and she is having so much fun burrowing in the snow that she doesn’t want to go inside. Love her, though.
The stock market is like a giant chat room, a dazzling social and economic institution that communicates all kinds of gossip, rumor, data, emotions, and information that millions and millions of investors around the globe are constantly trying to transform into judgment and knowledge–and profit. But this week I wouldn’t take movements in the market very seriously. History says that stock price changes will be noisier and less meaningful than usual.
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