Category: Big Ideas

I’m not busy.

This feels like a weird thing to say because lately “busy” seems to be something bragged about instead of something to avoid. But “busy” is a negative for me, and I’m often surprised that it isn’t for others.

Busy work is not the good kind of work, it’s something teachers might hand out to fill time and keep kids from getting into something else.  As an adult who gets some say in how I spend my hours and minutes on this earth I am not looking for things to just keep me occupied so I don’t have time to get curious about or engaged in other things. Continue reading “I’m not busy.”

You’ve got to track your money

When I start working with someone on their finances, step one for them is always tracking income and expenses. Not changing what they are doing, but just starting to take note of it. People come in and start talking about their priorities and goals such as get out of debt, save for college, save for retirement, buy a new house or car, etc. and about how they aren’t making the progress they want. We talk about their current situations (and I try not to scare them off with words like assets and liabilities) and I take some notes then I tell them to go home and track every penny they spend for the next month. It’s amazing how little most people know about their own spending, and if knowledge is power this is definitely how you get some power over your money. Continue reading “You’ve got to track your money”

Ten Minutes

It’s (way) under ten minutes to read this. Why? Because ten minutes is my new magic number. Not exactly a resolution (but in that family of making better choices) I’ve decided to dedicate 10 minutes each day to two things I want to make progress on. One is this, the other is my photography. Both tend to slip off the to do list because I make them bigger and bigger in my head until It feels like I might need months or years (not minutes) to make the progress I want. Continue reading “Ten Minutes”

The First Big Idea

Hi.

If you’re reading this, it means at least one of us is new here and we’ve found the beginning.

I’m Alison and there’s a bio that I hope has enough about me to convince you I am reasonably qualified to have a blog that is going to delve into some good financial stuff and some humorous stuff and some random stuff.  It’s not that qualifications are at all necessary to blog, but nice if you prefer that sort of thing. And in case you didn’t click on the enticing link, I’ll confess right now that the bio doesn’t list any ways in which I am qualified to be humorous, or random.  Those are just free bonuses.

Right now I want you to know that I’m full of what we call around here “big ideas”.  I’ve got a really big idea right now that the tricky part of life is balance.  Yeah I know, you’ve heard umpteen times about this work-life or work-family balance.  Blah blah blah. Continue reading “The First Big Idea”