There’s a simpler way to understand your money. Zoom way out. Way way out. Here’s all that matters: Have enough for the expected and the unexpected, both now and in the future. That’s it. The whole banana. The Expected, NowHow much does it take to sustain your life each year? This is The Expected, Now. […]
Megan Janssen
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Money Juice: How much is your storage unit?
An estimated 70% of U.S. residents report feeling significantly financially stressed. Meanwhile, 33% of U.S. residents have at least one storage unit. The average cost for an American storage unit is $121 per month or $1,452 per year. You have been misguided! You have been raised to feel financially stressed for no great reason other […]
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Money Juice: The Stock Market for Dummies
Picture this: You’re a 16-year-old boy… wait, it gets worse! You’re hired to crew a ship on a voyage to a faraway land to trade for exotic spices and textiles and medicine. The voyage is dangerous: rough seas, foreign animals and insects, unfriendly strangers, scurvy… but what an adventure, huh? When successful, the payoff was […]
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Five fabulous accounts you should have
As you know (if you’ve been reading this column), your money should be growing for you as much as possible, as soon as it comes into your hot little hands. This way you can be financially independent early in life and do all the lovely things you dream of. At the end of the day, […]
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Money Juice: Your ultimate holiday money play
Check this out: According to Nerdwallet, three-quarters of American shoppers plan to use credit for holiday shopping this year. Meanwhile, 31% of 2024 shoppers who used credit cards still haven’t paid off the balance. Did you read that? Almost a third of American shoppers still have holiday debt from last year. Buuuhhh! Let’s look at […]
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Money Juice: Should someone be managing your money?
The short answer is “yes.” The medium answer is “maybe not.” The long answer is “yes.” You want someone in the practice of managing money managing your money. If that’s not you, hire someone excellent that makes you feel powerful and doesn’t talk to you like they went to Yale and you went to community […]
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Money Juice: Do you even need a budget? Maybe not …
We simply love finding reasons to feel bad about ourselves. Budgets are sometimes just another way to “prove” that we’re messing up, that we’re bad at money — an old format for evergreen self-punishment. What if you don’t actually need a budget? Take the temp: Are you meeting your financial goals? If you are, you […]
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Money Juice: Making more money but still feeling strapped
Finances are the number one cause of stress for Americans. This is confirmed by a recent study compiled by Capital One that shows 73% of Americans rank finances as the number one stressor in their lives ahead of politics, work and family. Isn’t it crazy? Not really, I guess, when you consider most of us […]
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Money Juice: Seeing through your money dysmorphia
I know this to be true: If you were talking to someone with triple your income and they were lamenting how they’re living paycheck to paycheck, you would scoff, roll your inner eyeballs and think, “If I was making that much, I wouldn’t be living paycheck to paycheck.” You are both people in this story; […]
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Money Juice: You aren’t addicted to stress
It’s no mystery that we are a nation of stressed-out, overworked, undersupported humans. Many people think we’re addicted to stress, but I’m going to lay out a different hypothesis. We’re addicted to relief. A common pillar between many religions, cultures and societies is: if you sacrifice and put in tremendous labor in this life, you […]