Personal finances are confusing. From retirement planning to budgeting to paying off debt, there are a lot of terms and concepts to know and understand. It’s dangerous to oversimplify, but it’s just as harmful to stay stuck in denial. Your finances are your responsibility. Confusion isn’t a good excuse when there are unlimited resources at your fingertips. This is why creating your own financial awareness week is a great idea. List out the topics you don’t understand and the questions you have about your own financial life, and then do your research. Check out blog.petetheplanner.com for resources on tons of common topics like what you should spend on food each month, how to make major purchase decisions, and the best way to pay off debt. Another great resource is GreenCandy.com, which is filled with videos, podcasts, and guidebooks. If you haven’t already created an account use the code ‘bulldogs’ to get your free account now.

If you haven’t visited Pete the Planner’s website, you should take a minute to do so! Pete has tons of great information and resources, including his own blog, all for FREE!

Check out Pete the Planner’s Personal Finance Guide for Single Parents:

Financial Assistance from Parents can be Crippling

Any time you bring up family and money, it’s bound to get awkward. Whether you are a parent with grown children or an adult with very generous parents, it’s time to consider how gifts of money affect your finances. We’ll start with parents supporting adult children. Bankrolling your kids well past college is enabling them to make bad financial decisions. But even more importantly, it may be preventing, or pushing back, your retirement plans. It’s time to re-prioritize. Are you an adult child being supported, even in part, by your parents? It’s time to cut yourself off. Being an independent adult means solving your own financial problems. You may need to cut expenses, or get a second job, but that’s part of growing up. A true sign of financial wellness is making the responsible, and oftentimes, hard decision to not give or accept financial gifts to or from family members.

And, don’t forget, as faculty or staff of Butler University, you have FREE access to all of Pete the Planner’s financial resources from GreenCandy.com!

This site is the comprehensive home to all of Pete the Planner’s financial wellness guides, videos, worksheets, calculators, and all other resources needed to make significant financial change.

In order to access the site, you will need to follow the steps below:

Step 1: Visit http://greencandy.com

Step 2: Look for the word “Register” at the top of the page and click it.

Step 3: Enter the following registration code: bulldogs

*Please note, this resource is for Butler faculty and staff only.*

Pete the Planner’s Guide to Saving Money on Groceries

Every month you consume around 93 meals. Multiply that by however many people reside in your home and it’s no wonder your grocery bill is so high. Some say ignorance is bliss and the ease of walking through a grocery store, grabbing what you want, and not worrying about the price, may prove the theory. But at some point this behavior will catch up with you. Don’t become a victim of your grocery bill; putting in the effort to cut expenses now will prevent future hardship.

The best way to save on groceries is to plan ahead. Spend time creating a meal plan and an accompanying grocery list, then go to the store alone. It may sound strange, but the more bodies in the store inevitably results in a higher grocery bill. By preparing a list and going alone, you’ll be surprised at how much you will save each month.

And, don’t forget, as faculty or staff of Butler University, you have FREE access to all of Pete the Planner’s financial resources from GreenCandy.com!

This site is the comprehensive home to all of Pete the Planner’s financial wellness guides, videos, worksheets, calculators, and all other resources needed to make significant financial change.

In order to access the site, you will need to follow the steps below:

Step 1: Visit http://greencandy.com

Step 2: Look for the word “Register” at the top of the page and click it.

Step 3: Enter the following registration code: bulldogs

*Please note, this resource is for Butler faculty and staff only.*

Pete the Planner will be back on campus next Wednesday, April 9th at 2:00pm in the Johnson Boardroom to present Moneylife in Your 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s.

In this hour long session, Pete will walk you through the stages of your financial life, which financial goals to focus on during each stage, and best practices for setting and accomplishing financial goals.

Please register for this program by contacting Healthy Horizons at healthyhorizons@butler.edu or at extension 8143. 

Our plan to be healthy is so often reactive. We wait until we get a bad diagnosis to start exercising and eating healthier. It’s the same with our finances.

Budgeting doesn’t become a priority until we’ve forced ourselves into a corner with debt. Playing defense is our default mode. So what will motivate us to be proactive instead of reactive? We need to motivate ourselves by building momentum.

If you start out with the goal of exercising every day you will probably fail at some point. But if your goal is to exercise once a week then it will be easily accomplished and you can move up to two times a week. You might think accomplishing a large goal would reap the most reward but if you never achieve it there is no reward.

Set yourself up for success by lining up your health goals from easiest to hardest to accomplish and then start working your way up to the harder goals. This method builds momentum. I give the same advice for paying off debt. Paying off the smaller debts first and then moving your way up to the bigger debts works every time. In this scenario momentum is motivation.

And, don’t forget, as faculty or staff of Butler University, you have FREE access to all of Pete the Planner’s financial resources from GreenCandy.com!

This site is the comprehensive home to all of Pete the Planner’s financial wellness guides, videos, worksheets, calculators, and all other resources needed to make significant financial change.

In order to access the site, you will need to follow the steps below:

Step 1: Visit http://greencandy.com

Step 2: Look for the word “Register” at the top of the page and click it.

Step 3: Enter the following registration code: bulldogs

*Please note, this resource is for Butler faculty and staff only.*

Setting goals for the new year? Here are my tips for setting and accomplishing goals this year:

1) Don’t make a year long goal. I always recommend making 30 day goals. 30 days is plenty of time to complete a goal and it keeps your momentum going. Plus, it prevents burnout.

2) Make a very specific goal. Bad goal: I am going to save more for retirement. Good goal: I am going to increase my retirement contribution by 5% this month. Your goals need to be quantifiable and realistic.

3) Establish an emotional connection to your goal. If your 30 day goal is to contribute $1,000 more to your daughter’s college fund, take a moment to think about your daughter’s future. When the choice comes down to a $100 steak dinner and your daughter’s happiness the decision is obvious. An emotional connection to your goal will help you overcome roadblocks.

For more information and tips from Pete the Planner, please visit his website, check out his radio show, watch him on TV, or take a look at his new column in the IndyStar.

And, don’t forget, as faculty or staff of Butler University, you have FREE access to all of Pete the Planner’s financial resources from GreenCandy.com!

This site is the comprehensive home to all of Pete the Planner’s financial wellness guides, videos, worksheets, calculators, and all other resources needed to make significant financial change.

In order to access the site, you will need to follow the steps below:

Step 1: Visit http://greencandy.com

Step 2: Look for the word “Register” at the top of the page and click it.

Step 3: Enter the following registration code: bulldogs

*Please note, this resource is for Butler faculty and staff only.*

As the holidays approach, it’s important to make sure you don’t ruin your financial chances for a great 2014. December is traditionally the month in which Americans spend the most money. This calls for a fool-proof strategy.

Security aside, there is no good reason not to use cash to fund holiday purchases. Your economic resources are finite. They feel less than finite when plastic is involved. Don’t involve plastic. And don’t worry about  the whole “credit card points and cash back” thing. It’s overrated and often misused. If you are making an online purchase, then deposit the cash to cover it into your bank account. Jot down the people that you plan on buying gifts for, write down a dollar amount next to their name, and then withdraw all that cash. What? Can’t afford to do that? Perfect. You just realized that you can’t afford to buy those gifts.

For more information and tips from Pete the Planner, please visit his website, check out his radio show, watch him on TV, or take a look at his new column in the IndyStar.

And, don’t forget, as faculty or staff of Butler University, you have FREE access to all of Pete the Planner’s financial resources from GreenCandy.com!

This site is the comprehensive home to all of Pete the Planner’s financial wellness guides, videos, worksheets, calculators, and all other resources needed to make significant financial change.

In order to access the site, you will need to follow the steps below:

Step 1: Visit http://greencandy.com

Step 2: Look for the word “Register” at the top of the page and click it.

Step 3: Enter the following registration code: bulldogs

*Please note, this resource is for Butler faculty and staff only.*

Is it possible to be thankful when you have less?

Consider the concepts of abundance and scarcity. If your closet is filled with 85 shirts, do you treat and view those shirts differently than if you only had five shirts in your closet? It can be argued that scarcity can affect the way we treat and view our resources. This isn’t to suggest that those with more struggle to be thankful, but it is to suggest that maybe people don’t always need more. Having more things doesn’t necessarily increase satisfaction.

If you have a storage unit, a cluttered basement, a cluttered garage, or any other room of unused excess, do you consider yourself to be thankful for all those things you don’t ever use? You might superficially be thankful, but the lack of use suggests you don’t find the items to useful. What can you do to change this situation?

For more information and tips from Pete the Planner, please visit his website, check out his radio show, watch him on TV, or take a look at his new column in the IndyStar.

And, don’t forget, as faculty or staff of Butler University, you have FREE access to all of Pete the Planner’s financial resources from GreenCandy.com!

This site is the comprehensive home to all of Pete the Planner’s financial wellness guides, videos, worksheets, calculators, and all other resources needed to make significant financial change.

In order to access the site, you will need to follow the steps below:

Step 1: Visit http://greencandy.com

Step 2: Look for the word “Register” at the top of the page and click it.

Step 3: Enter the following registration code: bulldogs

*Please note, this resource is for Butler faculty and staff only.*