Academic Articles

            Often, a person's first instinct when reading articles dealing with finances, creating a budget, getting out of debt, and so on, is to immediately find ways that it will not work for them.  The reader often laments that there are too many negatives in their life to be able to effectively implement the strategies listed.  (i.e. I make minimum wage, I don't have a college degree, I live in a certain area that limits my ability to find a good job, etc.).  While many arguments used against having the ability to gain financial freedom  may sound like just a bunch of excuses given by people who simply do not want to make the effort required to get out of debt, these may in fact actually be real reasons that are holding them back even though they do want to succeed financially.  The persistent problem here is that we find something that does not work, and then we assume that means there is nothing that will work.  We fe...

It's About You; Not the Guests One of the largest expenses a couple will incur is also their first: a lavish wedding that most people really cannot afford. While it may seem like a good way to celebrate the marriage, it is in reality a display of pride and arrogance. At a time when the emphasis should be on what the future husband and wife plan on doing for each other, it now becomes a ritualistic display of what they can do to impress others. Since this gaudy display is put on for the benefit of the guests and not the couple, the audience becomes the focal point, and the bride and groom are relegated to the backseat. When a couple spends an exorbitant amount of money on their wedding, they run the risk of starting their marriage out so far in debt that it is nearly impossible to dig themselves out. This in turn leads to financial difficulties that can haunt them for many years. Consequently, if the situation isn’t corrected early (which in most cases it isn’t) the end result i...