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Mid-April and I have not started my happiness project yet. My excuse of course is the busy season at work from late November to April 15 - the deadline of tax returns. Surely, there'll be spillovers until end of April. And then there are the fiscal year-enders. Before I know it, it's the beginning of another season. :) I'll never run out of the it's-my-work excuse! So I've got to start some time or never, which should not be an option. To get me going, i am posting my initial timeline for the project here: April: Preparation Clean up loose ends at work Slack off and get more sleep Rejuvenate - I deserve a few days off doing nothing - looking forward to my one day getaway with the girlfriends Start a daily beauty regimen :D I've got to maximize the "investment" I made today at House of Obagi (lesson learned: keep the credit card under lock and key during the busy season) May: Positive energy Finish reading (and apply) How to Simplify Your Life - I had...

Last week, I was thinking of scrimping for a big future spending. That was last week. Today, i'm out to spend. Must be the stress or some pyschological issue. I feel the need for some pampering before the 1st of May - my target to finally start my own happiness project, the quest to a better me. For the meantime, today, I allow myself to be selfish and immature. It's like my hen night before the wedding (which I did not have). Oh yes, i've got issues. Who doesn't?!

More on... National Financial Literacy Month As I browsed the Internet looking for resources and fun assignments for National Financial Literacy Month here is a little of what I found. Resource The College Foundation of North Carolina offers several sets of financial facts sheets. They are well organized and easy to read.   I like these.   I think they could be incorporated into financial literacy lessons and activities. Topics include: Financial Health Financial Services and Strategies Managing Credit Financial Aid Financial Trouble Insurance Renting an Apartment Financial Planning Saving and Investing Buying a Car Buying a Home Taxes Quiz At Go Banking Rates I found a fun financial literacy quiz, “Are you smart enough to be a billionaire?” It only takes a few minutes to complete and is challenging and fun.   There may be lots to talk about after your students take this quiz.   It gives you a good snapshot of what they really know when it comes...

  Did you know that April is National Financial Literacy Month? In 2011 President Obama proclaimed the whole month of April as National Financial Literacy Month.    Here are his historic words:   NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States do hereby proclaim April 2011 as National Financial Literacy Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month with programs and activities to improve their understanding of financial principles and practices.                       From: The White House – Office of the Press Secretary Sadly, I feel like Santa Clause came, but didn’t leave any presents. Not that I think it is our President’s job to teach us personal finance.   Not at all. I highly commend President Obama for so boldly promoting Finan...

This is the speech that I delivered Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at 05: 30 PM at the MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FINANCE at 48 Wall Street in New York, NY to a crowd of about 40-45. Thanks to my dear friend, Museum president David Cowen, and the Augustana College Thought Leader Forum committee for inviting me to speak to you tonight. I have a foot in both Manhattan and the Great Plains and hence had a lot of fun completing the background research for this speech and writing it up in a way that avoids, or pokes fun at, technical terms like regulatory arbitrage and disintermediation. A more formal analysis of the Citibank episode and South Dakota’s other economic development efforts will appear in my forthcoming book, Little Business on the Prairie: Entrepreneurship and Prosperity in South Dakota , to be published by Augustana College’s Center for Western Studies soon after I complete the manuscript later this year. Or next. Or the year after that. Having achieved tenure and middle age at the same m...

While in Belize with a group of MBA students, I met Vienda, self-proclaimed ‘Modern Day Gypsy’. Her life is the true essence of frugal fun. In the spirit of spring break, we invited her to share a posting on the topic of travel, fun and frugality. Modern Day Gypsy Guide: 7 Tips on How to Make Your Money Last I've been travelling around our pretty globe for 10 years now covering over 30 countries, with a couple of pit stops along the way; 18 months in London and 2 1/2 years in Sydney. People whom I meet along the way often ask me how I do it. I work, naturally, and have several different income streams but that's a post for another day.  How much money you have is generally less important than what you do with that money. Travels can last much longer if you use your money in thoughtful and clever ways, and think outside of the box. Here are seven of the most poignant tips on how to make your money last. 1. Be Flexible. Being flexible is probably the No. 1 tip I can give anyone ...