The recipes are there, we know them, but enacting them is the tough part. Why? We’re human.

#8 Said On the other hand there are others who focus more on excuses than actually getting serious about their finances.

Do you know my son-in-law?

Great post, JD!

I have come to the conclusion that some people just can’t accept the reality of their situation. It’s too bad, because it’s the children that are suffering because their parents can’t seem to get their act together.

It’s like when Minimum Wage went around last year commenting all over the PF blogosphere. Most PF bloggers, if not all of them, were convinced he was malingering. Maybe he was. Or maybe he had so many obstacles in front of him that he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to overcome enough of them to get ahead. That’s a pretty serious situation to be in–I’d be complaining too. Maybe not precisely like he did it, but he isn’t me and I’m not him.

When offering advice it is sometimes better to do more listening than speaking.

No worries, I had a feeling it was just the wording that threw me off.

But, you are correct. There is a big problem with people who make excuses for not doing what they need to. You know what they say about leading a horse to water….

-Dan Malone-

Tools we are currently using:

- ING (Small)Emergency Fund
- Debt Snowball
- Gardening! Yes, GRS even inspired me to get started.
- Frugality - Wise use of resources available to us. Most of all, needing less and less as I focus on things that I value. Living below our means.
- “Allowance” for discretionary spending. Ever since we started this, no more going over budget. (Not perfectly but for the most part)
- Spreadsheet to track my spending.
- Quicken for check balancing.
- Also read some recommended books here. TMMO, Your Money or Your Life etc.

I read GRS every day Great Job as usual JD!

-Charlotte

It’s nice to know what to do with the money you save, but it’s often more trouble getting to the point where you *have* money to invest.

I have graduated from live below your means, save and invest in your 401k mantra

I am more intrigue by earn more money, create more income streams and having a business

My hobby is personal finance for so long, now I feel like I need more of a challenge

Tools can be useless unless they work for your particular situation and you can use them to your best advantage.

“You don’t make a million dollars overnight. It takes time to develop wealth-building skills, but…as you learn, the changes are…very real.”

Smart, consistent, and continual use of proven tools would help us all. Thanks, JD.

If you just read all the financial information available and try to make it work for you, you’ll actually be doing yourself a disservice. You need to determine your priorities and then develop a plan around them using a strategy that you understand. As JD says, there are a lot of tools, pick the one that works for you.

Sorry that you took the wrong message from my post. What I meant is that there is a clear difference between not able to apply pf advice and not willing to. Some people are in unique situations where they simply can apply only certain key theories. On the other hand there are others who focus more on excuses than actually getting serious about their finances.

If I’m homeless and have no kitchen, as a poster pointed out last week, then cooking frugally means something different to me than to a family of five scraping by when one parent has lost a job or to a comfortable couple looking to save more for retirement.

If I have no extra income to invest then investment tips don’t help me today, but I might learn something for tomorrow. Similarly, those who don’t feel a need to practice frugality today because they’re doing well can still learn about their options for a time when things might be leaner.

Personal finance is about learning to know yourself and to use the tools that fit with your personality and values so that you ensure a stable financial future for yourself. My path will never be the same as someone else’s and columns like yours address the many ways we can find that stability. Keep up the good work.

Not to sound argumentative, and I may be misinterpreting your comment, but a person cannot adopt just any concept into their own life/plan. That is the problem with all of the authors who spew their “advice” to the world, it just is not that simple. Even JD stated in this very post (1st bolded topic) and it is an issue I cover in my own blog Financial advice is not a one size fits all proposition
that “not every tool works for every job”. Each person’s/family’s situation is different, requiring analysis and custom tools/advice that applies to that specific situation. It is one of the reasons why in my own business I listen first before making judgements or action plans, because everyone cannot fall under the same umbrella. Each set of circumstances is unique and some concepts just are not prudent or beneficial to all of them.

Saving a couple dollars a day seems like nothing, but it is mid-Nov and when I look back to the start of the year where I started truly applying pf concepts, I realize I have come a long way. I frequently check my savings & investment accounts and realize how much more I have saved this year than any other year. I have done this all while attending school full time. So if I could do it I think that everyone can.

Now, in large part thanks to JD and GRS, I have an ING savings account with a growing emergency fund and automatic deposit from my checking account. I have paid off my credit card debt. Nearly maxed out my retirement contributions. Joined Mint. I never bounce a check, always have a cushion in my checking account, I have two other savings accounts growing for “other” expenses, and our family has brought our discretionary spending under control.

Now I love to watch our money grow. It’s a slow process, a lot like gardening. I can honestly say that this financial transformation has been a wonderful surprise and a great gift to myself and my family. Although the peace of mind of having a growing emergency fund and a stable financial management system is great, the emotional charge I get from finally taking control and overcoming my old fears is the greatest part of it.

So, yeah, this stuff works. Do yourself a favor and pick up one of the tools that doesn’t look too scary, and go build a shelf. Fix a chair.

You just might surprise yourself!