MoneyZen Blog
Celebrity, Inc.
What can four drunk airplane passengers, first time parents, and a delightful new book called Celebrity, Inc. do for your wallet? Plenty. Let me start with the drunks and new parents. Monday night I boarded a very delayed flight from Houston to Los Angeles. Behind me...
Money Meditations from a Motorcycle Trip
My husband and I recently finished a 2,200 mile motorcycle ride from Seattle, WA to Santa Fe, NM. Our journey was part vacation and part intervention for my ongoing struggle with workaholism. On the back of the bike, all I could do was be in the moment. Without the...
Is Your Financial Chi Blocked?
My friend Marla is turning 50 this year. As she approaches Menopause, this savvy fitness buff decided to explore acupuncture as a way to moderate her hormonal swings. When I learned that acupuncture is a practice that stems back to China's Neolithic Age, (c. 8000-3500...
Avoid These 4 Critical Mistakes During Open Enrollment
In the world of personal finance, we are often told what we should do. Alas, with the seemingly endless number of positive steps you can take, that approach can sometimes leave you feeling overwhelmed. Today I'd like to focus on something concrete, tangible, and...
Be (Financially) Eccentric
Eighteen months ago, I began working out in the gym with a functional trainer. His name is Michael and he has changed my life. His training philosophy is rooted in a belief that many pieces of modern exercise equipment designed to push us harder actually result in...
The Pain of the Public Upgrade
At the end of this summer, my hubby and I flew into Houston's Hobby airport. We were coming in for his oral surgery appointment (to extract two teeth ... ouch!). So as we landed in the 100-degree heat, we were not exactly in the most Zen of mindsets. After deplaning...
My Quest To Find Financial Peace Of Mind
There are thousands of personal finance books, magazines, radio and TV shows. Yet money anxiety persists. No one is immune. Financial fear lurks in the once safe nooks and crannies of our daily lives. Millions of hardworking Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck....
6 Ways to Make the Most of Your Open Enrollment
It's that time of year again, open enrollment period. This is the annual window where you can sign up for, or adjust, your participation in a variety of employee benefits that range from traditional health insurance to one of my favorites—flexible spending accounts...
The Big Enough Company
Is a larger business always a better business? As a newly minted MBA my first job back in 1997 was as a buy-side equity analyst. My task was to evaluate the financial prospects of publically traded companies and make recommendations as to whether or not their stocks...