Life on Harmony

Impulse Spending, Hidden Thief by Olivier Verne

By Adrian, on October 7th, 2011

Like any thief, Impulse spending is sneaky. It lurks in the darkness, waiting for our most vulnerable moment. And then it pounces…and we are robbed! We go to the store ‘for a few items’ and end up with 3 grocery bags full. We’re walking around the mall for exercise and discover an item on sale we ‘just have to have.’ We go to the bookstore for a coffee and browsing, and end up buying a book on saving money. Or we go to Home Depot for paint and end up taking home a $100 power tool lol. It happens to all of us. The trick is to outsmart the Money Thief. . . . → Read More: Impulse Spending, Hidden Thief by Olivier Verne

Balancing the Checking. by Oliver Verne

By Adrian, on September 25th, 2011

If you turn over your recent paper bank statement you will find instructions on how to balance your checking account. It looks almost like a US income tax return, doesn’t it? I get discouraged when I look at it because it’s yet one more thing I have to learn and read and do. I have to make sense of someone else’s thoughts, and this collection of thoughts doesn’t appear to be easy to understand. Uggh. Do they really think their instructions help people make sense of their money? Really? I sure don’t think so. . . . → Read More: Balancing the Checking. by Oliver Verne

Pause- by Olivier Verne

By Adrian, on September 15th, 2011

I’m hitting the Pause button on this series, because I think it’s important to do so. So often we get caught up in the ‘getting’ and ‘doing,’ that we are no longer living in harmony; we are no longer living in balance and it shows. We are anxious and tired. Our tempers flare easily and we don’t know why. We are frustrated and unhappy; we may even be miserable…so we end up making those around us miserable too. Sometimes we have to pause our attitudes to Stop the Insanity. . . . → Read More: Pause- by Olivier Verne

Dirty Little Secret, Part 2

By Adrian, on September 2nd, 2011

If you’ve ever had a checking account you know what overdraft fees are. They’re the fees the bank or credit union charges you for not having enough in your account to cover the ‘draft’- either a paper check or electronic debit. . . . → Read More: Dirty Little Secret, Part 2

Dirty Little Secret

By Adrian, on August 26th, 2011

But…really? C’mon….Now that you know what these fees are, have seen them in black and white, can you now see just how crazy they are? Stop giving away your money. And every time you choose to be late, you are choosing to give it away! Did you know that?! Every time you choose to opt-in for an over-the-limit fee, you are choosing to give it away! It is absolutely time to STOP the insanity! Just…STOP (and breathe). LOOK at what you’re doing and LISTEN to your own voice of reason. . . . → Read More: Dirty Little Secret

Stop the Insanity!

By Adrian, on August 19th, 2011

Late fees, overdraft fees, over-the-limit fees. Fees, fees, fees. Uggh. We’ve all been hit with one, at one time or another. I’ll even go so far as to say that if someone claims not to have ever incurred these fees, s/he probably has a faulty memory…or is like 18 years old. And for some of us, it’s one time and another, and another and another. So now we have even less money. And to fix that, we have to ‘rob Peter to pay Paul,’ and the vicious cycle continues. Pretty crazy, right? . . . → Read More: Stop the Insanity!