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Personal Finance Alex Voorhees Personal Finance Alex Voorhees

Three Fascinating Books I Read This Year

As the year ends, I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your continued support. I have received notes of thankfulness, encouragement, and feedback - I appreciate them all! If you have a friend or family member that you think might benefit from these posts, they can subscribe here or on the home page of my blog's website, Financial Field Notes. 

Here are three books that I found particularly informative this year…

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Personal Finance Alex Voorhees Personal Finance Alex Voorhees

The “Parent Match” - Starting Kids on Savings

Our 5-year-old has certain tasks that he has to do because he’s just part of the family. However, this year my wife and I started giving our 5-year-old a dollar for certain “above and beyond” chores – unloading the dishwasher, pooper scooping, picking weeds, etc.

He needed a place to put this dollar, so I got him his very first wallet. After he had accumulated a few dollars, we took him to 5 Below and he bought a plastic plane that the dog proceeded to chew apart that night – ahh the joys of teaching about a sunk cost…

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Using Social Security's 8.7% COLA to Improve Your Finances

Social Security announced last week that there will be an 8.7% increase in Social Security Income payments in 2023. That equates to an average increase of $140/month starting in January. For many of my clients who worked into their late 60s, the increase will be $200-$300/month.

The increase is timely as many individuals have faced the burden of increased costs on everything from food to utilities. Many individuals have no other choice than to get caught up on bills that they have fallen behind on as prices have soared. For others, they may have the opportunity to start getting ahead…

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Personal Finance Alex Voorhees Personal Finance Alex Voorhees

Wealth Is What You Don't See

As I wrote about here before, one of my favorite finance books is The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. It is the most approachable book on managing your money I have ever read and tackles many of the softer areas of financial planning, such as common investor biases and psychology.  

One of my favorite quotes from the book is “We tend to judge wealth by what we see because that’s the information we have in front of us. We can’t see people’s bank accounts or brokerage statements.” 

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Personal Finance, Budgeting Tips Alex Voorhees Personal Finance, Budgeting Tips Alex Voorhees

Do Home Renovations Increase Resale Value?

Maybe you’re considering renovating your master bath or kitchen – or doing something simple like changing out the toilets or garage door. There are plenty of reasons to do projects like these but one I hear most often is “to increase resale value.” But does it really do that?

According to the Cost vs. Value 2022 report, below are the national averages for what you can expect to recoup from various home renovation projects…

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