This is a guest post from Evan, who writes over at My Journey to Millions. Be sure to pop over to his site and subscribe to his feed! The Temple of Apollo at Delphi has a phrase carved into it.  Its translation? Know Thyself.  The Greeks knew it over 2,000 years ago!  While I don’t think there is one way to achieve financial independence and wealth (regardless of what those terms mean to you), I do believe there is one common denominator of those that actually meet their goals.  It is all about knowing yourself and either protecting yourself from…yourself, or, alternatively, encouraging those good qualities you may have. The world is what it is, and there are very few people that will be able to change the world, so most people have to adapt. How does this Apply to Personal Finance? For example there are 2 camps when it comes to using cash only vs. using cards.  I know I can’t carry cash on me, if there is cash on me it is gone, and I am not one [...]

Ever since the bank I work for was bought out by another bank, there have been changes occurring. I knew that there would be, as change is inevitable. Some of the changes have been small, and some have been huge. I’ve taken it all in stride, and rolled with the punches. There’s not much more I can do besides that. This morning we had a meeting on some of the changes to our benefits plan.  The first thing we went over was health insurance plans.  The old bank offered a high deductible health plan, and now the new bank is going to follow suit.  We’ll still have other options like PPOs and HMOs, so I’m not freaking out about that too much.  I can pick health insurance pretty easily now. The next topic we touched on was retirement accounts and pension plans.  As it is currently, my company matches $1.15 per every dollar I put into my 401k, up to 6%.  I also have a pension plan I was grandfathered into that they put money into each month.  Very nice!  [...]

Before you freak out, it’s not me that stopped saving for retirement. Sheesh! I’m not that crazy. But my friend is. The other day we went to lunch, got started talking about retirement and how she’s not saving anything.  She’s my age (25) so I was pretty curious.  Our conversation went a little bit like this: Mrs. Money: “I am glad I am saving for retirement because my company matches up to 6%.  I feel that’s pretty good for me right now.” Crazy Friend: “I’m not saving at all, and I don’t ever plan on it.” MM: “You don’t ever want to retire?!? Are you crazy?” CF: “Nah, I just think there are too many variables.  You know, the world will probably have ended by that time anyway, so what’s the point of saving if you aren’t even going to be around to enjoy it?” MM: {blank stare}… “Are you kidding?” CF: “No, I really think that.  With global warming and everything, our planet will probably explode or we’ll all be drowned or something. I’m living life now!” While we’re [...]