US Finance World

Is the simple act of willpower, in and of itself, all that is required to become a better saver? In a recent book entitled Willpower, Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney look at the concept of willpower in a world of indulgence and wonder if someone can indeed increase their willpower.

A full review of this book is up-coming. In looking at the concept of willpower and personal finance, the authors make at least three observations to help those who want to save more (or spend less):

1. Goal setting is important but so is monitoring your goal. Using a sample size of 2 billion transactions, the authors noted that users of the website slowed their upward trajectory of spending with such effects amplified if the users used the budgeting tool. It appears the act of monitoring spending slows it.
2. Look at the glass half full if you want to keep motivated.

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Two new surveys show that prices are staying still as concerns about the wider economy continue.

Two new surveys paint a picture of a stagnant housing market. The Land Registry’s figures for December show no change in the average house price in England and Wales between November and December.

And the Land Registry figures show that prices have decreased by 1.3% since December 2010.

Property analyst Hometrack goes even further and says there has been no increase nationally in house prices for 18 months.  Its latest monthly report shows no growth in prices between December and January. A small increase in prices in London offset falls elsewhere.

Hometrack also says that concerns over the economic outlook and the Eurozone crisis have led to a 23% drop in buyers registering with estate agents between August and January.

The average time a property is on the market, according to Hometrack, is highest in the north and midlands at 11.9 weeks. It

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What’s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners this week.

The Big Story: The President Sings

In his annual State of the Union address, President Obama cranked up the populist pitch. The G.O.P. responded. Representative Sam Graves outlined what he thought small businesses wanted to hear but small-business owners were split. A small-business owner in West Virginia was excited. One study finds small-business owners are dissatisfied with all of the presidential candidates. Joel Kotkin says “this is Americas moment if Washington doesnt blow it.” Your cellphone can now sing like the president.

Davos Update: An Intern Is Bored

As the sun bombards Earth with radiation, billionaires occupy Davos and bemoan the inequality of incomes. Their outlook is gloomy. Haley

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For Nanette Vaughn, tutors have become like that proverbial bag of potato chips — she can’t stop at just one. When her son, Ryan, needed help prepping for a private-school admissions test, she reached out to a tutoring company called Club Z, which sent over Alan, a newly minted fifth-grade teacher Vaughn calls a “wonderful communicator.” Later, when Ryan needed a leg up in math, Club Z dispatched a succession of “delightful” and “helpful” graduate students who, unfortunately for Vaughn, kept graduating. And when Ryan’s sister, Olivia, needed intensive reading help, Vaughn drove her eight miles each way — twice a week — to a veteran special-ed teacher they learned about via word of mouth. “Loved that woman,” says the Atlanta-based stay-at-home mom.

Shouldering more of the work hasn’t reduced Vaughn’s tutoring tab: She says she has spent close to $8,000 over the past few years, on top of two hefty private-school tuitions.

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We often think of hobbies as expensive, and some are. If you want to raise horses, collect antique cars, take up drag racing, or own your own plane to indulge your passion for flying, you’re going to pay a lot of money. However, there are plenty of hobbies available that are free or inexpensive. With almost any hobby, there are ways to make it less expensive. You can shop the used market, borrow or rent supplies, or trade supplies with other hobbyists. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that, just because you are on a tight budget (or don’t want to spend a lot of money), you can’t have any hobbies. Here are some ideas for inexpensive hobbies:

Reading

There are a lot of places that you can get reading material on the cheap if not for free. Use the library, shop used book stores and sales, hit thrift stores and yard sales, and read free eBooks.

Metal Detecting

Who doesn’t have the fantasy of stumbling across hidden treasure? You can b

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The Daily Beast has an article by Barry Schwartz (author of ) that serves as a nice compilation of various psychological and behavioral economics findings about money and happiness.

The first main topic is hedonic adaption. When things are awesome, we eventually get used to it (celebrities, lottery winners). When things are really awful, we tend to get used to that as well (disabled persons). This is why it’s hard for people to achieve a constantly higher level of happiness. We get a nicer car/house/toy, we get used it, and then soon we want an even nicer car/house/toy, never getting anywhere as if we are walking on a treadmill.

Simply knowing that the good feeling from that purchase is only temporary may help you cut back on your spending. In addition, author Dan Ariely suggests you by pacing yourself when it comes to experiencing pleasure, and (when needed) making painful cuts all at once. F

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The economy is improving in baby steps. But that may not have had an impact on your business yet.

If your small business is still struggling with cash flow, never fear, there are some quick and creative ways you can improve just by making a few tweaks in your  business.

I have recently published a new quick read book that can help you solve some of those cash flow problems. Its available in Amazon Kindle format (you dont need a Kindle to read it just get the free Kindle reading app).

In this book, you will learn eight creative tactics to get your cash flow moving in the right direction.

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Author Shawn Achor says that the happiness advantage, Asks us to be realistic about the present while maximizing our potential for the future. I love this statement because it encourages us to realistically acknowledge our present circumstances without allowing them to predict our future ones. In other words, we do not have to put on rose-colored glasses in order to feel hopeful about the future, and most importantly to act on that hope to produce the results we want.

Last week, we read about Principle #1: The Happiness Advantage and Principle #2: The Fulcrum and The Lever. So lets get started. What are the first two principles Achor says can help us leverage happiness to our advantage?

1. Principle No. 1: The happiness advantage? This section of the book is filled with proof that the happiest people perform best in many areas of life, and in particular, in workplace productivity.

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