Is having credit cards bad?

Should we all just use cash and debit card?

I personally love using credit cards and my goal actually is for my clients to be able to use this responsibly unless they choose not to.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with credit cards. I don’t believe in just using cash and debit for the rest of your life. Credit cards are amazing if used appropriately and responsibly.

Like with money, it’s just a tool. If used appropriately, can give you lots of “rewards”.  Points, cash back, travel benefits to name a few...

On top of the rewards I listed, you also have protection. Just think about if you paid some stranger or store using cash or debit. Your money is gone and getting them back would be harder versus you calling your bank and disputing a charge on your credit card.

To me the safety protection I just mentioned above is the most important. I don’t have to ever worry when I make a transaction.

If someone steals my credit card number, I can always call and get another card. Hopefully that doesn’t happen too often but it has happened to me in the past.
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Again, I would never recommend or encourage anyone, much less my clients to use credit cards until they “graduated”. Graduated means they have built a strong relationship with money, they are confident to always be on positive cash flow and know how to handle the nuances and emergencies life throws at the  without freaking out and going negative and carrying balances on their card.
So what do you think?


Christine Teh is a personal finance coach who lives in Silicon Valley and serve clients virtually. She also offers tax preparation and consulting services and LinkedIn coaching as well.

Schedule a complimentary chat now to see if her financial coaching services are right for you!

There’s a difference between being frugal and being cheap.

The big thing they have in common is both love to save money.

Here is where they are different:

• Frugal people assess the bigger picture and have the patience to cash in on simple savings strategies
• Cheap people are driven by saving money regardless of cost
• Frugal people are driven by maximizing total value, including the value of their time
• Cheap people use price as a bottom line
• Frugal people use value as a bottom line

I used to be cheap until I transformed my relationship with money.

Time is valuable.

If I have to spend 2 hours to save $100 on a flight or walk half an hour just to save $10 on parking.

Do you think it's worth it?

I’m sure we all have a similar story to share. 😉

Also, pay attention to signs that you have gone from frugal to being cheap.

• When you constantly skip or scrimp on important events because of the cost. If you turn down events and use money as an excuse over personal relationships, then you have some rethinking to do.
• When you start insulting and judging your friends’ spending habits. How other people spend or save money is none of your business unless it directly affects you or if you happen to be their financial coach. 😉
• You drive across town to save a buck or you would walk 20 minutes to save on parking.
• You are constantly replacing broken items because you value cheap over quality.
• You’re a sucker for sales.
• You buy from Costco and return it after using it. Saw the news on people returning Christmas trees after the fact? 😒

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Christine Teh is a personal finance coach who lives in Silicon Valley and serve clients virtually. She also offers tax preparation and consulting services and LinkedIn coaching as well.

Schedule a complimentary chat now to see if her financial coaching services is right for you!

Want to start practicing financial self-awareness and you don’t have a budget?

Print out your last month’s statements.

I want you to highlight one color those that you need and highlight another color those that you want.

Let's say you highlight pink those that you want and green those that you need.

Add them up after.

What color stands out more? Is it the pink or the green?
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How much did you end up spending on wants versus needs?

Were you able to afford all your wants?

Did you charge that on your credit card?

Were you able to pay off your credit card?

The key to having a great relationship with money is astute financial awareness.

This is the first step to building that awareness. Afraid to look? You might need a financial coach to help you through that. Perhaps you have some trauma or issues to work through and that's where I can help out.

If you haven’t learned how to budget yet, check out the affordable budgeting course I offer. 

Start now. This will cost you much more later.

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Christine Teh is a personal finance coach who lives in Silicon Valley and serve clients virtually. She also offers tax preparation and consulting services and LinkedIn coaching as well.

Schedule a complimentary chat now to see if my financial coaching service is right for you!
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Do you think you have a good relationship with money?

Having a great relationship is critical to being successful around money!

Below are the top signs that you DO have a good relationship.

1.  You pay attention to money and know where it goes.
   
      People who do not want to see where their money goes typically have had a traumatic experience around it. Remember, what you don't heal will keep coming up. Think of it as a wound, if you have a wound, do you think not paying attention to it would help? 
      How do you start paying attention? Start with a budget! It is so important that you have a budgeting system that works for you. If you don't know where to start. I have an easy online affordable online budgeting course  to get you started!

2.  You feel good when you think about money

      When you think about money, you don't feel stressed. You don't lose sleep and have a general sense of peace whenever you think about money because you have done your best to take care of money's needs. Yes, some stress might come up, especially with the coronavirus going on lately but it doesn't sway you.

3.  Your money is working for you without the need to micromanage it

      It's not rocket science to know how investments work and to learn how to make money work for you. The assumption that you have to constantly micromanage your money for it to grow is a myth. You also don't have to pay someone a lot of money to learn how to manage your own finances.     

4.  Your money got your back

      Because you have taken care of money and make sure you met money's needs, money will take care of you back.

5.  You’re not afraid of economic downturns 

      Whether you get laid off or recession happens like right now. You don't lose sleep over it. I also wrote an article regarding being laid off.

6.  You have regular money dates to check in with each other

      This is where having a budget comes in! You check in with you budget regularly and when you have to buy something new, you confide in your budget.
       Don't have a budget? Check out my course. 

7.  You’re not afraid to work out any issues with money

      Let's say you are in debt or things came up this month that you have to spend more money. What should you do? Most people just charge it to their credit card and then deal with it after. You don't want to do that. You have to look at your budget and plan it out. How can you pay for that extra expense? What do you have to move around in your budget to do that? Do I have enough savings to pad this negative month? Can I make the negative cash flow this month in the following month?
      You can't be afraid to ask yourself these questions and deal with it right there.

Having a great #relationship with money is important. 

This is one of the foundational part of the coaching work I do for my clients. 

Anything else you would like to add to the list above? ?

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Christine Teh is a personal finance coach who lives in Silicon Valley and serve clients virtually. She also offers tax preparation and consulting services and LinkedIn coaching as well.

Schedule a complimentary chat now to see if my financial coaching service is right for you!
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I had the pleasure of having a chat with Theodore Glave.

Theodore is a coach and founder of The Priority Process, which provides resources to help young professionals grow their careers and manage their priorities.

He reached out to me a few weeks ago for a video chat about what money tips I have for people who just started their careers in corporate.

It was a fun conversation, below are some of the topics we talked about:

• When do we start talking or teaching about the concepts of money to people?

• What is the foundation of financial literacy? How does one get started on budgeting? (I have a course around that)

• How much money do we really need for retirement? Understand the different ways your retirement income is being taxed.

• How should people start allocating their money when they just started their career?

• My opinion about life insurance.

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• What’s the best thing you can do for yourself financially when you just got out of college and got your first job?

Plus others….

Check out the video and let us know what you think or if you have more questions. ?

Christine Teh is a personal finance coach who lives in Silicon Valley and serve clients virtually. She also offers tax preparation and consulting services and LinkedIn coaching.

Schedule a complimentary chat now to see if my financial coaching service is right for you!