It seems like Christmas begins at the same time as Halloween and by December 26th, it’s all over. Listen in as we discuss the ways Christmas has gotten hijacked and how we can return to the real meaning behind many of the Christmas symbols.

Join us on the Compass Catholic blog for more ways to stay focused on what Christmas is all about.

Spending more than you make, not knowing the difference between wants and needs, using long term savings for short term purchases, not being generous, ignoring the need for retirement savings…it’s easy to convince ourselves that we are going the right thing with our finances when maybe we are just in a comfort zone.

Tune in or join us on the Compass Catholic blog to check out the ways you may be fooling yourself about your finances.

Sometimes we spend money on Christmas in an effort to fulfill some requirement that doesn’t make sense if you stop and think about it rationally. Maybe your gifting is done out of guilt or obligation or competition.  But what does that have to do with the real meaning of Christmas?

Tune in and join us on the Compass Catholic blog for stories about why people feel forced into Christmas spending and how to avoid it.

Time goes by quickly and we get so caught up in our day to day activities that we often forget to stop and thank God for the blessings he has given us. This year, instead of having the Thanksgiving holiday be a one day event, have it be the beginning of a year of gratitude.

Join us on the Compass Catholic blog for ideas about giving thanks on the holiday and all 364 days afterwards.

Seems like we just jump from one buying season to another without much thought about why or even what we are celebrating.  Debt can be the number one fear for many people at this time of year as they face the pressure to make everyone in their life happy by showering presents on them.

Join us and stop the madness by not going into one penny of debt for Christmas this year.

The Compass Catholic blog has more ideas about how to celebrate but stay sane in your spending.

As a church, we need to teach people that their faith and their finances go hand in hand towards having a stronger marriage. Unfortunately, most married couples learn about finances through Trial & Terror, which mean years of conflict, pain and arguing about money.

This week the Compass Catholic blog has more on how to tackle the money monster in marriage.

Avoid paying interest, don’t buy things you don’t need, and above all else, don’t get caught up in trying to live someone else’s lifestyle. These are all things frugal people do to avoid wasting money.

Read the Compass Catholic blog for more on how to save money by being conscious of the things you should never do.

You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning; dying in a car accident; becoming a victim of identity theft by the age of 40; being bitten by a dog while jogging or or even hitting a hole-in-one on your birthday than winning the lottery. Yet the average American buys $200 of lottery tickets per year.

It’s interesting to note that lotteries are exempt from truth in advertising laws. What may sound like such a good deal is really a bunch of lies.

Read the Compass Catholic blog for more on why the lottery isn’t the answer to your financial problems.

A cheap person will invest a lot of time and energy in order to save a dollar or two, but the time and effort they spend may not be worth the money they saved.

A frugal person saves money in a balanced way by thinking about how saving money impacts other areas of their life. Saving money is good, as long as it is done in a balanced way so you can enjoy life and recognize the tradeoffs you are making.

This week’s podcast and the Compass Catholic blog point out the differences between cheap and frugal.

Social security is only supposed to supplement your retirement income. It is not designed to provide your entire retirement income, so you need to save for retirement in a big way.

It’s up to each one of us to stop relying on the government to take care of us in retirement.

Join us for a discussion about Social Security and read the Compass Catholic blog for more about how secure Social Security really is.