There is a difference between asking AI to give you an idea and asking AI to help you think. The first can be useful when you are completely stuck. The second can be much more powerful. Generative AI is remarkably good at taking a starting point and expanding it. It can suggest alternatives, identify connections,Continue reading “AI Is a Great Brainstorming Partner—If You Know What to Ask”
Author Archives: A Otting
When Your Financial Goals Compete With Each Other
Financial advice can make progress sound remarkably linear: pay off debt, build an emergency fund, save for retirement, buy a home, save for your children’s education, give generously, travel, invest, and prepare for the unexpected. All of those can be worthwhile goals. The problem is that your paycheck doesn’t necessarily get bigger just because yourContinue reading “When Your Financial Goals Compete With Each Other”
Your Retirement Number Is Probably Not a Retirement Plan
At some point, almost everyone who thinks seriously about retirement encounters a number. Maybe it is $1 million. Maybe it is $2 million. Maybe it is a number generated by an online retirement calculator that made you feel reassured for about five minutes—and then made you wonder whether you entered something incorrectly. We like numbersContinue reading “Your Retirement Number Is Probably Not a Retirement Plan”
AI Can Help You Compare Options. It Shouldn’t Make the Decision for You.
There is a particular kind of relief that comes from having too many choices narrowed down to two. Which software should we use?Which marketing approach makes more sense?Should we hire, outsource, or wait?Which project deserves our attention first? Now, with generative AI, we can ask a question and receive an answer almost immediately. Sometimes thatContinue reading “AI Can Help You Compare Options. It Shouldn’t Make the Decision for You.”
The Problem With Financial Absolutes
There is something reassuring about absolutes. Always pay off debt. Always invest as much as possible. Always pay off your mortgage. Always buy a house. Always rent. Always maximize your retirement contributions. Always keep six months of expenses in cash. Absolutes such as “always” can make complicated financial decisions feel wonderfully simple. And sometimes, aContinue reading “The Problem With Financial Absolutes”
The Financial Advice You Need Changes as Your Life Changes
There is a funny thing about financial advice: we tend to treat it like there is one right answer. Pay off the debt.Build the emergency fund.Invest.Save for retirement.Pay off the mortgage.Save for your kids. And those can all be good pieces of advice—at the right time, for the right person, and for the right reason.Continue reading “The Financial Advice You Need Changes as Your Life Changes”
Compound Interest: The “Boring” Concept That Could Make You a Millionaire
By Amber Otting | Ramsey Preferred Coach | May 27, 2026 Albert Einstein reportedly called compound interest “the eighth wonder of the world.” He said those who understand it earn it, and those who don’t pay it. That second part should make every debt-holder sit up straight. But today let’s focus on the first partContinue reading “Compound Interest: The “Boring” Concept That Could Make You a Millionaire”
What Is Gazelle Intensity — and Do You Actually Have It?
By Amber Otting | Ramsey Preferred Coach | May 21, 2026 Dave Ramsey didn’t invent the phrase — he borrowed it from Proverbs 6:5: “Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter.” But he made it famous, and for good reason. It perfectly describes the mindset that separates people who get outContinue reading “What Is Gazelle Intensity — and Do You Actually Have It?”
5 Signs You Need a Financial Coach (Not Just a Budget App)
By Amber Otting | Ramsey Preferred Coach | May 16, 2026 Budget apps are great. EveryDollar, Mint, YNAB — they track your spending, show you the categories, and send little notifications when you go over. But here’s what they can’t do: they can’t ask you why. Why did you overspend on dining out again thisContinue reading “5 Signs You Need a Financial Coach (Not Just a Budget App)”
The No-Spend Challenge: What Happens When You Stop Spending for a Week
By Amber Otting | Ramsey Preferred Coach | May 12, 2026 What if the fastest path to your financial goals wasn’t earning more — it was simply stopping? That’s the premise behind the No-Spend Challenge, one of Dave Ramsey’s favorite tools for building what he calls “gazelle-like intensity.” The concept is simple: for one weekContinue reading “The No-Spend Challenge: What Happens When You Stop Spending for a Week”