The idea behind student loans is that you borrow money to earn a college or graduate degree that will in turn enable you to earn so much money that you will be able to pay back the enormous amount of money that you borrowed to acquire the degree. While this is a good idea in theory, many people who have student loan debt are now feeling like their degree is not worth the debt that they acquired to get it. I can tell you that this is not just a feeling, it is a cold, hard fact that is supported … Continue reading →

I was thinking about one of my favorite book series, The Shopaholic books, by Sophie Kinsella. I remember when I started reading the first book, Confessions of a Shopaholic, people would wish me luck. I guess they didn’t realize that it was a novel and not a self-help book. I didn’t have a problem with compulsive shopping and the book was fiction, but there were lessons about how not to live your life in the book. The book introduced us to a very needy person who shops to fill an empty space in her life. Her debt load is incredible. … Continue reading →

Today I was perusing my news alerts and came across a list of money wasters that CNN put out. I understand wasting money. I have children. There is so much waste going on in this house. It’s not intentional, but you can’t force small children to use and finish. Daily internet deals I subscribe to so many different social coupon sites. I’ve used it only once and my sister is really the one who bought the deal. We bought salon services for her next trip to Texas. Eating out I’ll concede that this is a big money bite. We don’t … Continue reading →

There are many mistakes we can make with our finances. Here are a few traps you don’t want to get caught in. When thinking about investments a bad place to start is with something that has buzz but no history. Another bad investing idea is to pay too close attention to performance and sell out of emotion. The stock market ebbs and flows; we have to give it time to get there. Saving can seem like a difficult undertaking. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, you may wonder where savings is supposed to come from. Not saving, however, is a … Continue reading →

In 2008 we traded in our Chevrolet Silverado and Nissan Sentra on a new Ford Escape lease. We shopped a lot of cars and drove many. The Escape fit our needs at the time and was within our price range. We ended up with a lot of extras I wasn’t expecting because they were on the car in the color we wanted that was in inventory. They were not all the options that I would have liked, however. One of the dealers we visited was offering a free navigation system with purchase. We hadn’t had navigation in our cars and … Continue reading →

Did you know that money is the most common cause of disagreement among couples? Whether a couple is rich or poor does not matter, disagreements about money are common among couples from all points on the economic spectrum. It’s no wonder, then, that many couples avoid discussing finances at all costs. What if you knew that discussing your finances together could actually improve your relationship, if you went about it the right way? You would probably be more inclined to give it a try. Tackling the tricky area of finance as a team can actually strengthen your relationship and keep … Continue reading →

We’ve all been watching the news with some trepidation, I’m sure. It seems that banks are failing right and left. How do we know if our bank is safe, and what should we do if we hear a rumor that our bank is hitting the skids? I sent these questions to a friend of mine, who is the manager of a major bank. He willingly answered them for me, but he asked that I not share his name. It’s not a very popular time to be a banker. I asked him, “What are the signs that my bank is struggling?” … Continue reading →

I worked for several different babysitting agencies in Southern California before we moved to Texas. It was good and easy money. I’ve always enjoyed working with children and I really enjoyed my clients through the agencies. When we lived at the beach, my favorite babysitting job was working for a timeshare at the beach. For several hours on Saturday and Sunday I’d sit in the child-care room with the children and another sitter while the parents toured the facility. The other sitter and I would have a blast playing cards with each other and the children while the kids watched … Continue reading →

I don’t have that much experience with foreign travel. I’m a Southern California native so trips to border towns in Mexico were not uncommon. My husband and I have been on several cruises. Those cruises have all had port stops in Mexico. I also went to Canada with the church on choir tour when I was a high school freshman. My most noted trip abroad was to London during Christmas break when I was a college freshman. The university choir went to London to record an album and I went with them to sing as well. It was a wonderful … Continue reading →

Tax time is fast approaching. We have not filed yet. I’m starting to get antsy about it. I know we still have a month and a half. I know that we have an extra few days to file by April 18. I’m still feeling anxious that we haven’t bought TurboTax or started compiling our documents. I’m rather looking forward to it this year. I sold hardly any Avon, so I don’t have much to compile there and I’ve never made any money at it. About half my income last year is W-2 reported instead of all of it on a … Continue reading →