Finance Tips

Creating a Family Finance Plan

February 14, 2012

It’s still early in the year, and if you haven’t created a family finance plan, now is the time! Regardless of how much research and planning you do, your budgeting and savings plans cannot succeed unless both you and your spouse are on the same page. If you don’t share the same goals, then it’s [...]

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Tip Tuesday: Organizing Your Financial Life

January 10, 2012

January is the perfect month to organize your financial paperwork – these papers tend to accumulate during the year, and it’s great to start the year fresh. If you have a filing cabinet, that’s the perfect place to store your essential paper work. You should also buy some Pendaflex folders, some regular file folders, and [...]

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8 Finance Resolutions for the New Year!

January 7, 2012

It’s the new year, time to create family finance resolutions, revisit your financial habits, make new goals, and start anew! It’s a great opportunity to create a brand new budget, reorganize, and gain control! Every year, I post a list of personal finance resolutions for the New Year. This year, I’m reposting from last year, [...]

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How Every Little Bit Counts When Saving for College

December 5, 2011

Saving for college can seem like a daunting task. I started saving for college right when my kids were born, and I still feel like I’ve only saved a drop in the bucket of what I’ll need. But, the key to any sort of saving is starting small, and understanding that every little bit helps. [...]

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College Savings Plans: 529 101

August 23, 2011

You may have noticed that many financial accounts are named seemingly arbitrary names, like 529, 401k, 403b. Those names generally come from the part of the tax code that created them, but it’s awfully confusing for most people. If you have children, or are even thinking of having kids, it’s important that you understand 529s [...]

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Saving Money During Back to School Season

August 11, 2011

It seems as though the summer has just started, and yet my kids are about to go back to school in just three short weeks. While our elementary school doesn’t send home school supply shopping lists, there’s still plenty of things that we need to purchase. So, how can moms save money during this time [...]

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Teaching Your Kids About Money: Giveaway

June 20, 2011

As you probably know, I’m incredibly passionate about teaching kids about money and personal finance. My career, prior to becoming a blogger/freelance writer, was in corporate finance for a large mutual fund company, and I’m always disappointed in how little personal finance education our children get. It’s really up to parents to teach our kids [...]

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Five Tips to Teach Family Finances to Your Kids

April 19, 2011

It’s financial literacy month, and if there is one thing you should do this month, it’s work to educate your children about family finances. Personal finance skills are one of the best gifts you can give your children. T. Rowe Price recently announced the results of their third annual Parents, Kids, and Money Survey. Two-thirds [...]

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Top 5 Things You Should Do NOW for Your Family Finances

March 22, 2011

If your family finances are in need of some TLC, you’re probably at a loss of where to begin. Here are the top five things I suggest you do NOW for your family finances. 1. Start retirement funds. If you don’t already have 401ks, 403bs, or IRAs, start today! Retirement savings is the most important [...]

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New Car Buying – Should You Get the Extended Warranty?

March 1, 2011

Several weeks ago, I purchased a brand-new Toyota Prius (my first brand-new car, by the way!). After all of the test driving and negotiating, I was finally ready to sign the loan agreement. Toyota was offering financing at a very low percentage rate (0.9%), so we financed for 5 years, and put very little down. [...]

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Family Finance Tip: Opting Out of Those Annoying Credit Card Offers

February 22, 2011

Do you gets lots of those pre-approved credit card and insurance offers? Receiving those offers can be tempting, but it can also make identity theft a lot easier for thieves. If you don’t want those offers filling up your mailbox, there’s a way out! Visit www.optoutprescreen.com to opt-out of firm offers for five years (online), [...]

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Tip Tuesday: What To Do With Your Credit Reports

February 15, 2011

Earlier, I told you how to request your free credit reports. Now that you have them, are you wondering what to do with them? Each of the three reporting agencies report the information differently, so take a look at the format so you understand exactly what you are looking at. Then, look at the high-level [...]

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