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Posted
Jul 01 2008, 05:00 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Blogger Rosalind Mays gave her kids credit cards. What? Is she nuts? They're only in sixth grade or thereabouts. Explaining one of the more interesting methods we've encountered for teaching kids about money, she writes in a post at Real Life Debt: "But the catch was (cause there is always a catch), I became Visa. I've always wanted to be a banking giant."
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Posted
May 23 2008, 06:57 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar. Hopefully, that headline woke you up a bit this morning. Several months ago, I made a list of 101 goals that I wanted to reach in the next three years. I piled this list on top of an already long list of medium-term and long--term goals --including building a writing career and paying off debt. While making the giant list of goals felt very empowering at first, it soon became a big weight on my shoulders. I was reaching for too many things at once. When I set a goal, I'm committed to achieving it, and thus I often feel like Lucy and Ethel on the chocolate candy assembly line -- more to do than I can possibly keep up with.
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Posted
May 08 2008, 05:21 PM
by
Karen Datko
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This post comes from Xin Lu at partner blog Wise Bread. I think most of us have been asked to lend money to someone we know. No matter how close you are with the potential borrower, there are certain situations when you just have to say no. Here are some of the times I think you should absolutely keep your money for the sake of your relationship with the other person and the well-being of both parties.
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Posted
Apr 24 2008, 06:46 PM
by
Karen Datko
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"Frugal Babe" is thinking about quitting her part-time job at the library when her baby is born. That would decrease the family income by $20,000. But through hard work and good planning, she and her husband will continue to run their insurance business, put money in retirement and emergency accounts, pay for health and life insurance, make extra payments on their home, and will set up a college education fund for their child -- all after the baby arrives. "Life is all about choices," she says in this excellent post. "Lucky people tend to make their own luck by the choices they make."
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Posted
Apr 01 2008, 06:34 AM
by
Karen Datko
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Kris at Cheap Healthy Good is equally interested in personal finance and nutrition. Recently she combined her insights about people with severe problems in each area into one post: "Touchy subjects: Confronting loved ones about weight and money problems." "What do you say to your 65-year-old father who puts on 100 pounds in five years? How do you tell your mom you can't support her if she has no savings when she retires?" Kris asks. "The short answer: Be honest."
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Posted
Jan 10 2008, 06:05 PM
by
Karen Datko
On Jan. 1 of last year, Single Ma of Single Ma's Fabulous Financials wrote a note to her future self: On Dec. 31, 2007, she would update her progress in six major areas of her life. (So, she's a little late. No biggie.) Here goes: Her extended family members are still crazy, and BabyGirl, who's a teenager, just about drove her to drink. Healthwise, Singla Ma says, "I'm not fat, my clothes shrunk! That's my story and I'm sticking to it." Her career and her finances are doing, well, fabulously. She joined the "six-figure club," exceeded her net worth goals and paid off her debt.
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Posted
Dec 21 2007, 01:11 PM
by
Karen Datko
Those facing seemingly insurmountable mortgage difficulties may find inspiration from Boomer at The Wastrel Show. Divorced with two children in 1985, Boomer got the type of mortgage available to women in her situation back in the day -- a subprime adjustable-rate loan. We'll tell you up front that this story has a happy ending. But that took years of smart financial moves and plain-old determination, and her detailed account makes this post shine.
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Posted
Dec 19 2007, 12:21 PM
by
Karen Datko
Single Ma at Single Ma's Fabulous Financials likes to instruct by example, which we think is a great way to teach. (She also urges readers on a daily basis to "as always, be fabulous," which we consider great advice.) Sometimes she uses a not-so-financially-savvy relative in her examples. Thus, Single Ma tells how she was struck speechless when a cousin explained why she bought a new car.
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Posted
Dec 18 2007, 06:08 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
An article in Money Magazine has made a certain Miller couple the poster parents for overspending on children (and using a home-equity line of credit while doing it). Of course, this fascinating piece became grist for the personal-finance blogger mill, as well it should. "When you put your children's desires above your family's needs, your priorities are just wrong," writes Lynnae at beingfrugal. Her 5-year-old won't get the Wii he wants for Christmas because she and her husband can't afford it without going into debt.
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Posted
Nov 30 2007, 02:14 PM
by
Karen Datko
Kay Bell at Don't Mess with Taxes -- in a post called "Are credit cards appropriate 'toys' for kids?" -- examines two trends that should give us cause to worry. She notes that a recent Charles Schwab survey found that almost a third of teens, if they had the option, prefer to pay with a credit card rather than cash. (Thank goodness only 10 percent have a credit card in their own name.) She also points to a disturbing trend in toys: For instance, the new Monopoly allows players to pay with plastic. And did you know that Dora the Explorer and Barbie carry credit cards? ("Not surprisingly; look at the clothes (Barbie) buys!" Bell comments.)
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