Browse by Tags

• The ruminations of a former shoplifter

  Posted Jul 07 2008, 08:08 PM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Spending, Credit, Family, Karen Datko
  Rating:

  Mike the Clever Dude has amazed us more than a few times. He's the guy who wrote about making a month's worth of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in 25 minutes -- with photo illustrations, no less. Another time, he confessed to buying a house with an interest-only mortgage and no money down. He's also railed against "those stupid disposable toilet brushes" as the epitome of waste.

  So what could he possibly say that would throw us for a loop? "In my teens, I wanted stuff so much, I resorted to stealing," he writes in a post called "Wanting too much." Read More...

  Discuss (no comments) 1,794 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this

• When your 17-year-old gets a credit card application

  Posted Feb 19 2008, 08:45 PM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Spending, Credit, Family, Karen Datko

  Deb Holder's 17-year-old daughter received a credit card application in the mail, and it wasn't a mistake -- this despite the fact that her daughter is an unemployed high school senior. 

  The application included information on responsible spending targeted at both the teenager and the parents, who are required to co-sign. "Still, it gave me this sick feeling in my stomach. Why are they targeting my child?" Deb writes in a post at Debt-Free Mom. "The answer is quite simple: Because they can."   Read More...

  Discuss ( 2 comments) 1,027 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this

• That fabulous Single Ma explains how not to buy a car

  Posted Dec 19 2007, 12:21 PM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Debt, Spending, Credit, Family

  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.   Read More...

  Discuss ( 3 comments) 1,124 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this

• Do your kids a favor: Don't overindulge them

  Posted Dec 18 2007, 06:08 PM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Debt, Spending, Credit, Family
  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.   Read More...

  Discuss ( 3 comments) 1,556 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this