Orthodontic sticker shock
No posts for the last couple of days — instead I’ve been spending a lot of time in orthodontist’s offices with the kids. Up until this year, both girls had dental coverage through their mother’s...
View ArticleCustomer goodwill worth more than high interest rates
J.D. at Get Rich Slowly recently opened up a discussion about chasing interest rates on savings accounts. The range of comments are pretty interesting, but the one recurring theme is that most people...
View ArticleShould we worry about WaMu? and other disasters
Sorry for the recent silence; I’ve been having a rough couple of weeks on the Life front. No financial crises, though, at least not yet! Thanks for all the recent comments — it cheers me up to see so...
View ArticleI believe this qualifies as an emergency
I’ve been quiet for a while, going through a number of struggles that have left me without the — in the vernacular of my childhood, the ‘gumption’ — to keep writing frequently. I’m trying really hard...
View ArticleLess income, more savings
Yesterday I promised to give an update on our personal financial situation and how it’s changed over the last half-year. In November I wrote that we were down to a quarter of our prior income, as Jak’s...
View ArticleRisk-free high-yield savings option
When is a CD not a CD? When it’s a savings account in disguise. Traditionally, certificates of deposit have offered a trade-off: in return for the bank’s guarantee of a fixed interest rate, you promise...
View ArticleMove your money and bump your interest rate too
A lot of people are moving their money this week, either because of outrage at the imposition of yet another fee, or due to a general realization that customers tend to get better treatment from small...
View ArticleThe Conflict-Free Family Budget: Our Plan
Here’s the complete rundown of the new budget agreement I worked out and proposed to Jak last June. This post is part of a series. See the Introduction if you missed it. First, I started with by...
View ArticleThe Conflict-Free Family Budget: Our Results
Our new budget system accomplished everything I hoped for, and then some. Still, I’ve been surprised by a thing or two about my own reactions, and even more so by Jak’s. (This is Part Two in a series....
View ArticleThe Conflict-Free Family Budget: Your Turn
In creating the Conflict-Free Family Budget, I was striving to accomplish two separate but interlinked goals: reduce spending and reduce conflicts. I think these work best in tandem, but that’s not to...
View ArticleWhat to do — and not do — with your former mortgage dollars
With the decision to stop paying our mortgage, our immediate expenses dropped by nearly $3000 per month. That saved us over $32k in 2011 alone. So what did we do with all that ‘extra’ money? Well,...
View ArticleQuick, save now! Easy Roth IRA options
If you live in the United States, you have just seventeen more days to do something very important. No, I’m not talking about filing taxes, although you certainly don’t want to forget that. April 17th...
View ArticleReader case study: short sales and debt
After I posted What to do — and not do — with your former mortgage dollars, I received a request for advice on a strategic default from a woman I’ll call Tricia. I agreed to give her some (friendly,...
View ArticleWomen and money: four destructive myths
Among financial bloggers, this has been designated Women’s Money Week. I don’t usually think about finances and economics in a gender-specific ways, but coincidentally, last week I happened to be...
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