Family & Relationships Archives

Celebrating Mother’s Day in a COVID-19 World

May 5, 2020 May 5, 2020

As a former boss of mine once said to me (and I have regretfully repeated over the years), “Father’s Day is the most important day of the year”…not! Let’s get real here, your mom was, has been, and still is the very most important person ever. I’m not here to list all the reasons why and that is because you already know that without her, you just wouldn’t exist, so case closed. If you are fortunate enough to have your mom still around, it’s really important to recognize her. But how will you celebrate Mother’s Day in a COVID-19 world?

Mother’s Day is coming, but this year it may be difficult to see your mom in person. Here are some ways to celebrate from a distance. — Family Together in Bedroom

Some Things Still Haven’t Changed – Yet

Whether you’re staying at home or not (and you must social distance in order to protect yourself and everyone around you), you can still send your mom a heartfelt or funny greeting card and you can do it without ever leaving your house.

Family & Relationships

What Do School Kids Know About Money?

November 19, 2019 November 19, 2019

You can’t have lived on planet Earth and not have heard or seen anything about the hit TV show, “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” It was a game show in which adult contestants answer questions as if they came from an elementary grade school quiz, and actual 5th graders helped them and usually outdid the adults with more correct answers. The host, comedian Jeff Foxworthy, starred on the show beginning back in 2007 and after 2009 it ran in syndication and still appears on TV to this day.

It's our responsibility to teach kids about money, but they often aren't learning about it in school. Here are some money questions to ask your kids.

That whole thing got me to thinking. If 5th graders can answer some pretty basic questions about science, math, history, and the like better than adults, what can they do when the questions turn to money and finance? It just may be that they may know a lot, and forgive me for saying it, but they forget most of it by the time they turn into adults.

Family & Relationships, Personal Finance

How Important Is a Financial Mentor?

November 1, 2019 October 31, 2019

Wouldn’t it be nice of your money came with an instruction book on how to make it grow? What you know about money and the world of personal finance you probably had to learn on your own. Few are taught how to build, manage, and preserve their own wealth in any formal way like in a high school or college classroom, although that number is finally starting to increase.

One of the best ways to learn about money is to seek the guidance of a financial mentor. Here's how different financial mentors have helped me.

Offering a course called Financial Freedom 101 would be a great way to get that knowledge, but that’s not a reality in most places yet. Most schools just don’t teach money skills. And yet, personal finance and wealth building principles are two of the most important educational lessons you can ever learn. It can make the difference between a life full of purpose and security, and a life of pain, frustration, and unhappiness. So how can one learn about the world of finance and money?

Family & Relationships, Personal Finance

What Is A Revocable Living Trust and Why You Need to Know

March 26, 2019 September 13, 2019

There are some subjects that we just don’t like to talk about and can make us feel really uncomfortable. One of these subjects is our own death and how our assets and property will be distributed when that event ultimately occurs. Having said that, it is imperative that everyone think about their estate plan and what they need or want to do with their assets when they’re gone. You have the final say as long as you do something about it while you are alive and well. While many people choose a Last Will and Testament, another option is a Revocable Living Trust (RLT). So you may be wondering, what is a Revocable Living Trust?

The RLT Option

Most of us, when we do think about what will happen to our families when we are gone, think about a Will. But an RLT is becoming increasingly more popular as an estate planning tool since changes have been made to make them friendlier to establish and use. An RLT lets you determine who receives your property and assets, and divides them while you are still alive and helps you avoid probate court. Continue reading“What Is A Revocable Living Trust and Why You Need to Know”

Budgeting, Family & Relationships, Personal Finance, Saving & Investing

Why What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

March 22, 2019 September 13, 2019

Do you remember that old phrase of years gone by, “ignorance is bliss”? Even if you never have heard that one (although I doubt that), it is something that seems to be true. After all, you aren’t going to worry about that big pothole on the road just a few hundred feet ahead of you when you’re driving to work on this sunny morning—if you are totally unaware of it, right? How can you? You don’t know it’s there. You haven’t heard any problems about it and your mind is drifting along with the latest tunes on the radio as you sip your coffee from your freshly brewed homemade K-cup coffee machine that you made just 10 minutes earlier. Life is good. And then…kaboom! What you don’t know can hurt you.

When it comes to your finances, what you don't know can hurt you. Here are some basics to get you started on your way to learning what you need to know.

Funny thing about that “ignorance is bliss” thing, it has a tendency to sneak up on you and hit you squarely in the eye or even worse, your rear end and lower back like driving over a huge pothole does! That simply proves the premise doesn’t it? What you don’t know can and will hurt you!

Family & Relationships, Personal Finance

3 Ways My Mother Influenced My Personal Finances

February 5, 2019 September 13, 2019

Researchers will tell you that we are all basically a combination of the beliefs, habits, and opinions of the people we surround ourselves with and spend the most of our time in life with. That starts in your childhood and is the unreal influence that a parent has on a child. Think about it. You probably believed almost everything you believed as a kid because of your parents through at least the first 10 years of your life.

We all are influenced by our parents in many ways. Here are 3 ways my mother influenced personal finances for me and changed the course of my money habits.

Unless you came of age in the ’60s like me, that probably continued right on through adulthood, because everyone knows that my generation was the dawning of “The Age of Aquarius” and was a totally enlightened generation, a totally innovative and newly ordained very special generation with all the answers to all the questions of the ages…not!!! We just thought we were that at the time.

But seriously, when you really think about it, it does seem true that you probably get most of your opinions just because of how your closest influences (like Mom) think and that gets reinforced constantly by them. At least that’s my “uneducated” opinion here.

Family & Relationships

Dating and the Single Person: How to Save Money

July 24, 2018 September 13, 2019

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They say that money makes the world go ’round. They also say that love makes the world go ’round. Perhaps it’s a bit of both. When you’re single and in dating mode, sometimes it seems like you don’t have enough of either. But don’t despair…I made it through some rough single times, and I’ll bet you can, too. It’s just a matter of knowing how to manage your money, and your expectations, while dating.

Money can be a very contentious issue when you’re working on finding or being in a relationship, and it can also be one of the main causes for a relationship breakup too. It happens when there are real disparities that the parties have in their money attitudes. Ask people like me who have been through a divorce and you will probably get an earful about it.
Continue reading“Dating and the Single Person: How to Save Money”

Family & Relationships, Shopping

What Dad Really Wants for Father’s Day

June 12, 2018 September 13, 2019

Being a dad has been the biggest responsibility I have ever had. After all, bringing a new life into the world and literally trying your best to help make that person the best kind of person they can be and fulfill their life’s real potential doesn’t weigh easy on anyone.

I sometimes get a bit misty eyed when I think about my two kids and I always miss seeing them when they aren’t right here with me. I think we all feel that way because after all they are so very important to us.

So a couple of years ago, I wrote a post about my thoughts on Father’s Day and it really came from my heart. I think the message in it says what every dad (and mom too) thinks and feels about a day like this. Even though the environment we live in makes us feel like honoring our dads and moms is all about buying gifts and making a big deal out of just the one single day a year, I can tell you from personal experience, that’s not what dads (and moms) really want from their kids.Continue reading“What Dad Really Wants for Father’s Day”