Category: Family & Relationships

Learn how to talk with your loved ones about money and deal with family financial issues

Budgeting, Credit, Family & Relationships, Income & Career, Retirement, Saving & Investing

Financial Literacy: A Review of “High School Money Hacks”

Every April since 2003, the United States has recognized and celebrated National Financial Literacy Month. It was called for by a joint resolution in congress and is one path to educating the citizens of our country about the importance and real necessity of developing a working knowledge in mastering the language, principles, and actions of finance.

Financial Literacy: A Review of"High School Money Hacks"

But nowhere is it more important to begin that education than with our youth. High school financial literacy is more important than ever before. There are many levels of education and responsibilities that kids come in contact with that can be the inspiration and key to their developing a full understanding of the principles of financial education. I recently read a book that I think can really help both student and parent in that quest.Continue reading“Financial Literacy: A Review of “High School Money Hacks””

Family & Relationships, Health, Income & Career, More

Stop Complaining and Do Something About It!

You’ll have to pardon me here if I sound like I’m complaining (I am), but have you noticed the absurd numbers of annoying complaints that people seem to have about, oh I don’t know, everything! There are just some people who love to complain and it’s getting worse by the minute! The time that is spent on the complaining is not the proverbial “time well spent”, and I seriously think it may lead to the decline and fall of the free world. Or maybe not, but here’s my point.

Stop Complaining and Do Something About It !

Today, you have the ability to vent, whine, rant, and get tons of attention every minute of the day through social media. Tweeting, Facebook posting and a slew of other “wonderful” platforms amplify the complaining so that I and people like me are bombarded with it to the point of nausea! Do I have to know who hit on you at work? What you had for lunch? Who got engaged while you are still dating the guy you met at your psych class 7 years ago? I’ve compiled a list of some of the worst offending complaints and if you’re among the “whaaa!!-trepreneurs” who are making a priority out of being heard this way, try some self-restraint and spend some time with a few of my poignant recommendations…please!Continue reading“Stop Complaining and Do Something About It!”

Family & Relationships

Avoid Spending a Fortune on St. Frugaltine’s Day

Wow, has been a whole year since we last spoke about celebrating St. Frugaltine’s Day? I guess so and once again it comes as the challenge of showing our valentine how much we care without going way overboard or appearing to be a cheapskate…our worst fear! Being frugal doesn’t mean being cheap. Let’s make that perfectly clear. Rather, it means a way to show how much you care about the emotional side of an event like St. Valentine’s Day, and not the commercial side.

Avoid Spending a Fortune on St. Frugaltine's Day

According to the National Retail Association, the average person will spend $150 this year celebrating and buying gifts for this “holiday”. That adds up to over 19 billion dollars nationally, enough money to make Kevin O’Leary happy and get him “his money” back and more for any valentine Shark Tank investments he’s made! But seriously, 19 million? It makes Frugal Gary shudder…how about you?Continue reading“Avoid Spending a Fortune on St. Frugaltine’s Day”

Family & Relationships, More, Shopping

Simple Ways to Save Money on a Wedding

Maybe you (or someone close to you) got engaged over the holidays. Maybe you’ve enjoyed your engagement for awhile and are ready to set the date and start planning. Either way, a wedding is a most special day for you, your friend or a family member’s new life together. Almost always however, anyone who has ever attended a beautiful wedding party knows that after the celebrating is done they all wonder, “What the heck did they spend on this shindig?” Weddings can be very, very expensive, and it’s not uncommon to spend $20,000, $30,000, or even $40,000 today on one today, with the average exceeding $30,000! But there are ways to save money on a wedding while still making your day extra special.

Simple Ways to Save Money on a Wedding

So many weddings come later now since people are waiting longer than before to tie the knot. As a result, the wedding costs are falling on the bride and groom more often than ever. The last thing you want to do is make that most exciting, beautiful and happy day the beginning of a huge new ugly debt!Continue reading“Simple Ways to Save Money on a Wedding”

Family & Relationships

How to React When Your Adult Child Asks for Help

When you’re a parent, you don’t want to see your children suffer in any way, whether it’s from a boo-boo when they fall off their tricycle, or because they can’t pay their bills after a job loss. But as parents, we also know that we can’t protect them from everything and sometimes those bumps and bruises are needed to teach us things in life.

How to React When Your Adult Child Asks for Help

I have two adult children, a daughter in her thirties and a son in his twenties, and while I don’t hear from them as often as I’d like, my daughter recently called me. She was looking for money to pay some of her bills, and this wasn’t the first time. When your adult child asks for help, as a parent your first instinct is to protect them, but before your heart hits send on that money transfer, there are some questions your head should ask:Continue reading“How to React When Your Adult Child Asks for Help”

Family & Relationships

Divorce: Minimizing the Financial Impact

We all have the right to be happy, especially when it comes to marriage and family. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t always work out quite that way. Just because it hasn’t happened to you, don’t think that it can’t or that in some ways you may be different or immune. I personally have been through it, getting divorced in 1998 after 25 years of marriage, and I never imagined it would happen to me. I can tell you that from what I know and have experienced, that no matter whether the divorce was your idea or your spouse’s, there really are no winners in a divorce. In fact, the emotional stress as well as the financial stress can be a real wallop to each party, and can damage and impair both sides from the quick and successful recovery that each person truly seeks.

Divorce: Minimizing the Financial Impact

There are some ways to minimize those stresses, but first let me share with you what has changed about divorce recently.Continue reading“Divorce: Minimizing the Financial Impact”

Entertainment, Family & Relationships, Food

A Dozen Cheap Date Ideas

If you’re on a tight budget, or you’re trying to pay down debt or take care of some other financial goals, it can be a challenge to enjoy an active social life, particularly if you are single and looking to find a romantic partner. When most people think of a first date, dinner at a restaurant is probably the most common image that springs to mind. I remember after my divorce when I first got back into the dating game, I would take each new lady out for a nice evening meal and the costs added up quickly while the connections didn’t always last. Ouch!

A Dozen Cheap Date Ideas

There are ways to dine out affordably, but you might not want to pull your coupons out on a first date. Dating is filled with enough etiquette-related and emotional landmines without also having to worry that your date thinks you’re cheap. So how can you show a potential new love interest a good time without spending a fortune? Here are a dozen cheap date ideas that are still enjoyable, fun or romantic.Continue reading“A Dozen Cheap Date Ideas”

Family & Relationships, More

How to Teach Your Kids About Money

I often wonder if every family realizes the importance of teaching the kids about handling money. Money certainly is a topic that comes up every day, and when your kids reach a certain age, they should be included in the process that can teach them how it’s earned, spent, saved, and donated to help others and worthy causes.

How to Teach Your Kids About Money

Children are most likely to be receptive to this kind of education at an earlier age rather than later. Teenagers, for example, think they already know everything there is to know, have a competitive mindset when it comes to status with their peers, and certainly mom and dad can’t really teach them about much, can they? Young children are constantly absorbing and asking questions and being curious about everything. Money is no exception.Continue reading“How to Teach Your Kids About Money”