Family & Relationships, Income & Career

Parenting Dilemma: Work and Childcare or Stay at Home

One of the biggest issues facing families right now (and we have a laundry list of issues, don’t we?) is the question they face about work and childcare. Even under normal conditions not involving a pandemic and whether or not your kids have a school they can actually get up and go to each day, the decision to be a stay-at-home parent or to find work and supplement your family income isn’t an easy one to make. But right now, the stay at home or daycare decision is a real dilemma!

Making the parenting decision between work and childcare or staying at home isn't easy. Here's a look at the financial side.

Who Watches Your Child If They Can’t Go to a School?

If you have a choice, what choice will you make? For the moment, your choices may be very limited. Do you have a job to return to or you can find? Is your child’s school offering on-site instruction or virtual classrooms? For how long will your life decisions remain in effect because of the pandemic?

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More

10 More of My Favorite Songs About Money

A couple of years ago, just for fun, I wrote a post about some of my all-time favorite songs about money. When you stop and think about it, money is one of the big subjects that songwriters often pen their tunes about, usually right after love and truck driving it seems.

Money is a popular topic in music, and here are 10 more of my favorite songs about money. See what messages speak to you through the music.

But since this blog is about money in some form or other each week, I thought it might just be a good time to add on to this list of money songs I personally love! I apologize if you are someone who wasn’t around back in the days when I was attached to my radio and may only know some of the songs from the Muzak feed on the elevators you occasionally ride. But trust me, every one of these songs was a winner at some point back in time!

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Income & Career

10 Simple Things That Can Increase Your Income

Saving money by cutting your expenses is a great way to help improve your finances. It’s a simple step in theory but much harder in practice or all of us would do it and we’d be right on top of our money. But controlling our expenses and cutting them is only half of the equation. If you can increase your income at the same time you’re cutting expenses, you’ll meet your financial goals even faster. So what are the simple ways to accomplish these goals and improve your personal finances and income?

Working hard is important to get ahead, but it doesn't always guarantee a promotion. Learn 10 simple things you can do to help increase your income.

Earn More, Just Like You Always Planned to Do

Earn more money? Yes, it’s easier said than done. Of course you can pick up a side hustle today fairly easily if you want to spend even a few extra hours of your free time as so many are doing today to add money to their pocket. Think of a need and fill it. It may not be quite like the need that Bill Gates thought of, but earning any extra money helps, especially in these times.

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Retirement, Saving & Investing

Investing Money Is Just Like Cooking Barbecue

It’s the height of summer here in New Jersey and since we aren’t dining out like we do normally this year, it’s a perfect time to fire up the grill and do some real barbecuing, isn’t it? Hopefully you can do that and well, as strange as it may seem, I find that barbecuing is a lot like investing basics! What?

Many people don't know a lot about investing, and so they're afraid to start. But investing basics are like making good barbecue, so let's get cooking!

Yes, you read that right. Before you write me off as crazy, follow along and I’ll explain how a good basic investing strategy is like cooking good barbecue (with the disclaimer that I’m neither a barbecue nor an investment expert). Many people don’t know a lot about investing, and so they’re afraid to start. This can have a significant impact on your retirement savings and the growth of your wealth. Learning the basics of investing isn’t that difficult, and in fact, it really is a lot like cooking barbecue!

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Home

A First Time Homebuyer Must-Know Guide

The American Dream of owning a home is still alive and going strong in 2020 despite the chaotic world we are currently living in. It’s always a bit intimidating whenever you buy a home, but even more so when it’s the very first time you are planning to do it. So here’s what a first time homebuyer needs to know.

If you're looking to buy a home for the first time, you'll definitely want to know about these programs to help educate you and save you money!

There’s a lot to think about when you are thinking about buying your first home and it’s normal to have a lot of questions. The idea of making the single largest purchase that you will ever make in your life is pretty scary. You might be wondering about the process from the beginning to closing and what it all means to your personal finances.

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Shopping

What is Bargain Hunting to You?

I write about savings on this blog because saving money is very important to my wife and me. I enjoy the challenges of bargain hunting and knowing and feeling that I got a very good deal, if not the best deal available. But I also know that not everyone views a bargain in terms of dollars and cents.

Remember this rule of thumb above all else:

“A bargain isn’t a bargain if you don’t need it and won’t use it!”

I’m sure if you check in your closets you will find some things you have purchased because it was such a deal, but has never, ever been used. These purchases will probably wind up as a bargain to someone else at your next yard sale.

Bargain hunting means different things to different people. Which do you value most...your time or your money? And how does that affect the way you shop?
Your satisfaction with a bargain may depend on what kind of shopper you are. Over my years in retail, I have found that people can be divided into a couple different types of shoppers. Continue reading“What is Bargain Hunting to You?”

Family & Relationships

Dating and the Single Person: How to Save Money

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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.

When you're single and dating, it can be difficult to meet the right person, and even more difficult to save money while doing it.

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.
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Health, More

Editorial: On Being a Responsible Human

For over five months now we have been listening to all kinds of people explain what we should and shouldn’t do to contain a pandemic. When something like a worldwide disaster that is killing hundreds of thousands and potentially millions of people occurs like this, you’d think that everyone would be on the same page and do what we have to do to protect ourselves and our loved ones from it. You might think that, but it certainly is not true. At least it’s not here in the United States.

While it's always important to be a responsible human, never has that been more true than during a pandemic. We all need to work together now.

Maybe it’s because I am older than the average American or maybe it’s because I am just afraid that I will become sick and die horribly from this pandemic, or maybe it’s just that I am smarter that most people, but whatever it is, I find myself staggering around in disbelief about what I am seeing and hearing every day. I think five months is way too long to remain silent here in my little corner of the world about being a responsible human.

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