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Savings Bonds: The Sneaky Way to Save

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When I was in my late teens, I read a number of money-oriented books about saving, investing, and budgeting. Yes, I was a bit of a nerdy kid, but my family’s history of finances as a flash point led me to seek security in these books. It helped. I do save, at least I try to do so. We have an education savings plan, retirement savings, an emergency fund, and funds for specific shorter-term goals. Right now, our fund for buying blueberries is getting larger, just in time for blueberry season. Some of these savings plans offer decent interest and … Continue reading →

Types of Distance Learning Education

Distance learning or distance education is sometimes also considered home schooling. And while the two can overlap, they are really two different things. Usually home schooling is considered as instruction at home with a parent or tutor(s) and not associated with a school. With distance education, there is usually an outside instructor (as part of a formal school) that gives lessons, grades assignments and tests and sometimes interacts real time with a student, depending on the type of distance learning education course. This is the teacher mediated option (TMO), although the independent study option (ISO) is also considered distance learning. … Continue reading →

Retirement and Future Plans

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Often in our income earning years, we focus only on our immediate needs and wants. However, this is a very shortsighted view, one that could hurt you down the road. When you are in your prime working years, you will be accumulating the most wealth. In order to ensure you meet your long-range goals and plan appropriately for retirement, you must focus on the future. The time during your working years is the best time to invest for the future. You have the most opportunity to earn money and you have the advantage of time to let it build. One … Continue reading →

Education Savings Plans

Did you know that September is officially “College Savings Month? With the costs of college soaring each year (See my previous article titled College Affordability for more on this subject), most parents are going to need more than one month to save! All kidding aside, making September College Savings Month is an attempt to help make parents aware of different saving options and the value of starting to save early for their children’s college education. One of the most popular options, the 529 plan, recently got even more enticing. Last month President Bush signed the Pension Protection Act into law. … Continue reading →

How Can I Protect My Family’s Finances?

Despite our best efforts to plan and budget, sometimes things happen that throw our families’ finances so far off track that we may wonder whether we will ever be able to meet some of the financial goals that we had set for ourselves. Things like retirement, college educations for the kids, and even home ownership can seem like distant fantasies when times get tough and you are living in survival mode. The good news is that as bleak as things may seem, all is not lost. You do not have to give up on your family’s financial goals. With some … Continue reading →

We’re Broke! Why Do We Need a Financial Planner? Part 2

Once you have made the commitment to achieving financial independence and have selected your advisor, the next step is the discovery interview. It is at this point that your planner will be attempting to ascertain how you feel about money. While that may sound pretty straightforward, money is a highly charged matter for most of us; it has come to represent many of the key structures of our lives—like security, safety, power, prestige, independence, and even love. In American society, money—how much we have, how we earn it, and how we spend it—has become a stand-in for our moral character. … Continue reading →

Ways to Save: Low Risk Mutual Funds

Are you looking for a way to save that is relatively low risk but will usually result in a small and steady gain over time? Low-risk mutual funds might be for you. What is a mutual fund? Many of those new to investing get worried about buying stocks. Aren’t stocks risky? Well, it depends on what you buy and how you buy them. Mutual funds invest a lot of money in stocks, but this money is pooled from many, many investors. This means that you have your money invested in a very small amount of many different stocks. It also … Continue reading →

Frugality Vs Risk

I have two competing money styles going on in my life these days. One is a frugal streak a mile wide, although it seems to have diminished to half a mile these days. This frugal streak comes from my upbringing. My parents were not particularly frugal, but money was always an issue. I remember many concerns about money when I was growing up, so as a young adult, my response to this was to be as tight with money as I could possibly be. This was facilitated by the fact that I didn’t have much of it to begin with. … Continue reading →

Setting Your Priorities

Do you have a good handle on your financial priorities? You might be a person who doesn’t like to budget. Perhaps you don’t really know where all of that money goes every month. Then again, you might be a person who has a wonderful budget, but you don’t find that the money is going where you want it to go. This is where priorities come in. You have priorities. For many of us, our financial priorities center on the everyday and urgent expenses in our lives. Sometimes this is all we can handle. However, if you take a look at … Continue reading →

Creating a Dream Fund for Your Child

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When we have small children, money is tight and our needs and wants can seem absolutely endless. Just go shopping with a four-year-old and you’ll see what I mean. I too have a guilty desire to get my child through the shopping trip by using bribes – I mean rewards – or is that treats? However much I value my sanity, I also value saving money. This is something that is deeply important to me because my childhood home was not always financially secure, or at least I didn’t perceive it to be that way. While I spend money on … Continue reading →