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Grabbing Control Of Our Finances + Rebuilding Our Savings

Before I got laid off, our savings account was terrific. We managed to save about $10,000 back in 2008, giving us a nice cushion after we bought our house. We also had one of those awesome online savings accounts which paid us about 3% interest versus the 0.01% our current bank is giving us. But then I lost my job and our savings went out the window! Of course it's great that we had it, because … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Featured, Money + School, Money Matters · Tagged: , ,

How I Stay On Budget: My “Did Not Buy” List

Part of being self-employed is that checks tend to come in spurts. I usually get paid over a one-week period each month, with a random check here or there floating in a couple weeks later. So I get the majority of the money I have to work with all in one fell swoop. That's when the temptation comes in. You see money sitting in your bank account and you start to think, "I'm hungry. I bet I could … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Money + School · Tagged: , , ,

“It Takes A Village To Raise A Mogul” – Teaching Financial Literacy And Entrepreneurship To Our Children

By Kara I. Stevens I found it when I was nine. Farrah Gray, the African-American mogul that become a millionaire by the age of fourteen, found it when he was seven; my third-grade students found it last year. What am I talking about? The relationship between good financial hygiene and the pursuit of endless possibility. When I was in fourth grade, I rented out my erasable pens for $0.25 … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Love + Family, Money + School, You + Your Kids · Tagged: , ,

Mama Told Me There’d Be Days Like This

A couple weeks ago, we get a letter from our mortgage company telling us that our mortgage payments are going to go up about a $100/month for the next year because our escrow account was low. This wouldn't be a big deal if my daughter's tuition didn't increase (and they didn't move to a new location twice as far away), if my son wasn't starting full-day preschool, if the price of gas wasn't … [Continue reading...]

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Recession-Proof Your Finances

I don't know about you, but reading all this talk about Wall Street fiascos and government bailouts and bank failures has got me nervous. I've been keeping a close eye on my finances and trying to make myself feel as secure as possible. Here are a few habits I've picked up over the last couple weeks. See if any help you out: 1) I brought my calculator to the grocery store. Instead of keeping a … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Money + School, Money Matters, Quit stressin' · Tagged: ,

Budgeting 101: 6 Helpful Tips for Young Moms

Money may not be able to buy you happiness, but having a clear direction of where you're headed financially is pure bliss. My kids are my reason I get up every morning to go to work, why I budget, why I save, why I'm trying to invest. I realize I'm starting out with less by having my children earlier in my career, and I guess in some way I'm trying to make up for that. I've been pretty … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Money Matters, My favorite posts, The big picture · Tagged: , ,

5 Side Hustles To Make Extra Cash Fast

Thanks for reading Part 2 of my "Side Hustle" series. Here's Part One. If this goes well, I might just make it a regular post, highlighting new or interesting ways to make money on the side. Whaddayathink? But for real, before I dive into the list of ways to make extra cash, I have to say that I started this post as a way to help out my fellow young moms. But I got a startling look at some … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Money + School, Money Matters, My favorite posts, The big picture · Tagged: , ,