Happy New Year 2018! The New Year offers opportunities for a fresh start and new resolutions. As you reflect on possibilities, I encourage you to include investing in your personal finance as a high priority for 2018. We choose to do many things with our time and energy, and it's easy to let our...

Most people don't know this but I had to help plan, put together, and pay for both of my parent's funerals. I write this post to help you get ideas about what you'd like for your funeral/burial and to get you moving to get things planned for yourself. Now in the past we've covered some great...

Join Camaya and Sasha this month in discussing whether to show or not to show your credit report to your significant other! Listen to us on Soundcloud!

After over 20 years of teaching personal financial management, I am still looking for more ways to empower people to use money to reach their goals and dreams. As our economy, societal practices, and laws change, our approaches to financial management education need to change too....

Is it time to add your teenager to your family's cell phone plan? Are you looking to make changes to your individual plan? Do you still predominantly use landlines because of where you live, package deals, or comfort level? Whatever your current telephone situation, having a telephone service or...

For the last two summers, my family and I have had a garden in the backyard. We take the time to till the soil, plant the vegetables and herbs, then wait. This summer I want to track my spending and see if my time and money it's really worth having a garden. This year we planted: 7 tomato plants (...

About six years ago, my partner learned about a new bank (and like he does with everything), he did a lot of research and decided that this was the financial institution for him. This bank helps him set goals, stay disciplined, keep track with his spending, and it offers good interest rates. In...

Well, obviously the summer has come and gone in Illinois and it's time to evaluate whether gardening was financially worth it. I had planned on keeping track of how much water we consumed and how many vegetables we were able to "save money on" because we had grown our own. Plus, the looking at the...

Happy first day of summer! For those of us in the colder regions of the U.S., the warmer months present us with options we longed for during the winter, but how do we take advantage of the warm weather? What are some ways we can save over the summer? Check out local...

For many people it may be obvious that by using your local library, you would save money, but many people don't even utilize their library! According to a 2016 Study on Libraries by the Pew Research Center, "just...

Money and the holidays. For some of us, we happily swing into the spending mode. I look forward to the excuse to buy people gifts and spend money on treats. Each store I walk into is full of tempting, fun, creative, and exciting things all waiting for me! One of my strong money personalities is "...

Last August, I lost something very important to me – my wedding ring! I took it off to wash the dishes and when I went to find it the next morning, it was gone. I searched my trash can, recycle bins as well as all through the house. At first, I was really upset until I remember that we had insured...

Do you have youth and teens in your life? This summer may be an excellent time for them to learn skills and knowledge they need to be good financial managers as adults. Knowing we want to help develop positive skills and knowledge is one thing; being able to do it is another! Each child comes with...

Are you planning to attend college or career school in 2019-2020? You can complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid online – also known as FAFSA -- starting October 1, 2018 . Completing the FAFSA is necessary to apply for federal student aid, as well...

Should I pay extra on my student loan or invest in a Roth IRA? Build up an emergency savings fund or pay off my credit card debt? Pay off my mortgage or put more money in my 401(k) retirement plan? In one form or another, the trending question lately has been, "Is it better to pay down debt or...

We're really excited to show off the work we've done on our new podcast. We hope you'll give us a listen! https://go.illinois.edu/FamilyFinancialFeuds-Introductions Let us know what you think! Either in the comments or on our...

Greetings! I am so thrilled to contribute to the Plan Well Retire Well blog. My name is Camaya Wallace Bechard and I am the new Consumer Economics Educator for Livingston, McLean, and Woodford counties. I love learning about new research and approaches to improve and maintain our well-...

Now is when the holiday bills arrive and our budgets feel stretched! It's easy to feel overwhelmed by debt payments and end up avoiding them. But when you don't take control of your debt payments, the interest charges pile up – and grow and grow! Let's consider strategies to help take control of...

Do you live alone or with others? How has this changed for you over your life? In my life, who is under the rooftop has been a story of change: people moving in and out during life transitions. I am not alone. Many people today live in households with adults from different generations (...