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Plan Well, Retire Well 2019

Gift with words Gifting Ain't Easy

Gifting Ain’t Easy

While I give gifts all year long, this time of year I buy a lot of gifts!  The fact that my sons’ birthdays are in November and January just add to the gift buying. It only makes sense with all this gift-buying on our minds that our latest ...
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Young woman thinking of values

Reflect

As the seasons shift, now is an excellent time to pause and reflect. This past week I’ve been reflecting on how my values affect my choices, including my financial decisions. I find taking time to reflect before the holiday season (defined by me as Halloween through my sons’ birthdays in January)...
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piggy bank, christmas lights

Four Month Spending Plan

While it’s only September, as a financial educator I’m thinking about my holiday budgeting and spending. Why am I thinking about this now? Because lots of other people are too! According to the National Retail Federation 18% of people start their holiday shopping in September or earlier. Here are...
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Podcast Who Should Pay for College?

Who Should Pay for College Expenses?

Do you think the student should pay for their own college expenses?  Or is it the parents’ responsibilities?  This is a tough question! Sasha Grabenstetter and I discuss this in the latest Family Financial Feuds podcast, ...
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A Kitchen Remodel: Excitement and Trepidation

This summer, my husband and I are starting a kitchen remodel project -- yikes! Our house is over 60 years old and the kitchen is desperate for an update. In the next few months, I will blog about our journey – hopefully, this will be helpful to others facing remodeling projects. Home remodeling...
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Eating Out Tips

I worked as a member of a wait/service staff (i.e., a tipped worker) for five different types of food service establishments during my undergraduate years. The tips I received helped pay for my student loan, maintaining my car, housing, and some of my other personal care needs. Even though I wasn't...
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Why I stopped tracking most of my expenses…

If you can believe it, I've been blogging for almost six years now. As a financial educator, writing these words on the internet might mean that I could be banned from the "financial educators club", but the fact of the matter is that for almost a year now I've struggled with tracking ALL my...
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How to Choose a Financial Professional

We can't be an expert in all topics. That's why we seek help from people who have expertise in areas we don't. Financial professionals can help you explore alternatives and strategies to best manage your finances. People seek help from financial professionals for a variety of reasons, and you...
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Should We Get a Pet?

In April - we released a new podcast track about pets! Camaya and I discuss the lifetime costs of owning a pet, some research surrounding pets, pet insurance, service animals vs support animals, plus some estate planning for pets. There are also tons of personal stories (mostly about cats, but a...
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Let's Help Each Other Prevent Financial Exploitation

Do you have an older relative or friend who has been acting differently with their money lately? For example, are they: fearful or unusually anxious about their finances; wiring money to a new friend or contact; having trouble paying their bills or are making extra withdrawals of money;...
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You Can't Take It With You... When You're Gone.

After the death of both of my parents, I came to this realization as we were left with all of their stuff! How do we cherish the items our loved ones cared about and left behind for us? What to do with all the stuff? One of the best things you, our readers, can do is decide how you...
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Visualize Your Financial Well Being

The beginning of a new year is often a time to set new goals and plans, and often these goals involve money. This year let's talk about financial goals in a little different way. Think about your financial well-being: where you are now? where you'd like...
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