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Plan Well, Retire Well 2018

Should I ask for donations instead of birthday gifts?

There seems to be a recent trend, thanks to Facebook, of asking for donations for your (or someone else's) birthday instead of gifts. For the last two years, we have asked for donations to our son's birthday instead of toys or gifts that he might play with for a few minutes and then forget about....
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Let's Shop for Mortgage Loans

Are you shopping for a new home to purchase? If so, are you spending enough time shopping for your mortgage loan too? Shop around to find the best interest rate you can on loans. According to research from the...
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3 tips for shopping online this holiday season

My shopping experiences have changed radically over the past few years. The older I get, the more I have a hard time going shopping. On the other hand, I have friends and family members who enjoy walking through the stores, finding the best bargains, and the right things that fit their needs....
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Invest in Your Future!

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...
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1-800 Scam, that’s 1-800, do not call for more information

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...
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Is Gardening Garbage or Great?

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 (...
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Is gardening garbage or great? Well, maybe it’s both…

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...
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How Do You Save Money During the Summer?

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...
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Money Avoider? Giver? What's Your Money Personality?

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 "...
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Lost my Wedding Ring! How insurance saved the day!

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...
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Help Your Child Be a Good Financial Manager

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...
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Pay Down Debt or Invest My Money?

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...
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Mind Your Money

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-...
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