When I was in graduate school, I remember having conversations with my peers about the length of time it would take us to repay our student loans. For some of us, that meant closer to our proposed retirement years. For some older adults (60 and over), the realities of carrying student loan debt...

Financial worries are often on people's minds. Finances can cause conflicts between family members and friends. Research studies even...

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...

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...

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...

Graduation season is coming up soon! Whether it's a high school graduation or college, gift giving season is in full swing come May. According to the National Retail Federation...

My Summit Experience I recently attended an employer summit that focused on how school districts, school counselors, and employers can collaborate in preparing students for life after high school. Some important highlights of that meeting was providing hands-on, accessible,...

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...

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...

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;...

In December's podcast, Family Financial Feuds "To Show or Not To Show", Camaya and I mentioned my friend and colleague Emily Koochel's work with the financial transparency...

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...

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...