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...

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,...

Talking about money can be tough. We tend to have all kinds of values, mixed messages, emotions and more tied to our money conversations. For some people, the last kind of talk they want to have with family is "the money talk." We tend to avoid the topic. Unfortunately, this means our children may...

In November, Kathy Sweedler wrote a blog post titled "Money Avoider? Giver? What's your Money Personality?" Kathy and I really enjoy discussing money personalities, scripts and even habitudes, so much so we recorded a podcast about it. Listen to...

Many people face tough economic times periodically, and some of the challenges they experience are due to unforeseen or unanticipated circumstances. As an educator who teaches personal finance, it is easy to discuss the merits or advantages of saving for the unexpected. In other words, it gives me...

In February's Podcast, Kathy, Camaya and Sasha discuss goals and goal setting. You can listen to the podcast on SoundCloud! Laugh and learn with us as the consumer economics team discusses goals together and how to make them less...