Earn, Save, and Live Joyfully.
What do you call someone who stirs the pot? A pot-stirrer, of course. A pot-stirrer is someone who creates drama and tension for their amusement. For these people, stirring up drama is a pastime they can’t resist. They absolutely love to stir the pot and find any excuse to participate in such behavior. Why are … Read more
If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile you know that I have been struggling with the decision to become a stay-at-home parent. If I stay out of the work force for the next few years I will certainly struggle to return to my prior career as a software developer. Technology moves quickly and to … Read more
A few of my friends know I write a blog about personal finance. The other day one of them asked how I stay on the same financial page as my husband. In my mind the answer is simple. In order to stay on the same page you have to communicate often and in detail. Okay, … Read more
On our last trip to North Carolina my husband and I started talking about marriage. My husband asked why I think we’ve remained married when more than half of our friends have divorced in the past three to four years. In my opinion the two biggest factors for a successful marriage beyond strong communication are Money and … Read more
My mom always knew she wanted a family. It was her one hope and dream growing up as a child. When my brother was born she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would stay home to raise him. When I came along she continued the trend and stayed home for a total of … Read more
My dad is always joking about winning the lottery. For as long as I can remember he’s said, “when I win the lotto I’ll pay off your house and your brother’s.” In all the years I’ve never stepped back to reflect on the sentiment of his statement, but tonight my mom pointed out the selflessness … Read more
This is an easy question for me. If I had an extra $500 to spend on my husband I’d buy him a new Nikon camera lens. I know a lot of folks might think that doesn’t sound very romantic. I know everyone is expecting me to blog about taking an extravagant trip where we’ll ride horseback across a … Read more
As I mentioned a few days ago I am currently in the process of rolling my 401(k) into an IRA. My employer instituted a Roth 401(k) a few years ago, so some money will roll into a Roth IRA and the rest will roll into a traditional IRA. To be more precise roughly $100,000 will … Read more
In my quest to stay home with my son I’ve discussed eliminating unnecessary expenses, adding up expenses and the cost of insurance. The next point of focus is the effect of my choice on future earnings and retirement. If I step out of the workforce for a couple of years my future salary will likely … Read more
In choosing whether or not to stay home with my son I really need to review the money that we will lose on a bi-weekly basis as well as all of the benefits that come with full time employment. Since my husband is self employed I took advantage of all of my employer’s benefits. They … Read more