So Frustrated with Bank of America

Last Tuesday, October 31st, I went to the local branch of Bank of America in the hopes of purchasing savings bonds for my niece and nephew. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, I think bonds are a great gift for children under three. When children are that young they tend to outgrow their toys … Read more

How to contribute more to charity

My husband and I met in college 10 years ago. After graduating we moved into a house within walking distance of the university. The close proximity to campus allows us to spend a lot of our spare time cheering on the college sports teams. In fact, we spend almost every other autumn weekend bundled up … Read more

Any advice on my life insurance quandary?

On Wednesday I posted an entry about whether or not to take out a life insurance policy on my husband. Sadly, I didn’t get any comments. If you have any advice on the matter please let me know. Click here to view the original posting.

Trying not to spend money is really hard to do

My husband and I live by a few monetary rules. Rule #1: once we move money from the checking account to the savings account we will not move it back. Well there are exceptions to every rule, for example an emergency would force us to break this rule, but in our day to day lives … Read more

The great debate: Life insurance for those w/o children

I took a look at the open enrollment options on Monday and quickly decided upon the easy questions, like what type of health and dental insurance I want, the percentage of long term disability I’m willing to pay for (66.6%), whether or not I’d like to pay for legal advice (I wouldn’t) or save to … Read more

Magazine Subscriptions: My one guilty pleasure

I have a secret… I cannot resist the temptation to purchase magazines. I am the annoying girl in the checkout lane of the grocery store that is more interested in flipping through the glossy pages of articles than placing my items on the conveyor belt. In fact, when my loving husband goes shopping with me … Read more

Open Enrollment: Why I’ll always choose the PPO

My open enrollment is set to begin on Monday. I have taken a look at the current medical insurance rates and it looks like I can spend $116.44 a paycheck for a PPO, $95.38 for an HMO, or $64.81 for a High Deductible Health Plan. If you have read my previous postings you are aware … Read more

Heading for Disappointment at Age 30?

We celebrated my friend’s birthday last night. So of course the topic of conversation turned to the big ‘3’-‘0’. One of my friends said she’d set her expectations to high for 30. At 30 she planned on retiring from her current job. She planned on making a living off her dream job. But as 30 … Read more

$1275… the result of mailing in my insurance claims

I started going to acupuncture at the end of March to help recover from surgery and from the general sense of anxiety and pain I have felt ever since my medical problems erupted last year. I looked up my insurance carrier’s philosophy on acupuncture and found that my medical condition was not included in the … Read more

Outer Banks Rental Income: $24,600

The total amount of rental income on our beach home in the Outer Banks of North Carolina came to $24,600 this year. Of course, you have to subtract out Commission ($3,727.25), Laundry ($1,178.10), Maintenance Fees ($375), Pest Control ($50), and a couple other misc. fees and the result is $18,729.48. I can’t really complain about … Read more