Earn, Save, and Live Joyfully.
Money magazine has a great article this month about a family trying to conceive a child through IVF. This article could not have shown up at a better time. A very good friend of mine was diagnosed with a genetic disorder a few years ago. I met her during our freshman year of college, and … Read more
My husband recently told one of his co-workers that we are paying off our home by paying an extra $400 toward our monthly mortgage. His friend, who is about eight or nine years older than the two of us, said that for $400 a month, he could fly to California once a month to hang … Read more
Yesterday I went to a Michaels not too far from my home with a very simple goal in mind. I am throwing a baby shower for a friend of mine and decided it would be nice to create a scrapbook of the momentous occasion. I bought a scrapbook album, ten sheets of scrapbook paper, a … Read more
Just for kicks I went back through my w2s from the last seven years to figure out just how much money I contributed each year to my 401(k). It’s amazing to see how little I was able to contribute in 1999, (the year I graduated college), compared to today. The dates and corresponding contribution levels … Read more
So one of my friends is newly engaged, one is planning for her first child (only three months away), one has a newly graduated husband with more loan payments than paychecks, one is about to undergo expensive IVF treatments, and one has had a year full of unexpected medical expenses (oh wait that’s me). Every … Read more
So I’m always reading about how husbands and wives argue about money. I’ve known my husband for almost ten years and we have only fought about money a handful of times. Those fights all involved the expenses involved in purchasing homes. Either our primary residence or a vacation home we looked at a year or … Read more
In 1999 I took a job fresh out of college with a large company with unbelievable employee benefits. I definitely think people undervalue the benefits a company can provide. There are the common benefits like medical insurance, a certain number of vacation days, flexible work schedules, etc. But then there are the big perks like … Read more
I just read a pretty interesting article in MSN Money about why American taxes aren’t so bad. Apparently an organization called the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development took a look at the tax burdens of 30 countries around the world. The results of the Paris-based think tank demonstrate that the US tax rate is … Read more
I asked a few friends to complete this sentence for me recently. They listed all sorts of people like Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey. They mentioned movie stars and pop stars and rich real estate moguls like Donald Trump. But when I complete the sentence myself the first person to pop into my mind is … Read more
So I went to the doctor yesterday. A new doctor. Since all of the medical problems began last year I’ve probably seen 30 doctors. I go to them all with all of my reports, hospital visits, details, descriptions, and medications in hand. Since I’m still feeling some pain in my chest my mom suggested that … Read more