Updated 12/17/2023 A few years ago, I was playing with my then 4 year old daughter. She had a toy cash register and was charging me an insane amount of money for a plastic cup cake. That moment gave me the idea to write this post. My wife and I spoke to her about the concept of money and why we have to work. She is still having trouble understanding the term "expensive". She probably gets that from my wife.…
My father-in-law is 65 and is just learning about Medicare, the Federal Health Insurance. As I did the research for him I thought, why not write a blog post about it? I was surprised to learn that there are specific times for signing up and penalties for late sign ups or not signing up at all. When you sign up for Medicare, you have two options. You can sign up for the original Medicare Plan or Medicare Advantage, but more…
Zillow is the most visited real estate website in the United States. It is a service that allows you to find, buy, rent, and sell your home. Zillow has been in the spotlight in recent weeks due to the fact that they buy and sell homes directly. Long story short - they lost millions trying to flip homes. As a Zillow customer myself, I listed and sold my home through Zillow without an agent and saved over $15,000 in agent…
This is a question that was often brought up on Yahoo! Answers before they shut down earlier this year. It is perfectly normal for a spouse to want to stay home with the kids, work on themselves, or delve into their hobbies. However if you have been living a two-income lifestyle for some time, you will find it difficult to adjust to a one income lifestyle. In this post, I will dive into the ways you can prepare for a…
If you have a full time job, it's that time of the year. Time for the Holidays and time for Annual Benefit Enrollments. When signing up for your healthcare plan, your employer may offer you several choices. Deductibles You can go for a low deductible plan or a high deductible plan. Low deductible plans typically have co-pays for different medical services. These co-pays can vary from plan to plan but they can be as low as $10. Low Deductible plans…
The 529 Account is an Educations Savings and Investment Account. Any money you contribute is tax deductible and the money grows tax free as long as you spend it on qualified educational expenses like tuition, school supplies, dorm rent, or even a laptop. Read all about the 529 Account on my blog post Saving for College with a 529. Now let's work on answering the question in the title of this post. What happens with the money left over in…
When my daughter was born, my wife and I decided it would be best to get a light weight and practical stroller that can be used from infancy to childhood. We wanted it to have cup holders, storage, a sun shade, and a smooth ride. We also wanted it to be easy to clean and fold. When folded, it had to be small in size so that it doesn't take up too much space in our vehicles trunk or boot…
No parent is perfect. Even I admit making some of these mistakes when teaching my daughter about money. Here are 9 mistakes that parents make when teaching their children about finance. 1. Keeping Quiet The biggest financial mistake a parent can make is not teaching their children about money at all. If you want to give your children the tools to understand the concepts of money and grow their savings, you need to have frequent conversations with them. One way…
With rising tuition costs, more and more people are finding it difficult to afford an education, especially for those in the low and middle class. Every year, the number of people who skip college is increasing. Those who don't get scholarships and attend private school are ending up with a 10-30 year student loan payment term that rivals a mortgage payment. Luckily, each state offers a 529 triple-tax advantaged education savings account. The money you contribute to a 529 is…
Growing up in the 90's, TV's are were more expensive, Youtube didn't exist, social media didn't exist, apps didn't exist, it took 5 minutes to load a webpage and up to 24 hours to download 1 song on Napster, Nokia was the most popular phone, texting was a rarely used feature as smart phones did not exist, and children went outside to play with their friends. With a room full of toys, all my 4 year old daughter wants to…
