When I mentioned to a colleague that my husband and I planned to diaper our son in cloth, she looked at me as if I were crazy and wished me the best of luck. I shouldn’t have been surprised by her reaction—there really is no contest in terms of convenience when you compare cloth with disposables, but I was thinking about other factors than convenience. Environmentally, I felt more comfortable with reusing something over and over. Health wise, I liked the idea of diapering my son in something natural—cotton—rather than something chemical. And I thought that cloth was the better financial choice. However, after an initial investment of nearly $200 for 10 Fuzzi Bunz diapers, I wasn’t so sure about the money part, so I decided to give this some more thought. Here are the financial facts about cloth vs. disposable diapers:
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Even though a walkable neighborhood isn’t the first thing a real estate agent might mention when showing a house, it can be an important consideration when you’re picking somewhere to live. When I picked out the house I live in now, one of my big concerns was choosing a place where I could walk to at least a few different places. My neighborhood isn’t exactly downtown, but my house is within about a mile of a small shopping center, a post office, a couple of restaurants and a library. Being able to walk to those places has made a world of difference for me. Here are 5 reasons why this is so:
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One of the more interesting questions I was asked recently had to do with dividend stocks. My brother was trying to figure out what to do with money withdrawn from a mutual fund. He asked about dividend stocks because he had heard that they offer a reasonably stable return — plus cash pay outs. I thought some basic information on dividend stocks might be of interest to him, and to MoneyNing readers.
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You’re not alone if you sometimes feel like you’re just going through the motions. We all sometimes feel dispirited and unmotivated; it’s just that some of us are better at re-finding our enthusiasm than others.
I know I’m not the only one who has a stash of wise quotes, like Warren Buffett, filed away for those days when I’m just not feeling it. Reading words that say beautifully what we need to hear can remind us of what we hold dear, the values we espouse and the rewards of our hard work (or the dangers of slacking!) and give us just the push we need to stay on track.
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For some employees, the deadline for using the money in your flexible savings account (FSA) has passed. While some plans require that you use your funds by the end of the calendar year, some plans give you until March 15 of the following year to spend the money. So, for those with the March deadline, your chance to spend FSA dollars for the previous year – or lose them – has already passed. One of the reasons that employees leave an average $86 (according to Kiplinger) in their FSAs could be that they aren’t fully aware that this money doesn’t roll over like health savings account (HSA) contributions do.
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Unless you are one of the unique individuals, like my son, who never eats breakfast, chances are you start every day with this meal. Name brand cereals, food bars, and protein drinks can cost a bundle, especially if you get individually-wrapped items. Here are a few ways to save some money on this essential meal and still enjoy good nutrition and taste.
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