No matter what culture you come from, there are at least a couple of big life events that you celebrate with your family. Whether we’re talking about weddings, quinceañeras or bar mitzvahs, it seems like these family celebrations just keep getting bigger and bigger. The budget for the average wedding in the U.S. is just over $20,000, but other events are certainly catching up. Even a down economy hasn’t kept spending down. I even know one mom who spent more than a thousand dollars on her daughter’s second birthday.
Creating That Special Day
The idea seems to be that if you throw enough money at creating the perfect event, it will stand out as a wonderful memory for your family — more so, apparently, than if you spend less. While the question of making a perfect day seems to pop up most with weddings, it is present at coming of age events and other occasions, too. But we have to ask, is spending all of that money necessary?
Is a bar mitzvah any less a bar mitzvah without dinner for a couple hundred people? Is a quinceañera less a quinceañera without a live band? Of course not. Reining in a family celebration, though, is becoming increasingly difficult.
[ continue reading… ]
When my dad was growing up on a farm, my grandfather made him and all my uncles work at the nearby sugar factory. The pay wasn’t that great, and the work was dirty and difficult. My grandfather had a motive for sending them to participate in this job.
“Do you like working there? No?” he asked. Then he continued, “Get an education. If you want a good job, you need to go to school and get a college degree.”
As a result, my dad and his brothers all excelled in education and earned advanced degrees with little surprises.
But, as my husband nears the end of his Ph.D. work, and as I stare at the Master’s diploma on my wall, I wonder if an advanced degree is really worth what you pay to get it. How cost efficient is even a four-year degree?
[ continue reading… ]
How many of you actually track your spending and keep up with a budget?
A fair share of the emails that arrive at my inbox are budget related. Usually, it’s from those people who don’t want to start one, or ones who claim that they don’t need one. They’re looking for someone to tell them that there’s no need to track their spending. That they can get a free pass because of their unique circumstances.
As far as I am concerned, there are only two types of people who have no use for a budget.
[ continue reading… ]
There is no way to avoid fueling up from time to time. How much you pay and how much you use is a variable dependent upon things like the time of year and how well you plan your excursions. Ensuring that your tires are properly inflated, your car is in good operating condition, and that you stay within the speed limit all help reduce your fuel usages. When combined with other basic strategies you should see some significant savings. Here are some more tips on a much needed topic: How do I save on gas and use less money?
[ continue reading… ]
Congratulations. You are starting to make some money and you are saving a good percentage of it every month. But now, you are wondering how to build wealth, instead of shoving all the extra cash at the bank and earning negligible interest. Welcome to the world of investing, where some build wealth while many others lose their fortunes.
Today’s question is from Gorro, who wants to learn more about investing, and trading in particular.
Both my wife and I are in a period where we are saving as much as we can each month. However, apart from having all our money in certificates of deposits, we are keen to learn how to trade. To date, we haven’t been able to find a comprehensive guide to trading and personally I am not a fan of buy and hold.
I have come across various books on technical analysis but they don’t seem to explain how we can invest in an index for example or what we need to know as beginners, which websites we can use for over the counter trades e.g. TradeKing, etc. We are looking for capital growth on our savings and earning a measly 3.5% per year is well….measly. We are not based in the US so we can’t follow every suggestion out there. We would be grateful if you could point us in the right direction.
[ continue reading… ]
We often talk about the benefits of an online savings account but it may not be for everybody.
Online savings accounts seem like a great deal, but despite the potential perks, there is a downside that you must be aware of. At first glance, stashing your money online seems great. The interest rates are higher than at your local bank, not to mention that you can open an account within minutes and in your pajamas. But after dealing with a few issues recently, I list a few potential pitfalls for you to consider:
[ continue reading… ]
