Surround Yourself With the Positive

Growing up girls were placed into two categories: Those who were popular and those who were not. In the 1980s if you were popular you most likely wore designer clothes, kissed a lot of boys and flung your hair from side to side a lot. At least that’s what it felt like. I was a … Read more

Recapturing Joy

It’s been a long two months with my mom in the hospital. The drive back and forth to see her is long and I’m both physically and mentally exhausted. We are told that life is short, but throughout our day to day lives we tend to forget that fact. Rather than embracing the hours ahead … Read more

How Did This Little Blog Make Me a Millionaire?

Are you on the path to Financial Independence or FIRE? Do you feel the desire to save a large percentage of your income or stop yourself from wasteful spending? Have you read other personal finance blogs and listened intently for money-saving tips in podcasts? Are you excited to start on your adventure but not quite … Read more

Holding On – Just in Case

Last weekend my husband and I sold our twenty-year old Jeep. I placed an ad on Craigslist and the very first buyer fell in love with that old hunk of metal. A day later I received an envelope full of cash in exchange for the title and a set of keys. I was sad to … Read more

Inheritance: The Real Legacy We Leave Behind

When you think about inheritance what visions come to mind? Jewelry, bank accounts, prized possessions, homes and properties? Material objects that you can wear, hold and even live in, long after someone has died. My grandmother placed tremendous importance on the money she intended to pass on to her children. In her final years she … Read more

What Money Can’t Buy

I’ve spent the last four weeks watching my mom suffer. She’s been laying in a hospital bed since mid-March. A sudden and unexpected intestinal perforation has shut down her entire digestive system. She is unable to eat or drink. A nasogastric tube is the only thing preventing her from aspirating. No one could have predicted … Read more

When Life Hangs in the Balance

They say there are only two certainties in life – death and taxes. So it seems particularly fitting that a money nerd like me would face a near death experience on tax day. The exact date: April 15th of 2005. I knew something wasn’t right long before that day. I’d felt sick for weeks. Unable to get … Read more

Are You a Member of the In Crowd?

As a child I always cleaned my room before starting my homework. Even now I typically fold the laundry, empty the dishwasher and straighten up my children’s odds and ends before sitting down to work. I function better when horizontal spaces are free of clutter and vertical spaces are empty. I relish the sight of … Read more