So far this school year, I think we’ve been invited to seven birthday parties (we’ve attended three).  One was for our son’s best friend, where only a few kids were invited.  But for the other six parties, every kid in the class was invited (there are 21 kids in the class).  I don’t know all… Continue Reading

Just a short post today, to share a great article with you.  Francis Thompson’s How I made sure all 12 of my kids could pay for college themselves is an excellent read.  His final sentences – “We were and are not our kids’ best friends.  We were their parents.” –  are key. And so many… Continue Reading

I am a perpetual list-maker.  I love lists.  The old-fashioned, paper kind that I can scratch off with a satisfied flourish as I finish things.  I make lists on whatever paper I have nearby – often the back of envelopes.  For some of my more complex lists that are constantly a work in progress (mostly… Continue Reading

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you all have a wonderful week, filled with lots of good food and fun with loved ones.  Once it’s all over, you might need a break from cooking (leftovers help with that!), so here’s the inspiration you need to get your freezer filled with meals that you can put straight into… Continue Reading

My husband sometimes has to double check with me to make sure he’s using the right credit card before putting gas in the car, because we have specific cards that we use in different situations.  It might seem a little complicated at times, as there are four credit card bills to pay each month, plus… Continue Reading

I recently came across an article about how families living in Silicon Valley Valley need to have equity in a business – in addition to a $250,000 household income – if they want to send their kids to a “good” college and also retire well.  The authors included a sample spending spreadsheet for their hypothetical… Continue Reading

For a long time, we’ve had a tiny little set of shelves by our back door to hold shoes.  We put the whole family’s shoes on it, and space was a bit tight.  Plus, it always looked cluttered, since it had four people’s shoes crammed onto it and no doors or drawers to conceal them…. Continue Reading

And the winner is… comment number six!  Congratulations to Victoria, who was comment number six on the Decluttering Made Easy giveaway.  Victoria, I’ll send your info over to Tiffany so that she can get you set up with your subscription and you can get going with the videos.  Best of luck with conquering the clutter…. Continue Reading

One of my favorite financial bloggers, Mr. Money Mustache, wrote an excellent article last week about how spending a ton of money on our kids and financially supporting them long-term might put them at a disadvantage. I couldn’t agree more. My own family sounds a lot like MMM’s. My parents raised four kids too (although they didn’t… Continue Reading