Tag Archives: marriage

insurance, saving · June 21, 2017

3 Key Financial Steps for Stay At Home Parents

When you and your partner make the decision for one of you to be a stay-at-home parent, the tendency is to center all the financial decisions on the person who is still earning an income. Notice I didn’t say “the…

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budgeting · April 26, 2017

How Not to Let Runaway Wedding Costs Derail Your Financial Plan

Look, I love a good party as much as anyone else, especially when there is a great celebration, such as a wedding. But if you’re attending a few weddings a year—and god forbid if one or more is a destination…

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budgeting, life insurance · October 26, 2016

What No Mother With Young Children Can Afford to Leave Off Her Shopping List

I was shopping at Costco recently, enjoying the great value as always. While waiting in line to check out I got to chatting with a few young mothers-with babies in tow-who were waiting as well. Me being me I was…

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student loans · August 24, 2016

My House Rules for Boomerang Kids.

More adult children are living with family than at any time in the past 60 years.

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home loans, insurance, saving · August 3, 2016

Avoid This Costly Refinancing Trap

In late July, the 3.4% average rate for a 30-year mortgage was near the historic low set in 2013. That’s great news for so many homeowners who were unable to refinance back in 2013 because they didn’t have the 20%…

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budgeting · May 25, 2016

Why I Don’t Like Weddings

Weddings bring out the worst in our bad-money habits. I have known too many couples that have gone into credit card debt to pay for a wedding. Love doesn’t mean paying 15% interest-or more!-for a special day. And I have…

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investing, IRAs/401(k)s, Stocks/Bonds/ETFs · May 18, 2016

4 Ways to Save on a Wedding

I am on the record that only couples in great financial shape should spend money on an expensive/large wedding. But for those of you who are just going to plow ahead despite shaky finances, please at least make the most…

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retirement, saving · May 11, 2016

That $30,000 Wedding Really Costs You $130,000 Or More.

The average cost of a wedding is now more than $30,000. As I have explained in How to Budget for a Wedding, spending even $3,000 on a wedding is a bad move if you have credit card debt, have yet…

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· May 4, 2016

How to Budget for a Wedding

I am frequently asked how much is okay to spend on a wedding. That’s the wrong question. What any couple, and their families should be asking is: Can we afford to spend money on a wedding?

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