Search Results for: blog are you managing your money or is it managing you

Could Your Old Books Make Money? How to Check Book Value

If you have bookshelves full of books you may also have a source of income. Clearing out those books could not only mean a more organized home, but it may also mean less debt or more savings. That is because you can often sell your books for cash. Before you consign them all to a yard sale (where you can still earn some money for the most common books), make sure to check book value. That is because among all of the best sellers and summer reads, you may just find a few books that could make you some real … Continue reading →

Top 5 Skills for Frugal Times

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the times that we’re in. I’ve been thinking about ecology and about frugality, and about how challenging economic and ecological times mean that we need to think hard about the skills that we develop. I’ve been considering the skills that are most useful in these times. Here’s what I’ve come up with: a list of the top five skills for frugal times. What would you add or subtract from this list? 1. Growing your own food and medicine This is something that I write about a lot. I love plants, I love being … Continue reading →

Encouraging Kids to Make Their Own Cash

In most homes, “encouraging” is easily interchanged with “threatening.” After all, how many parents relish seeing their fully capable teens sleeping in until noon and then lounging on the couch watching TV or texting when they could be gainfully employed at a decent summer job? Aside from the freedom to purchase expensive jeans, apps, music, and other teen-related must-haves, there are a slew of additional benefits that your child can gain from a summer job, including: learning responsibility, managing time well, honing math and reading skills, communicating, prioritizing, budgeting money and working on interpersonal relationships. However, before your child can … Continue reading →

What’s New at RedPlum? – Week of April 29, 2012

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Do you use RedPlum as a source of coupons? A while ago, I signed up for their email. I cannot recall when the last time was that they sent me an email, but today, they did. It looks like they have made several changes to their website since the last time I visited. I find that having companies or websites send me email can either be a blessing or a curse. If they send me things that I am interested in, then it is a blessing. For example, some companies will send me coupons in my email, which saves me … Continue reading →

Summer Jobs For Your Teen

It’s almost summer time and for our teenagers that means summer jobs. As a single mother the decision to allow your child to get a summer job is a big one. If you need their help at home with younger siblings it may be out of the question, but is that fair? One of the huge expenses of all parents but particularly single parents is daycare so when you have a child old enough to take care of their younger siblings while you work, it can seem like a financial boon. The downside to that is that your older child … Continue reading →

Manage What You Can to Increase Your Income

Increasing your income can be easier than you think. You just need to stop concentrating on the things that you can’t change and start focusing on the things that you can. Managing the areas that are under your control is a quick way to start making your money grow. There are some things that you just can’t control when it comes to your money. Two good examples are if the stock market goes down or if gas prices go up. You can’t really manage those things. You can, however, manage other areas to increase your income. Manage Your Debt Finding … Continue reading →

Taking Care of Your Support System

As a single parent it’s hard to ask for help. We want to be able to take care of everything ourselves and we don’t want to be a bother to other people. Sometimes we need help, there’s no way around it. You get stuck in a meeting at work and can’t pick your child up from school or daycare and have to call someone to ask for help. Do you have people you can go to in a situation like that? It’s always best to have a safety net in place, even if you never need it. You should have … Continue reading →

State Farm Has Advice About Choosing a Beneficiary

You have done the responsible thing, and purchased a life insurance policy. You have assured that there will be some financial assistance for your family after you pass away. The next step is to decide who you would like to name as the beneficiary. State Farm has some advice that can help you make that important decision. My husband and I have life insurance policies with State Farm. One of the nice things about State Farm is that they have a Learning Center on their website that can answer many of your insurance related questions. Under the “Life” section of … Continue reading →

The Medicare Advantage Gym Membership

It isn’t unheard of for certain types of health insurance plans to offer to cover the cost of a policyholder’s gym membership. However, it is a relatively new thing for this to be offered in Medicare Advantage plans. Some say this will help seniors stay healthy. Other say it will push extra costs to the regular Medicare program. When I think of health insurance plans that cover the cost of gym memberships, I usually think of the employer sponsored ones that are offered to employees of large businesses. I think of the companies who have an on-site gym that employees … Continue reading →

Common Money Mistakes That Women Make

Did you know that men and women tend to make different kinds of mistakes when it comes to managing their money? While people of both genders certainly enjoy financial success, both men and women makes mistakes with their money. Suze Orman has come out with some advice that is tailored specifically towards women and the mistakes that tend to trip them up when it comes to their finances. According to Suze Orman, the root of the problem is that women have been taught, either consciously or subconsciously (including by example) to not manage their money. The result is that they … Continue reading →