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Determining Where to Spend Your Money

We all know the importance of setting up a budget and sticking with it. We set aside a certain amount for food, clothing, shelter, etc. and we do our best not to go over those limits. There are times, though, when we need to allow ourselves to spend certain amounts of money in some areas, and less in others. Take, for instance, at the grocery store. My kids don’t care what brand of cold cereal I get, so I get the store brand. I do the same with milk, cheese, etc. But I have one little boy who has allergies, … Continue reading →

Talking Money With Your Honey

Did you know that money is the most common cause of disagreement among couples? Whether a couple is rich or poor does not matter, disagreements about money are common among couples from all points on the economic spectrum. It’s no wonder, then, that many couples avoid discussing finances at all costs. What if you knew that discussing your finances together could actually improve your relationship, if you went about it the right way? You would probably be more inclined to give it a try. Tackling the tricky area of finance as a team can actually strengthen your relationship and keep … Continue reading →

Are You Making Any Money?

We talk about just nearly every aspect of organizing and running a small home business here in the Home Business blog; we talk about budgets and clients and customer service. I thought that we should probably talk about the bottom line here today—let’s talk about that question we may either want to ask or ourselves or are avoiding facing the truth: Are we actually making any money? I know that money is not the only indicator of success and many of us evaluate our home businesses with other criteria in addition to revenue. We may not be looking to make … Continue reading →

Money Savvy Piggy Bank

So, I came across this cool tool to help your kids learn more about money and just had to share. It is called the Money Savvy Pig and it won the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, due to its strong educational value. The piggy bank looks like your standard pig, except the body is divided into four separate compartments. Each one has its own input slot for money and output locking knob, so you can remove the money from one section at a time. They are titled based on four different ways we use our money: save, spend, donate and invest. … Continue reading →

Money Week in Review October 14 – 20

In Measure of Success Debbie offers great insight on what it really means to be successful with your money. She also gives suggestions to help you be truly successful with your money. In 10 Ways to Spend Fun Money Miriam shares her favorite ways to spend her free money. She also asks for your suggestions. What do you like to spend your fun money on? In Do You Have a Dream Salary? Miriam points out that making a lot of money is not going to solve your financial problems. It is important to manage your money so that you can … Continue reading →

Understanding the “Why” of Your Business

We spend a lot of time trying to figure out what we are going to do in our home businesses, and the how of what we do–but to really stay motivated and feel strong and secure in our business operations, we do need to know WHY. Why are we in business? Why do we do things the way we do and what is really, deeply motivating us? I have written before about my background in nonprofit management. While the use of the “mission statement” has seeped over into all sorts of businesses, nonprofit organizations are very obviously “mission-based”. This means … Continue reading →

Working Together as Husband and Wife

Do you and your spouse work at the same place? This can be a lot of fun, or it can cause complications at work and at home. Let’s take a look at both sides of the equation. On the plus side, working at the same location gives the husband and wife the chance to spend more time together during the day. Even if they don’t work in the same department, chances are their paths will cross frequently throughout their shift, and they can eat lunch together and take breaks together. Working in the same facility also gives them something in … Continue reading →

Avoid Prepaid Debit Card Fraud

Reloadable debit cards like the Green Dot MoneyPak can be a convenient way to pay bills or fund your PayPal account. Unfortunately, criminal minds have been hard at work lately creating a variety of scams whereby they obtain MoneyPak card numbers and then use whatever balance is left on the card. If you have a MoneyPak card or other prepaid debit card, protect yourself from fraud with the following tips. Many of the current scams involving MoneyPak cards closely resemble scams that have been around for some time, where wire transfers of funds are requested. Since smart consumers have caught … Continue reading →

Stop. Walk Away From That Top Ten List!

Today someone forwarded me a list of the ten worst places to retire in the United States according to Kiplinger’s. My first thought when I saw it was “And I am supposed to care about this because….why?” Then I realized that I do care, and not just because my home state, Vermont, has been awarded the dubious honor of being the number one worst place to retire. Now, I am nowhere close to retirement age. My parents are at an age where my father could retire if he wanted to. He loves to work, so he’s still employed and loving … Continue reading →

Making School More Affordable

One of the downsides of homeschooling is the expense. When you public school, there is a financial outlay, but when you homeschool, not only are you making purchases, but you’re determining for yourself what to get rather than following a prescribed list. It can get daunting, and pricey. And you don’t want to spend money on things you won’t end up using. Is there a way to make this less complicated? 1. Look on Amazon.com and eBay for curriculum books and educational games/toys. Very often, you can find exactly what you’re looking for at a fraction of the price. And … Continue reading →