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Financial Advice I Wish I Could Tell the Earlier Me

Once you get to a certain age, you are supposed to be wiser, right? While I’m not ready for the retirement home yet (I don’t think they would let me bring my three school-age kids), the fact is that I no longer have as many years ahead of me as I once did. I do have a little more wisdom than I did then, especially when it comes to financial strategy. It is too bad that we can’t go back in time, isn’t it and give my younger self some financial advice? If I could go back in time, I … Continue reading →

17 Essentials of College Planning by Carolina Pad

Planning for college is exciting but it can also be exhausting and overwhelming. The most important tool in planning for college is organization. When I was in school I once had a teacher say that proper organizational skills alone could raise your grade. Over the years I have found that logic to be sound not only in school but in all areas of life. College is a very important step and scribbling notes on Post-Its or the back of a gum wrapper will not cut it. You need to order your steps to see the greatest success in this process. … Continue reading →

Estate Planning

Estate planning should be a continual process, always evolving as your life changes. Ideally, you should review your plan yearly and every time you undergo a major lifestyle change. One such event is a change in martial status. Since marriage is a legal union, it comes with an assortment of financial changes and rights as well. With a new marriage, benefits such as Social Security, veterans, pensions, and retirement accounts will change. In addition, depending on the laws in your state, your assets and liabilities will also merge. Before marriage and shortly after is a great time to review your … Continue reading →

One Key to Effective Parenting…Planning

I know in my brain that there is not just ONE magic key to being a fabulous parent. As a matter of fact, most of the time I feel like anything but a fabulous parent—instead, I feel more like I’m bumbling along, flying by the seat of my pants and praying for support. But, I do think that one way to deal with many of the curve balls parenting and family life throw our way is…planning. Planning for the inevitable, planning for everything that might go right and might go wrong, planning for rainy days and sick days and all … Continue reading →

Take a Class in Financial Planning

Before you spend a dime to hire a financial planner, look into enrolling in a class. Many Junior colleges and community centers offer these types of finance classes. You will find them on a variety of subjects, from budgeting to estate planning. Usually the cost is less than $50 for a couple hours of instruction time. A financial planner will cost you far more than that, in both time and money. Numbers and money management is not everyone’s cup of tea; but even if you failed math class, you can still benefit from a financial planning course. It should be … Continue reading →

Bills, Bills, Bills!

This time of year it seems like the bills really start to pile up. There are normal bills like rent, utilities, and food, but now you have the additional Christmas bills as well. As a single mom who is barely making it as it is it can really put a damper on your holiday spirit. If you’re wondering how you are possibly going to make it this Christmas season, you may be tempted to pull out the credit card. Before you resort to plastic look around and see if there might be some other options, rather than spending all that … Continue reading →

Protecting Your Holiday Cash

Happy Cyber Monday!  The day many of us celebrate finding phenomenal deals on holiday gifts for loved ones, and then wallowing in mild discontent knowing that even though we saved some dough, we’re still out a good chunk of change. Like it or not, Cyber Monday has morphed into the biggest online shopping day of the year.  This is great news for tech-savvy individuals, but if you are a parent or grandparent, who hasn’t embraced the convenience of online shopping, today can be bittersweet.  While you’d love to take advantage of the amazing online sales, there’s a bit of hesitation … Continue reading →

Save Big By Traveling Smart

Believe it or not there are ways you can save on a dream vacation without having to sit in a plane’s cargo hold or sleep in a roach-infested motel. One way is to learn the importance of timing. Deciding when to book a trip is critical when you are traveling on a budget. For example, you will be hard pressed to find cheap airfare to Hawaii during the winter holidays; however, if you are able to vacation in early fall or late spring, you can save up to 50% on airfare to the “Aloha State.” Fall is one of the … Continue reading →

Funding Your Education as a Single Parent

Many single parents would do anything to be able to go back to school and finish their education. But it may not seem feasible. College is expensive and unfortunately tuition prices seem to constantly be on the rise, making it more and more of a challenge for people to finance their education, let alone single parents. If you are a single parent, chances are money is tight. Even with child support payments, it never seems to cover everything. Kids are expensive; whatever money you do have goes to meeting their everyday needs. If you are like most of us, there … Continue reading →

Finishing College as a Single Parent

Getting an education is crucial to attaining independence as a single parent. Without it you can never make enough money to be completely financially stable. After a divorce the thought of going back to school can be daunting. Chances are you are working full time just trying to make enough to keep food on the table as it is. You may be afraid of the added expense of going to school. However, going to college doesn’t have to be expensive. There are lots of government grants and scholarships specifically designed to help single mothers go back to school. Going back … Continue reading →