If there is a uniquely American character trait it might be this….
…our aspirations are focused on having our children routinely and comfortably exceed their parent’s level of attainment and achievement.
We commonly expect them to receive a better education…and to pursue career opportunities that were unheard of in their parent’s prime…and then to enjoy the harvest […]

This week’s guest blogger is Richard’s youngest daughter, Amanda, who just married her long-time beau in Austin, TX.  This is the last part of a series about wedding planning on a budget - read Part I here and Part II here and Part III here.
Photographer

You definitely want good photos of your day, so be […]

This week’s guest blogger is Richard’s youngest daughter, Amanda, who just married her long-time beau in Austin, TX.  This is Part III of a series about wedding planning on a budget - read Part I here and Part II here.
Invitations

Target and Michael’s have some very nice Do-It-Yourself sets, if you are somewhat computer savvy.
We […]

This week’s guest blogger is Richard’s youngest daughter, Amanda, who just married her long-time beau in Austin, TX.  This is Part II of a series about wedding planning on a budget - read Part I here.
General tips

Carefully consider the date and time of your wedding. A summer wedding on a Saturday at night is a […]

This week’s guest blogger is Richard’s youngest daughter, Amanda, who just married her long-time beau in Austin, TX.  Amanda, who is just as money-conscious as her father, acted as her own wedding planner, and wanted to share her best money-saving tips, gleaned from months of research, with the blog.
The average cost of a wedding […]

First…a confession.
I collect random statistics the way some hobbyists collect stamps or coins.
I find them irresistible.
Glancing through the InvestmentNews issue of September 7th, 2009, I immediately flipped to the inside back page, going directly to the column labeled “Go Figure.” Always good for a half dozen statistical oddities.
This one absolutely floored me.
“$64—The amount of money […]

Have you heard of these accounts before?
Me neither.
I’m surprised something as useful as this program seems to be has been flying under the radar…unheralded and no doubt under used
The idea that the sparked creation of IDAs is both straightforward and obvious:
Low and moderate income earning families have great difficulty in pooling their savings for major […]

Three dominant themes are clearly visible on the horizon:
1. The entire concept of early retirement will be scrapped.
For several reasons. Mostly because our sprawling entitlement mentality is on a collision course with actuarial science. We simply don’t have the intrinsic wealth to provide both retirement income (Social Security) and elder […]