My Son Did His Own Taxes For The First Time!

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My son was home from college for the weekend and expressed interest in getting his tax return done. He’s received a significant refund in the past, and wanted to get this year’s version into his bank account. I involved him in the process before, but this year he was going to be all in. First, I instructed him to gather information he would need throughout the process: Collect Needed Documents For my son, this only meant his W-2 forms. Since he switched jobs in May, he had two of them. Both were sent to our home address so I had […] Read more »

This Is Why You Pay Yourself First

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I’ve been generally keeping an eye on what my son spends his money on, as I can see his account details when I log into my bank’s online portal. The agreement was that he could spend his first two paychecks as he wished. After that, he must transfer $150 of each paycheck into his savings account. Transferring the funds to his savings account on payday is a great way to teach the concept of pay yourself first. We haven’t made it to the bank yet to open his savings account. But, I’ve been keeping track of how much of his […] Read more »

A Parent’s Job Is Never Done

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I heard an interesting comment at a wedding over the weekend regarding the current generation. An acquaintance was talking about how his brother was working with some recent college graduates, and how they work really hard on the job, but when they go home all they do is play video games. He described them as intelligent and hard working, but lacked the common skills of shoveling a driveway because all they did in their off time was play games. I laughed a little bit, shrugging it off as your typical older generation looking down on the younger generation sort of […] Read more »

A Conversation Overheard: Teenagers Ordering Pizza For The First Time

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Working at the kitchen table, I had my back to my twelve year old daughter and her friends who were watching TV in the living room. It was the first day of Spring Break, and they were excited for a week without school. I tried to tune out the sounds of whatever teenage girls usually talk about, when suddenly one of them said something that made my ears perk up. “We should order pizza!” The suggestion was meant to be a joke, but I listened to them begin to discuss some details such as what kind of pizza they would […] Read more »

How To Get The Most Out of A Hotel Stay

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Saving money on a hotel room is sometimes a question away. Just asking if  a better rate is available can in some cases save a significant amount of money. My brother in law wins the prize for the biggest discount, however, because with one question he saved over $200. We had been planning a New Year’s Eve stay at a hotel with some family near the Mall Of America in the Minneapolis / St. Paul metropolitan area. The location would put us in walking distance of several restaurant options for dinner, along with the potential to go to a movie and a […] Read more »

Are You As Financially Savvy As A 7th Grader?

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My daughter and I always have a good time together. We have similar personalities, interests and senses of humor. She was aware of our situation as we fought to pay off over $109,000 of credit card debt, and even shared her perspective on our journey in a guest post here on Enemy of Debt. She apparently also paid close attention to how our view on money and what is important in life changed over the last few years have changed. I found this out through a conversation we had last weekend. We had gone to the mall to buy a […] Read more »

How to Talk with Your Teens about Credit

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It’s not at all uncommon for teenagers to receive credit card offers in the mail. Are your children prepared for this? Do they know what to do with these offers? Do they understand how credit works? According to Consumer Action, it’s up to you to teach them: “Parents are usually the best people to teach their kids about credit, and since even young children can use credit cards, it’s never too early to begin this education.” In many families, if the parents don’t take the time to teach their kids about credit, those kids may end up making naïve choices […] Read more »

When Your Kid Shows More Financial Responsibility Than You

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Have you ever had one of those moments where as a parent you just hang your head in shame, because your son or daughter showed more responsibility you? Yeah, I had that happen to me just this weekend. My son got his Xbox360 a few years ago, and instantly wanted to take advantage of the console’s ability to play games online with his friends. In order to make that happen, we had to purchase an Xbox Live membership. We gave him a year’s subscription as a birthday present, and to pay for it we attached our checking account to the […] Read more »

Using Arcade Games to Teach My Daughter About Gambling

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I am writing this as my daughter skates around the local roller rink. There was a time when she would bring $5 with her and blow it all on the arcade games. After many failed attempts to grab the stuffed animal or put the ball in the right slot I think she’s learned the value of a dollar – and that most gambles don’t pay out. Tickets are the real reward here and they don’t get you very much. Each one is worth a penny at the “Stuff Shop” and the assortment of plastic trinkets is vast. Spider Rings are […] Read more »

A Very Special Valentine’s Day Lesson Taught By My Daughter

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Introduction:  A few days before Valentine’s Day my daughter, Tori, came to me with an idea she had for a gift for Vonnie and me for Valentine’s Day.  I could tell that this meant a lot to her, and her sincerity and creativity impressed me so much that I knew I had to help her make it happen.   Tori has written for Enemy of Debt once before, and did a wonderful job, so I asked her if she would write about the experience to share here.   Please welcome back my daughter for a very special guest post: It was only […] Read more »

Are Your Holiday Expectations Holding You Hostage?

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Are you stressed out about the holidays? It’s hard not to get stressed out just a little bit this time of year, especially if you’re struggling with your finances. With countless gatherings to attend and gifts to buy for loved ones, this time of year can be very difficult to handle when you’ve been fighting just to pay the bills each month. I read a post recently from a fellow debt relief customer who is in just that kind of situation. She is extremely stressed out because Christmas is getting closer every day, but due to some unexpected expenses, they […] Read more »

Free Student Mobile Plan With With Sprint’s My Way Promotion

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Cell phones have become an important and convenient channel of communication, especially between parents and their children as they become increasingly active away from home.  My son got his first mobile phone about a year ago, and both my wife and I are happy he has it. A very obvious example of why occurred to me recently. Organized chaos is the best way I can describe the scene at my son’s high school as I turned onto the road that approaches the main entrance. This was a new scene for me, as my son usually rides the bus home. Today […] Read more »

I Slept In On Black Friday…..and STILL Got a Door Buster Deal

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My daughter caught a case of jealousy when her brother purchased his own computer after saving up for the better part of the year. Tired of butting heads with my wife for the use of a computer that contains her SIMS computer game, she decided she wanted her own computer as well. When we started talking about how much one that would serve her needs would cost, and how long it would take her to save up for it, there were tears. A lot of tears. When you’re eleven years old, eight months is an eternity. Daddy heart melt of […] Read more »