Carolina Dreaming

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Suzanne Coblentz CareOne Debt Relief Serivces Blogger

If you are able to take a vacation each and every summer, good for you, but for many of us juggling various financial goals, sometimes the big trips don’t make the cut. Getting away can get extremely pricey, and that does not even include what you paid in advance for your trip.  Vacationing in general is just an expensive process. As a result, it is not something that we do as a family each and every summer.  We typically do a few small weekend jaunts and live it up with the plastic pool in the backyard. Normally the idea of […] Read more »

A Taste of Financial Freedom

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On Saturday Vonnie turned the big 4-0.  Forty is the age where people question their place in life, reflect upon what they have or haven’t accomplished, and question their mortality. In other words, their 40th birthday can leave a person feeling old. I wanted to give my wife a day of fun that would make her feel special, and help ease her way into her fifth decade on planet earth. The night before her birthday I told Vonnie that she better get some rest because she was in for a very busy day. She started to ask questions, but I […] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 7/05

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We’ve had several events in the last few months that has consumed a lot of time, energy, focus………and money.  First there was our son’s confirmation, then our annual Memorial Weekend get together, our anniversary, this week’s 4th of July family outing all leading up to Vonnie’s birthday tomorrow.  After that we have nothing major in the calendar for months.  I have loved each of these events for different reasons, and tomorrow’s birthday celebration will be fun as well.  But I cannot tell you how relieved I will be have all of this in our rear view mirror and we can […] Read more »

Save Money by Being Your Own Florist? Yes You Can!

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What’s the key to a successful marriage? That’s a loaded question, and quite honestly I think the answer is unique to each couple. But if I had to give one generality that I think could possibly apply to everyone, I would advise people to listen to their partner. I’m not referring to giving a nod and throwing in an agreeable statement every time there’s a pause in your partner’s voice. I mean really listen to what they’re saying. The amazing thing is, your significant other will actually tell you what they want. About a month ago, my daughter had her […] Read more »

Feed the Teens with New Goldfish Puffs

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Summer vacation is here and our house is a revolving door of our kids and their friends. Teenagers are a high metabolism, snack destroying breed. Where they mingle, snacks are required, and a lot of them.  After a school year of eating the same after-school snacks, both Tori and Tristan have been recently begging that we try something different.  Walking through Target, the new Goldfish Puffs from Pepperidge Farm caught their eye. Goldfish crackers have been a staple of our snack drawer for years, so we were confident that the snacks would be a high quality. My main concern was […] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 06/28

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This weekend Vonnie and I will celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary!  I’m take great pride and joy in our wedding anniversaries given all the adversity that we have endured the last four years as we have worked to pay off our mountain of credit card debt.  Marriage takes a lot of work without having the added stress of financial issues.  I love my wife so much for so many reasons – especially for sticking with me during this very trying time.  Not only are we still together and still fighting, but our marriage is stronger, and we are a better […] Read more »

Summer Vacation is not What it Used to be…It’s Going to be Better!

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Every summer I begin the season with an acute case of “Mommy guilt.”  I have two children, an eight year old daughter and a four year old son.  When summer hits for these two there is not real change to their Monday through Friday routine. I take my daughter to a summer camp that is run out of the same daycare my son attends. Although my daughter is not in school, she and my son are both woken up early and out of the house in much the same manner as the school year. Why do I have “Mommy guilt” […] Read more »

Are No Contract Phones The Best Wireless Option?

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Last fall my family finally made the plunge into the smart phone world.  We were enjoying a cheap wireless plan as we limped along with phones that were over two years old, but envying the features and conveniences that come with smart phones.  With our scratched, dented, and worn out phones showing signs of giving up we pulled the trigger and signed a two year contract with AT&T. Multiple readers suggested that I should have checked out no contract options. I was very excited to be given the opportunity through the Collective Bias Community (#cbias) to try such a plan […] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 06/21

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There’s an eerie calmness with my finances right now.   Things are going reasonably well, we have no big expenses coming up, and nothing exciting has occurred in awhile.   I’m not exactly sure how to feel about it, but I’m trying to convince myself to just relax and enjoy the summer.  I’m going to give it a shot, but I’ve always got one eye on the lookout for something brewing on the horizon….. Alright, EOD nation, let’s get this Friday rollin’ with some fist pumps: Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Party Like You’re a 72-Year-Old Retiree from Afford […] Read more »

How Fragile Are Your Finances?

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Financially Fragile. What do those words mean to you? A few months ago TeamEOD writer Dr. Cabler wrote a post addressing the subject of being financially fragile. He gave the example that the majority of Americans would have to sell some of their possessions if they had to come up with $2000 within 30 days. I identified with the post because that described me for a very long time. Something happened this week that made me think of this post again. Major layoffs occurred within the company I work for. As the week progressed, the names of those affected spread. […] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 06/14

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Happy Friday, EOD Nation! A strange thing happened to me during the week.  Before the last payment to our debt management program, we had 11 months left.  So naturally I thought after the funds from May’s payment were distributed to our creditors there would be 10 months remaining.  To my surprise the program tracker now says there are  NINE months remaining.   If that’s accurate, that means our DMP would be complete in February of next year!!! If that doesn’t get you fist pumping, I know what will, check out my favorite posts of the week: Posts That Make Me Fist […] Read more »

Should You Buy or Rent a Home, Which is Better?

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Is it better to buy or rent” when it comes to finding a place to live?  If you read my last post “Buying a Home, Is It a Good Investment?’ , you discovered that buying a house is not always a good investment if you’re looking for investment-like return for building wealth. There are some cases where you can make a decent return over 30 years, but in many cases, the increase in value of the house doesn’t come anywhere near keeping up with the ongoing expenses such as maintenance, mortgage interest, insurance, and property taxes, which can actually result […] Read more »

5 Personal Finances Blogs I Recommend to Our Customers

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In my role as Social Media Manager, I wind up conversing with all kinds of people looking for information about debt. Some of these folks have already enrolled in CareOne debt relief plans; some are just looking for resources to do it on their own. I like to send a variety of resources to people to help them find their way with personal finance.  Although we have a ton of proprietary resources available through CareOne, I have found that the personal finance blogging community provides a constant stream of new content that can make the whole debt thing feel less […] Read more »

Save Money By Buying YOURSELF A Gift Card!!

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I wasn’t happy as I walked into Applebees to purchase a $50 gift card. A well liked member of the staff at the elementary school where Vonnie worked was leaving and her coworkers had come up with the idea to have everyone pitch in and get a gift card as a going away present. Vonnie volunteered to get the gift card even though some people weren’t going to give her their share of the funds until the next day. Past experience told me that we were going to get the shaft because someone wouldn’t pay up. The bartender handed me […] Read more »