Credit Card Companies Think You’re Stupid

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Over the weekend I saw a credit card commercial that had me shaking my head. In the commercial, two woman are having lunch at an outdoor restaurant when one woman suggests the others’ friends are simply inviting her to events so they can pay with their credit card and earn credit card rewards points. When the bill comes, woman #1 whips out her credit card and offers to pay. The commercial ends with the two staring at each other, one wondering if she is being used, the other hoping her friend won’t figure it out. Seriously, do credit card companies […] Read more »

Challenge Accepted!

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So in my last blog I challenged everyone to come up with a financial savings strategy that I could execute as a 30 day financial challenge in November. So I chose two to try this month…I know such an over achiever.  I am trying Ali’s suggestion from the comments, to take the equivalent amount spent on non-essential items and place in a savings jar. I am also going rogue and trying an idea that I did last year and putting every single five dollar bill in a savings jar. With six days into the month I have saved $10.00 from […] Read more »

Emergency Fund: Time To “Man Up”

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I dreamt about finances on Friday night, which was odd for me because my dreams typically revolve around a very different subject matter. I’m almost positive the source of my dream was my increasingly frequent thoughts about the status of our emergency fund, and the fact I mentioned them in my roundup post last Friday. In my dream Vonnie and I were talking to a financial planner who was telling us the same thing I stated in my post on Friday. Each budget period we should set aside a fixed amount of money into our emergency fund and not touch […] Read more »

Waiting For An Emergency Will Cost You Money

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I looked down at the dashboard and noticed all the lights on the dash were flickering. Suddenly the radio cut out, and turned back on. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest when it happened a second time. When the radio came back on again, it was accompanied by a “ding” and several warning lights on the dash board which remained illuminated. Not exactly something you want to happen while driving in rush hour traffic. We carefully drove to my brother-in-law’s house, as we discussed our course of action. We knew the battery was due to be replaced, […] Read more »

Your Perspective On Money Changes….When You’re Paying the Bills

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My son looked at me like he didn’t believe what he was hearing. He believed that his parents have an unlimited source of money. My son has been saving his allowance as well as the money he’s earned mowing lawn this summer to get his own computer, and has amassed a pretty good chunk of coin. We had planned on a building a computer together as I thought it would be a cool father and son activity plus save us some money by assembling the computer ourselves. However, recently he found a pre-built computer online that had the required specs, […] Read more »

Earned an A+ in fun and a C- for my Budget: Vacation Report Card

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I am back from vacation. This trip was perfect; from the house we rented to the weather, everything about this trip gets an A+. My family has not had many opportunities to spend quality time together being spread out across the country.  I know that my brothers feel the same way I do about how amazing this experience was for all of our children and it was pretty awesome for my Mom too. BUT Our vacation budget took a bit of a beating.  Although we did not completely break the bank, there were several key lapses in judgment where spending […] Read more »

The Return Of The 100 Foot Water Slide

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It’s been over twenty five years, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Standing barefoot in the damp grass with the sun beating down on my back, I waited patiently. When it was finally my turn, I sprinted and dove onto the wet plastic. Refreshingly cool water sprayed on me seemingly from every direction for the few seconds it took me to travel the short distance to the pool of water at the end of the slip n slide. On Saturday I closed my eyes and remembered those days from my childhood and smiled. When I opened my eyes […] 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 »

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 »

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 »

I’m NOT Paying More Than You Quoted Me!

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Saturday was a day that my daughter has been looking forward to all school year. It was picture day for her dance class, and Tori and two of her closest friends were very excited to finally put on this year’s dance recital costume.  In the past we have made this day a special event by getting her hair done, and letting her put on a little bit of makeup. Most years we’ve paid to have her hair done, but the price to do that can be quite expensive even for a young girl. Vonnie had called around to get the […] Read more »

In Finances, Fitness and Life, Together We Stand, Divided We Fail

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Over the weekend Vonnie and I watched the movie “This is 40″ with a group of friends.   I won’t give away many of the details of the movie for those who haven’t seen it yet, but the plot revolves around the fact that the two main characters are about to reach that milestone age of 40. The movie focuses on the changes that go on in people’s lives as they move into middle age, and their reaction to those changes.  I cannot confirm or deny that both Vonnie and I may or may not be reaching this milestone age […] Read more »

I Don’t Want To Be A Deadbeat Geezer

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Over the weekend my mom had major back surgery to correct her scoliosis. The surgery involved attaching metal rods to her spine to straighten it, and “rouging up” the vertebrae which would cause them to fuse together as she heals. My mom has a long road ahead of her as the estimated recovery time is at least a year. But the result should be a better quality of life than what she had, and definitely better than what her life would have become as her scoliosis continued to get worse. The nine hour surgery gave my dad and I the […] Read more »