LivingAlmostLarge

I realized as I had dinner with a few couples the other night it’s all a matter of perspective.  What do I mean?  Well one couple had just gotten married over Memorial Day weekend.  It was a lovely wedding.  But from their perspective it was a small wedding of 175 guests. 
My jaw started hanging, when [...]

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Today DH’s ESPP bought his company stock at a 15% discount.  It happens every three months.  It’s been a good savings vehicle for us for tuition, home repairs, etc.  We save 10% of our salary and get about a 10% return when we sell the stock immediately.  However, it does take a few days to [...]

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A reader asked Walter Updegrave, “are my finances on track?”  He says there are two ways to determine how you are doing.  Go to Money’s Net Worth Calculator, use Census Bureau statistics, or use NetWorth IQ.  This will compare your standings to others or determine if you are “keeping up with the Joneses.” 
Updegrave says that [...]

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Money Magazine interviewed Suze Orman in an article.  Very neat.  One thing is Suze is switching out of Index funds into Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), which are basically the same thing except they trade like stocks and have more diversity.  DH and I personally own a bunch of ETFs because you can tailor it better [...]

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Have you ever thought how’d you broach the topic of money, wills, and death with your parents?  How does one even bring it up?  And is there an age when you should start talking about it?
I was contemplating this because one of my grandmother’s sisters, has recently downsized and moved into a condo near to [...]

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This article on Yahoo questions these 12 new necessities above the stereotyped 4 wall - food, shelter, clothes, and water, although I consider transportation the 4th wall.  The article suggests that these 12 items are ”entitlements” or ”wants” and should be scaled back.  The article suggests that a simpler lifestyle is better.  In some ways  I agree, [...]

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I had a very heated debate with my mom and aunt when they were visiting over racism in the US.  They are both in their 50s and have not been exposed to many other cultures.  They believe that racism is still rampant in the US.  Neither believe that Barack Obama can become president. That the [...]

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I read this in a thread where someone raised the question, does having the cash for an item always make it affordable?  Does saving up to pay cash for a car still make sense?  Is there a limit to affordability even if you save to buy something?
Just because we can pay cash, does it really [...]

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Okay as most know, MP Dunleavy seems to always piss me when she writes about her finances.  She always does STUPID.  But the most recent article in the NY times is called “Paying off debts that seem Unshakeable.”  So what’s the problem?  Well here is a thread on her Women In Red discussing her decision [...]

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What’s your money personality? This interesting article at MSN talks about different types of personalities. Most people have a little of every personality, but the quiz gives you the top 3 personalities.  The article suggests that that most balanced people are equal parts of all personalities.
I took the quiz and found I was 50% saver, [...]

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