Here’s the dilemma- You’re doing pretty well for yourself and have some disposable income. Your parents, who sacrificed quite a bit when you were young, are still struggling, or at least living pretty close to the edge, or so it appears to you. So you, being a good kid, decide to use some of that disposable income to help out your parents- either through taking them out to nice dinners or paying a bill here and there. But then your parents turn around and financially help out a sibling whose not doing as well as you. What do you do?
Archive for the ‘Finances’ Category
KickStarter Projects
05
Sep
I laughed, I cried for mercy, and now I live in fear. Okay, not really, except for the laughing. Someone with much more time than I have went through KickStarter and found 16 projects that could destroy civilization.
Some of them I’d heard of before- like the Space Elevator, I just hadn’t realized that someone was trying to get it funded through KickStarter. Others have been funded and fully realized- like Cards Against Humanity, which is actually a terrifically fun card game (with the right group of people).
We do need to beware Bond villains and their giant robot spiders.
College Tuition
29
Aug
“Student subsidies of classmates’ tuition add to anger over rising college costs”. The first personal story they give is of an out-of-state student. Guess what? Out-of-state students have ALWAYS paid higher tuition, and that “extra” money has ALWAYS gone into the university coffers to be used as the university deems fit- including to fund grants and aid to lower income in-state students.
Please don’t try to make me feel sorry for someone who chose UC Berkeley as an out-of-state underclassman. (Berkeleyfamously dislikes freshmen and sophomores and only takes as many as they have to to maintain 4 year status.)
Blog Feature: Newlyweds on a Budget
25
Aug
Today has been a space cadet day. It may be late, but you are still getting a Blog Feature. I knew on Friday I wanted to feature Newlyweds on a Budget, but then forgot to actually right the post. This is a great blog for talking about finances in a relationship, even if they aren’t quite so newlywed anymore.
I loved this post on what she misses about being single. While C isn’t quite this bad, on Thursday, I was craving having my last piece of pizza for a snack when I got home- C had eaten it for lunch.
Your Money Friday- I got nothing
24
Aug
Friday is normally a link to a thread over on the Your Money message boards, but this week, there was not anything useful. Basically it was insider conversations, with everyone talking about what they know about other posters and analyzing their lives (whether that is what the poster was going for or not). Other threads were just judgmental- only stupid people could have $200k in student loans for that degree, a semester studying abroad is just a vacation, etc. Or complaints that having over $500k in assets made them “upper class”. Sometimes I’m not really sure what I’m doing there.
Your Money Friday: If I Won the Lottery
17
Aug
The Washington State Lottery is currently running Department of Imagination adds with the tagline “What would you do if you won?” It works because everyone, even those of us who don’t play the lottery, likes to think about what we would do with such large sums of money.
There are smart things to do if you win the lottery- like don’t claim it until you’ve contacted a lawyer and a professional financial manager. Don’t tell the world, invest, don’t blow it all at once, etc.
But those things get in the way of our revenge fantasies and wild, wild dreams.
Blog Feature: The Family CEO
11
Aug
Julie is The Family CEO. I love that title. I don’t know that I can claim that title myself, as right now C and I are more like partners, but I think I could claim the title family CFO. But that’s beside the point. One of the things I like about The Family CEO blog is that it’s not just about personal finance, but it’s about running a household, finding ways to make more money when time is the one thing you don’t have to spare, and all sorts of other goodness. Right now, I’m loving her potted herb garden.
Your Money Friday: When Did You Get Serious About Money?
10
Aug
Have you always been at least a little smart about money, but not so much concerned with the future? Did you start saving for retirement in your late teens or early twenties, or were you only ten years away from retirement when you realized you had almost nothing set aside?
Today’s YM Thread asks: When did you get serious about money? Members share their personal stories. Don’t feel intimidated when you read about the members who “got it” when they were quite young. There are also plenty of us who took a little longer and even who are still struggling.
Your Money Friday: Who Pays for a Disbabled Child?
03
Aug
This is a tricky situation, one that is more complicated than any of us can really understand from news articles. This week on Your Money, we have been discussing how much a private organization (in this case, the Girl Scouts) should be required to pay to accommodate a disabled child and how much of that accommodation should be the responsibility of the parents of the disabled child.
If the parents are not wealthy, should their child not be allowed to participate in non-publically funded activities? Should families with healthy children be forced to help pay for disabled children to participate?
Blog Feature: Sustainable Life Blog
28
Jul
C and I try to be as environmentally responsible as possible. We often make decisions between multiple products based on the environmental impact. Because of this, I love reading about other people who are doing the same thing (often better than we are). Naturally I am choosing the time frame while Jeff is on his honeymoon (Congratulations Jeff and H!) to highlight Sustainable Life Blog, but I always enjoy reading his take on things.
And this week, his review of his Greensmart bag is making me interested in looking that direction next time I need to replace an all-purpose bag.