From the category archives:

Life Planning

You CAN Afford That Baby – Ten Money Saving Tips

by joeplemon on August 9, 2010

in Budgeting,Dollars and Sense,Insurance,Life Planning,Retirement

You have read those cost projections for raising children. MSN, back in 2001 projected a cost of $249,180 (over $350,000 in 2010 dollars) for a family with a $65,800 or greater income. The Baby Center web site tells us the cost of raising a child from baby to adulthood is $266,698. The Wall Street Journal estimated the cost at $222,360 last year.

While I am not one to dispute the research of such prestigious publications, I simply can’t believe that the average parent with the average baby one might encounter in an average grocery store or sporting event or church service is really going to spend a quarter of a million dollars raising that child.  Something somewhere is flawed. [click to continue…]

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This Family Paid Cash For Their Car; You Can Too!

by joeplemon on July 21, 2010

in Case Studies,Debt,Interviews,Life Planning,Vehicles

My friends John and Lisa recently shared some exciting news with me: for the very first time in their lives they paid cash for a car – a sweet 2 year old Toyota Prius with only 29,000 miles on it. They saved up the $17,000 purchase price (new price was $31,000), did some shopping and drove off in a vehicle that will last them for years and will never require a single payment. As we talked, I learned that this family has been doing all the things I like to write about: they have zero debt and a paid for house.

Naturally, I assumed you would want to know more of their story, so I asked if they would agree to an interview. Good sports that they are, they agreed. Thank you John and Lisa! Here is their story:

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Premarital Financial Quiz: Are You Ready to Tie the Knot?

July 19, 2010

You are probably not surprised to read that the divorce rate in the United States has been 50% for the past  25 years.  However, you might not realize that premarital counseling reduces that number by 30%.  And since money issues are one of the top reasons for divorce, every couple considering marriage should get some [...]

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How to Get Personal Finance Taught in a Public High School

June 30, 2010

In contemplating whether to write this post, I weighed the negative aspect of “tooting my own horn” with the positive aspect of helping get more high schoolers some solid financial training. One compelling factor in my decision is that Austin Morgan at Foreigner’s Finances had already shared this info in our recent podcast interview. Soooo…the [...]

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How Learning to Say “No” Will Help Your Life and Your Finances

June 7, 2010

Marti had begun to see a pattern in her life. In her words, “When someone needs four hours with me, I can’t say no. But when I need someone for ten minutes, I can’t ask for help. Is there a computer chip in my brain I could replace?” Jim had never been able to say [...]

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Leaving an Inheritance: Three Trains of Thought

June 2, 2010

Today, Mr Credit Card from www.askmrcreditcard.com is going to share with us his views on how our views on inheritance. Regular readers will know that I’m not a fan of credit cards. But if you happen to be looking for a new card, please check out his best credit cards section. Mr Credit Card has [...]

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Why Joe and Jan Do Not Have Long Term Care Insurance

May 19, 2010

In spite of what the title seems to infer, this post is not about the pros and cons of Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI); it is simply a post about Joe and Jan … and why they don’t have Long Term Care Insurance. Some background The year before I turned 60, I started researching Long [...]

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How to Ensure That You Will Never Be a Millionaire: Eight Great Tips

May 5, 2010

photo credit: HowardLake I have a friend who told me, “Joe, I just don’t want to be a millionaire. I am happy like I am. Having lots of money just doesn’t appeal to me.” Although I don’t share my friend’s belief, I understand where he is coming from. Therefore, in respect for my friend and [...]

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Change Your Mindset and Save a Fortune: 200,000 Miles is the New 100,000 Miles

April 28, 2010

photo credit: gwdexter I grew up in an era when a car was considered junk if it ever made it to 100,000 miles. Even the manufacturers weren’t optimistic about their cars achieving the 100,000 mile plateau – the odometers maxed out at 99,999.

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With Apologies to Dave Ramsey, One Size Doesn’t Always Fit All

April 5, 2010

photo credit: rejon Before you jump to the wrong conclusion, let me state that the purpose of this post is not to trash Dave Ramsey. Just check my “About” page to read how Dave, his teachings and his books have turned my life around. You will also read that I am a Dave Ramsey certified [...]

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Deal With Conflict by Standing For Good

April 2, 2010

photo credit: dierk schaefer 1 Cor 16:8,9 “But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” How do you handle conflict? I realize that many smart people tell us that conflict is a positive thing: it pushes issues to the [...]

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Reverse Mortgages Part Four: Should You Get One?

March 17, 2010

photo credit: get directly down Part one of this four part series explained the complexities of a reverse mortgage. Parts two and three gave the advantages and disadvantages respectively. And now, in part four, we arrive at the crux of the reverse mortgage issue: is it for you? First, however, let’s review the definition and [...]

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