Things are in transition at our house again. Next week our son Grant graduates from St. Louis University and he’s moving to New York City, where he’ll start his new job in public relations on June 4. It seems like last month – no last week – that I wrote this post about his college orientation. […]
So this is cool. H&R Block, the tax services provider, believes that mastering financial matters is an important adult life skill, but that teenagers aren’t being prepared for the challenge. So the company developed a teen financial literacy program that takes the form of an online game. The game is played over nine weeks’ time […]
We’re living a cliche: Our daughter – who graduated from college in May – is living in our basement. When you hear that do you picture a kid eating Doritos and watching Netflix all day? Yeah, same here. But on the contrary, Lindsey’s gainfully employed and she actually moved home at our suggestion. It seemed like […]
Note: This post contains my referral links. See my disclosure policy for more details. We opened online savings accounts for my kids at Capital One 360 (formerly ING Direct) when they were pretty young. So when my son was ready for his first checking account a few years back, we decided to give the Capital […]
I do a lot of blogging about the cost of college, but recently I got a question from a reader named Lori about one of the expenses associated with the senior year of high school: senior pictures. Here’s what she wrote: So before we get to college, we’re looking at ALL the expenses related to the […]
This week CNN Money ran an article with the headline Teens (and their parents) spending hundreds on prom. In it were these figures: The average family expects to spend $1139 on prom this year (up 40% from 2011) The Northeast average is the highest at $1528 The Midwest average is the lowest at $722 Teens pay […]
Happy Friday! We’ve got some fun things on the calendar for the weekend, like Mom’s Weekend at my daughter’s sorority and a birthday party for a family friend. But I’ll also need to carve out a little time to take care of tax returns. For my kids. It’s such an exciting day when your kid […]
Next month I get to help judge the 11th annual Back-to-School Essay Contest being sponsored by American Century Investments. The contest asks 7th and 8th graders to write about the goals they have for after high school and what steps they’re taking today to reach those goals. I’m especially excited to do this because American […]
The following is a guest post. So, if you’re the Chief Executive Officer of the family, why not make your kids the Chief Financial Officers of Household Energy? Yes, you may not be able to pay them the six-figure salaries that most CFOs earn, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make valuable contributions to growing […]
The following is a guest post. Keeping a regular budget is an essential foundation of strong financial planning. No matter your expenses, whether they be groceries, medical bills, rent, or engagement rings, planning for them and documenting them is the best way to restrict your spending, organize your bills, and find areas where you can […]