The key component to keeping the economy strong is to regularly have money change hands. If the money is moving, then the economy stays strong. When the great recession began, and the housing bubble burst, a lot of money stopped moving. As it deepened, people lost their jobs, causing the money flow to become stagnant. …
The 401k is one of the best retirement savings vehicles available. Not only are your investments tax deferred, but most of the time there is an employer match. Nearly everyone has access to a 401k, but many people do not take advantage of them. This is often because they do not know what to do…
There are very few people that actually enjoy paying taxes. So it is no wonder that when mill levies come up, there is a very vocal group saying they are not needed. However, many of these levies are necessary for the greater good of everyone. For instance, without taxes we would not have police or…
Throughout our lifetimes we all make mistakes. Some of them are big mistakes. There is not a single person you could talk to that has not made some sort of financial mistake. However, being prepared can help you to lessen the impact of those mistakes, and hopefully avoid them all together. When people get married,…
The first spring I lived in my house, I built a small 8 x 20 foot vegetable garden at the back of the lot. I would have loved to make my garden a lot bigger, but the layout of the house and detached garage made it so I was unable to do so. Every summer…
Not even a century ago if you had made it through high school you were considered well educated and you could easily get a good job. Soon, as more and more people became “well educated” you would need to get a college degree in order to get a good job. Now many people with college…
As many people progress through their teenage years they start to realize that they can work to make some extra money. Some teenagers will get part-time jobs after school; others will only work during the summer months. Regardless of how or when they earn their money, most of it is simply disposable income. They see…