Category: Understanding Money
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Can You Miss A Paycheck?
My husband is a Federal employee, and the part of the government he works for is currently shutdown. Payroll was processed last week, but if the shutdown continues much longer, he will miss his next paycheck. I am a contractor, and am still able to bill to my contract, but could receive notice that I…
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Financial Management Is A Practice Not A Goal
I have a few vivid memories from preschool. I remember my mother visiting the class; always choosing finger painting as an activity; rest time; and learning to tie shoelaces. To be more exact, I remember not learning to tie shoelaces. Our teachers took time one day to show us how to cross and turn…
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What “Silent Night” Teaches Us About Responding To Crisis
Two hundred years ago, the carol “Silent Night” premiered as part of a Christmas Eve service in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, a small town in Austria. The lyrics were from a poem written by Joseph Mohr, and the tune was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber. We might never have this famous carol, were it not that…
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I Picked My Financial Adviser By His Tie, And Other Financial Mistakes
I am old enough to have made quite a few dumb financial moves. It is a good thing to periodically review your decisions. What follows is a description of my various financial follies, and some thoughts on why I do not view mistakes as all that bad. This gave me a rueful laugh, and I…
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How to Make Saving A Habit
I was looking for my laptop a couple weeks ago, and realized I had left it in the car. When I went to retrieve it, I found that the car was locked. I could not find the keys. Finally, it occurred to me that the last place I had seen the keys was when I…
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How My Husband And I Made Saving A Habit
In the course of 12 years of marriage, my husband and I have taken out a $40,000 line of credit twice, and paid it off in less than two years. We have purchased several new (to us) vehicles for cash. We have purchased two properties, one of which is now rented. We have – in…