(This post is part of a MBN Group Writing Project on “Finances at Graduation.”) When I entered graduate school I remember being absolutely shocked how much stuff cost. I was in a dorm my first year and remember that I had $60 left every two weeks after paying for the dorm room. Just the dorm … Read more
Whenever we make a decision to improve ourselves, we have to start where we are right now. I know: Captain Obvious to the rescue. I picked up that phrase from Gary North (either in Reality Check or in the members’ section) when he was answering a question of someone who was quite a bit behind … Read more
On Memorial Day our family went over to a friend’s house. They had recently gotten a Wii Balance Board, which is basically a high-tech scale with pressure sensors that measure your left-right balance, your front-back balance, and your weight. The software that came with the unit is Wii Fit, which is a nice graduated workout … Read more
A boy gets a job while he’s still in school, saves up some money, puts it in a savings account that is jointly held by one of his parents (as it almost always has to be, since minors almost always cannot enter contracts by themselves). The parent at some point withdraws the money because the … Read more
Figuring out what to do with your income is fundamentally what budgeting is all about. If you don’t have consumer debt, the choice, once you’ve accounted for expenses and charitable giving (including tithes), the money is either saved or invested. Just put the money to good use working for you. If there’s a $15,000 credit … Read more
$15 gas is coming. Maybe not for a few years, but within a decade isn’t out of the question. This CNBC interview included commentary from Robert Hirsch of Management Information Services and lead author on Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, and Risk Management, commonly known as the Hirsch Report. Hirsch says in the … Read more
Just when I was all excited about my cheap exercise bike, my wife comes in to show me a postcard that’s announcing the opening of a YMCA in our county this fall. The membership is $69/month for a family membership. Over eight hundred a year. She wanted to get a membership for a number of … Read more
Our three-year-old daughter is a very smart, articulate, generally considerate, always cute three-year-old. With her articulateness also comes backtalk, sometimes incessant talking and demanding of attention, and vocal displeasure when the winds aren’t blowing her way. Our current modes of discipline only seem to have limited effect, so my wife and I were talking about … Read more