Easy Change

With the season of weddings behind us and having just finished working through my own big day, I thought it might make sense to share some of the key items that would make sense to consider if you're doing a cost-sensitive wedding. Of course, that first paragraph is a big disclaimer. But seriously, if you were not cost-sensitive, you probably wouldn't be reading this. Furthermore, anyone else reading this and thinking about a wedding should be cost sensitive in my opinion. Weddings are crazy expensive. Many vendors charge more for a service simply because they know it is in connection with a wedding and that people feel like they are going to spend through the nose on those events. Before reading this, understand that I am practical person before I am romantic. So, before the flames start coming about how I "don't understand," simply realize that these are my views. Take them or leave them. All that said, here are five ideas: 1. Keep the guest list small. Figure o...

Whenever you think of the talk, you think of safe sex right? The birds and the bees? Well, when it comes to personal finance and talking to your parents, the talk is when you talk about how they plan to handle the difficult stuff like what to do when they retire and all of that. Yesterday, I gave my mom a call and she was not busy and thought it would be a good idea for me to come over and we would talk about "money stuff". So, when I got over there I was totally impressed. Without even asking, she had written out exactly what her income and expenses were. She had a paystub to show me what she is currently contributing to savings and retirement accounts and was quite at-ease about the whole thing. This made me very happy and comfortable because I know that despite some of the debt hurdles and other issues she is facing, there is a reasonable plan to deal with them. We talked about how she would handle her debt and also discussed a couple of small steps for her to do. Next tim...

If you follow my blog, you will know that I was expecting that there would be some kind of settlement in my father's divorce whereby I might become the custodian of some money to be set aside for my now four-year-old brother when he gets older. It has been interesting so far in trying to determine what the next step is going to be if that money comes in. However, the point might be moot since it is unlikely that there is going to be any money that actually comes out of the divorce settlement for him anyways. But, in my world, better safe than sorry when it comes to stuff like this so I went on the net and found out a couple of interesting things. One of the key items when it comes to managing money for a minor is the age of majority. This is different in every state, but in this case, in massachusetts, it seems to be eighteen from what I've read. Assuming that this is the case, whatever I do with the money, whether it be invested or placed in another kind of account, it would b...

Last night, I have discovered that due to the sale of my father's house as part of a divorce settlement, there will likely be some cash that will be available to be set aside for my brother for the future. When this became clear, I was the one that they thought of as a person to put the money away and invest it for my brother. Despite the obvious sadness of the divorce, The fact that I might be able to really contribute to my brother's well being later in life got me very excited. College, retirement, cars, and real estate prices are only going up. My brother, who just turned four this past weekend, will likely be unable to take advantage of some of the opportunities of relatively affordable college and real estate. Furthermore, by the time I retire, there is very likely going to be very little money available for Social Security. If things are going to be bad for us, those of us who are in our 20s and early 30s, things are going to be even worse for the next generation. Retire...