Driving Costs Driving You Crazy?
When you think of how you want to spend your hard earned money, rarely do you think “I want to overpay for car insurance and spend $70 to fill up my tank!” Car related expenses are a necessity for most families, but there are easy ways to reduce these costs and make sure you are […]
Top 20 ESSENTIAL Financial Tips for Couples
I created the Top 20 ESSENTIAL Financial Tips for Couples that is available for download at Katysong.com . Clink on the link to receive your FREE copy. By following these financial tips, you will create a solid financial foundation as a couple and family. Laying the ground work NOW ensures financial security and stability for years to come.
Back to Basics: Three Tenets of Good Money Management
Let these three tenets of good money management guide your decision making.
Cost of Food: Eating up your budget?
Family Food Budget One of the wonderful things about living in the Bay Area is the excellent food. But spending at great groceries stores, farmer’s markets and restaurants can add up each month. Food related expenses tend to eat up a big part of a family budget, and one of the most frequent questions I […]
How to Prepare for the Long Road Ahead in Uncertain Economic Times
On August 8, 2011, the S&P lost 6.7% of its value, and most investors are still suffering from whiplash caused by the market’s ups and downs last week. Whether you watched your portfolio plummet, saw the drop as a good time to buy, or sat on the sidelines stunned, I have some advice… take a […]
Inaugural Blog – Time is Money
“Time is money,” is something I say when I am trying to get my daughter to hurry up and do something. Today she asked me what it meant. I paused and thought for a few moments. I told her it meant that we have a lot to do and have to move quickly to get […]
Can We Afford a Second Child?
There are many factors that go into the decision to have another child and affordability is typically the biggest one. To determine whether having a second child is financially feasible, you need to consider the costs of raising that child from birth through financial independence, which is hopefully when they graduate college. As you know […]
How to Stop Fighting About Money
Most often newly married couples do not sit down with each other to agree on a new set of guidelines for how to manage and talk about money as a couple. Once you have a baby or a house, what seemed like small differences in spending and saving become amplified and a major source of […]
What You Need to Know About Credit
Financial advice and credit advice are not always the same. Financially, it might make sense to transfer a high interest credit card balance to a 0% APR credit card, but this may not make credit sense. Before becoming a financial planner, I knew little about credit other than you needed it to get credit cards […]
How to Be Financially Prepared
The Boy Scouts say, “Always be prepared.” When you become a parent, this takes on a whole new meaning and creates a slew of new found responsibilities. Most of us learn the hard way to have a well-stocked diaper bag and snacks at all times. But we also feel the weight of financial responsibilities we […]