K. W. Callahan
K. W. Callahan graduated from the nationally top-ranked Indiana University Kelley School of Business with a degree in management and a minor in criminal justice.
He spent over a decade in the hospitality business in both operations management and finance before turning his attention to freelance writing and fatherhood. He has had articles published by Chicago Parent Magazine, Stressfree Living Magazine, Life123.com, Poweropt.com, and is a featured contributor for Yahoo! Lifestyle and Finance.
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He spent over a decade in the hospitality business in both operations management and finance before turning his attention to freelance writing and fatherhood. He has had articles published by Chicago Parent Magazine, Stressfree Living Magazine, Life123.com, Poweropt.com, and is a featured contributor for Yahoo! Lifestyle and Finance.
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Degree in business management from Indiana University with a minor in criminal justice.Motto
Efficiently. Effectively. Economically.
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First Person: We Focus on Saving for the Future, Not Paying Off the PastI realized early in life that by taking on debt, and then having to focus on paying off that debt from my past, I would be neglecting my ability to plan for the future.
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First Person: 10 Dollar Store Buys That Work for UsEven a dollar is sometimes too much for us to spend on items at the dollar store, and it has taken us a little trial and error over the years to figure out just what exactly is worth a dollar at such stores and what isn’t.
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Top Picks for This Year's Indianapolis 500 WinnerAlthough I honestly feel that there are probably a good 25 realistic possibilities for the Indy 500 winner this year, here are my personal top five.
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Alternative Forms of Currency I’m Stockpiling in the Event of a DisasterWhile I don’t think the Mayans have the date of our demise pinpointed, I do think that the idea of emergency planning as a whole, for any number of events, is a good idea.
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Metal Prices Are Down: Why I Prefer Buying Silver Over GoldThe price of silver and gold may have been down lately (under $28 and $1580 an ounce respectively at the writing of this article), but with their drop in price, my interest has risen, and I’ve been keeping an eye out for buying opportunities. -
First Person: Tracking My IncomeHere is how I track my income and insure that I’m pulling the most data possible from my tracking.
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First Person: Tracking My AssetsHere are the items that I factor into my asset tracker to ensure that it covers all my bases and enables me to keep tabs on my personal finances at a moment’s notice.
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First Person: Lessons From My Career ChangeThis was my experience as I made my first career change from the hospitality industry to the role of self-employed freelance writer. And while the experience was somewhat frightening, I have taken some very valuable lessons away from the process.
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First Person: I'm No Longer Funding My Retirement AccountNow I’m no stock market guru or financial analyst; however, that doesn’t mean I’ll want to be propping up stock market with my own money as I am forced to do with Social Security; therefore, I’ve made some adjustments to my retirement account.Also published on:
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Factors that Can Play into Caring for an Aging ParentHere are some of the factors that I’m trying to account for when deciding how best to plan for caring for aging parents.
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First Person: Fighting Inflation in 5 Easy StepsHere are the relatively simple steps that I take to fight inflation and manipulate it into helping me more than hurting me.
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Lessons from my first shares of stock that I plan to pass on to our childrenMy first shares of stock, and the experience I gained from watching them rise and fall over time, taught me some valuable lessons along the way, lessons that I hope to impart to my own children.
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First Person: The Great Recession Was Good for MeHere is why The Great Recession turned out to be a good thing for me personally.
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First Person: We're Smarter Home Buyers NowThe following are some of the things that we learned or learned more about during our first home buying experience and that helped us immensely when buying our second home.
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First Person: We're Finally Getting Back Into the Housing MarketOur family (and me in particular) has recently done a complete 180 on our view of home ownership, and we think it has finally come to the point where in some cases, it might now make more sense to buy than rent as long as we can find the right deal.
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First Person: Planning for Retirement in Our Early 30sAfter getting a decent start on retirement planning in our 20s, my wife and I had to attempt to continue the trend as we moved into our 30s. In a way, retirement planning in our 30s was actually more difficult than when we were younger.
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First Person: Planning for Retirement in Our Early 20sFor some people, it can be difficult to start thinking about retirement planning when they’re in their 20s. For me, it was something I graduated college thinking about.
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First Person: Completely Debt Free by Age 35Debt has never been my friend. I don’t like it, I do just about everything I can’t not to have it, and if I do get it, I’ll try my best to be rid of it as quickly as possible. That being said, it’s not always easy to avoid debt.
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Safety Steps as Our Son Heads Off to SchoolHere are a few of the steps we’re taking to help ensure our son’s safety as he prepares to head off to kindergarten.
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Our Kindergarten PrepIn order to ensure that he starts out with his best food forward though, we’ve taken a few steps to better prepare our little guy for kindergarten.
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Creating a Moving Checklist in 5 Easy StepsI’ve used a moving checklist during our last several moves, and here is how I create it in five easy steps.
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First Person: Rising Rents Have Pushed Us Back to Home OwnershipFor us, who spent the beginning of 2012 apartment hunting, it’s really no surprise to see articles such as the one posted on CNN Money recently entitled, “Will the rent be too damn high for Bernanke?”
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First Person: Life on One IncomeWhile each time we undertook a one income situation it was by choice, we nonetheless came to some interesting realizations along the way.
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First Person: We Were Sitting on a Financial Time BombAs first time homebuyers, there were things that we tended to overlook when seeing our future house for the first time.
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First Person: Adjusting Our Budget for a Second ChildFor me, finding out a second child was on the way -- even though we’d been talking about and planning it -- meant an immediate alteration of course in our lives, and a re-evaluation of our financial situation, goals, and plans.
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First Person: The Hidden Costs of RentingWe have a checklist of items that helps us to consider costs that might not come to mind when viewing an apartment for the first time.
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First Person: How Much Are Moms and Dads Really Worth?As a work-at-home dad, I fulfill many of the “mom” duties, carry many of the “dad” duties, and work as well. So it raises the question, if I’m a mom and a dad, am I worth the $60,000 and the $20,000 that these articles respectively assign to the roles?
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First Person: We Cut Our Utility Bill By 10%Here is how we began tracking our utilities in four easy steps, and took our total spent on home utilities from $4,010.14 to $3,574.25 – a reduction of nearly 11 percent – in just one year.
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First Person: Don’t Get Caught in Game of Housing Price 'Chicken'Here is how failing to price our home correctly, and then also failing to recover after our initial mistake, cost us big time!
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First Person: The 4 Keys to Effective InvoicingHere are a few of the tricks that I’ve learned over the years when it comes to invoicing that have made it easier to collect payments and keep customers, as well as myself, on track when it came to outstanding payment amounts due.
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First Person: The Pitfalls of Freelance IncomeI was making what I would consider decent money before moving into freelance work. And while I knew I certainly wouldn’t be making the same money initially as a freelancer, I didn’t fully consider all the downsides that can come with freelance income.
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First Person: Saving Money With Our Two Car SystemFor a while before I started working from home, my wife and I each had our own vehicles. It worked out pretty well. She had a newer, nicer, vehicle, and I had the clunker car, that was a bit more unreliable.
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First Person: Why We Chose a 15-Year MortgageMany people debate the pros and cons of 15- and 30-year mortgages. There are all kinds of situations and factors that could make one better than the other, but here's why our family found that choosing a 15-year mortgage worked well.
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First Person: 5 Simple Ways to Motivate StaffAs my experience grew over the years, I began to realize that it wasn’t always the fancy programs and special techniques that improved staff motivation. Sometimes all it took was simple, consistent steps to motivate team members.
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Money Things I Do that Drive My Wife NutsWhile we’ve learned to live, and in some ways love our various financial habits, here are a few of mine that particularly get under my wife’s skin.
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First Person: Dads Are Worth $20,000 Around the House?I just read an online article on Insure.com about a dad’s worth around the home. It appears -- according to that particular article at least -- that dads are only worth about a third of their female counterparts in and around the home.
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First Person: Cable TV Is Saving Us $1,400 a YearI actually look at cable television as a savings to us, since without it we might be spending on other forms of entertainment that are more costly.
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First Person: Is the Illinois Pension Reform Plan the Answer to Fixing Social Security Too?While state employees may not want to hear it, Governor Quinn's plan might be a good solution. And while we’re speaking of solutions, a similar plan might just be the solution to our current Social Security shortfall issue as well.Also published on:
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First Person: The 5 Rules of Social Security PlanningI feel that it’s important to one’s financial future to have a good understanding of Social Security, how benefits are calculated and affected by certain variables, and how you can make best use of your benefits.Also published on:
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First Person: Our New Baby Financial ChecklistKnowing that there’s a new baby on the way can do a lot to jumpstart you into action. With baby number two percolating in the pot, this “action” for me started by way of a “new baby checklist”.
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Pros and Cons of Letting a Child WinI have to admit that there are certainly both pros and cons to letting a child win.
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Mining the Freelance GoldfieldsWhile I’ve never made my gold mining dream a reality, as a self-employed freelancer, I've realized just how much freelancing is like gold mining. So in a way, I am realizing my gold mining dream, just in a different form and way. -
My Emergency Work FundOne of my readers asked me to go further in depth regarding my emergency work fund, which for me, consists largely of writing projects, since I’m a freelance writer; but that I think is a formula could that work for many other types of jobs as well. -
Picking Baby Names is Harder Than I ThoughtIf you’re putting a little more thought into picking a baby name, and consider the following aspects of baby names as we did, there could be a little more to it than you initially think.
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Attempting to Raise a Well-Rounded ChildWhile I can’t be guaranteed they’ll work, I at least hope to at least educate our son enough to know what other options are out there.
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Getting Our Four Year Old into the School GrooveAs our son nears age five, we’re starting to get him -- as well as ourselves -- into the school groove. By starting early and taking things a little bit at a time, I feel we’ve been progressing nicely toward preparing him for the eventual transition.
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First Person: I Helped My Mom Plan for Retirement in 6 Easy StepsWith my mother nearing retirement, I’ve been working with and discussion her financial future with her more and more. While I do my best not to intrude into her personal affairs, my background can be a huge benefit to her during the planning process.Also published on:
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First Person: Conducting a Financial Self-Audit in 5 Simple StepsI’ve conducted plenty of self-audits in the workplace over the years. Through those experiences, I’ve learned that while such tasks can be open to a little prejudice, they can also be helpful instruments in pointing out weak spots and trouble points.
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First Person: Retire Now, Work LaterAs Liz Weston, in her article for MSN Money, “Retire now, work later” points out, “Who in their right minds would quit well-paying jobs to go vagabonding around the world? Quite a few people, actually…”
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Balancing parental strengths and weaknessesI find that when it comes to parenting, my wife and I each have our various strengths and weaknesses. Being able to recognize where we excel and fail, helps us put our best foot forward when it comes to raising our child.
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Keeping our son’s stuff organizedWhile many parents probably have their own individual techniques to help them keep their kids’ items organized, here are some of the tactics that we’ve found to successfully put some order to our son’s stuff.
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First Person: Apartment Hunting in a Tough MarketWe conducted our recent apartment hunt from mid-January until March. During our search, we learned a few valuable things about the current apartment and rental environment.
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First Person: Am I Financially Ready to Quit My Job?Deciding to quit, what up until that time in my life was the only career I’d ever had, wasn’t easy; however, there were certain pieces of financial knowledge that helped me decide that leaving my regular work role might not be as risky as I thought.
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First Person: The Financial Side of Having a Second ChildFamily planning is no easy subject to tackle, and trying to do so quickly can have you leaving out some pertinent financial aspects that should be considered along the way.
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First Person: Tracking Home Costs in 4 Easy StepsHere is how our family tracked home costs in four easy steps.
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First Person: Organizing Accounts Receivable in 5 Easy StepsHere’s how I organized my accounts receivable in five easy steps.
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My Tips for Small Business OwnersHere are some of the rules that I tend to follow as an independent operator myself, and that help me maintain a steady course as I sail my own ship. -
First Person: Budgeting for Our New BabyOne of the first things I did when I learned my wife was pregnant again, was begin building our new baby budget. This budget included aspects of the pre-planning phase, medical costs for doctor visits and birthing, and “after baby arrives” costs.
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Why We Found Swim Lessons for Our Four Year Old UnhelpfulHere’s a few of the reasons I think our son did better learning from us than he did at the swim lessons.
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Financial Rewards We Plan to Bestow Upon Our SonHere are a few of the financial rewards that my wife and I hope to bestow upon our son as he matures into the fine young man that I know he’ll one day be.
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Pets for the Kids Can Be Fun but Costly: My Rules for Finding Pet SavingsAnd as our first child gets older and begins to inquire about a dog, another cat, and takes more of an overall interest in animals, we keep the following rules for helping us saving on pet costs in mind.
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First Person: Living With Just One CarOnce I became a self-employed work-from-home dad, my need for a vehicle of my own decreased dramatically, and it seemed silly to pay the costs of keeping it around when I really wasn’t using it.
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First Person: Paying Off Our Mortgage Early in 4 Easy StepsThe following are the steps that we used to stay on track with our early mortgage payoff strategy.
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First Person: Estate Planning BasicsHere are some of the rules that I’ve used to help push me toward better planning for the handling our estate matters beyond just the typical devising of a will.
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First Person: Preparing for an Interview in 5 Simple StepsI’ve always found that by conducting a good interview preparation ahead of time, I’m left feeling more comfortable and confident going into the process.
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Childhood moments to capture on videoHere are a few childhood moments of my son’s that I took time to capture on video to bring the memories of those first few years flooding back.
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Calming techniques for when this dad’s about to lose itHere are a few of the calming techniques that I attempt to employ to stifle some of this anger or at least divert it in a direction other than our son.
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First Person: 5 Easy Steps to Lower Utility CostsHere are the steps we took to help us cut over $1,000 off our utility costs during the three years we lived in our home.
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First Person: Decluttering and Downsizing Made EasyHere is how I keep our home slim, trim and decluttered -- and make some extra cash -- in just five relatively simple steps.
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Rules for Buying Big-ticket ItemsI can’t stand making big-ticket purchases. I don’t like to finance things, so I pay in cash instead, and it’s a big hit to my wallet when I finally have to break down and buy something expensive. -
Garage Sale Prep TipsProperly preparing for a garage sale can be a lot of hard work. But if you do so ahead of time, being ready can save a lot of stress and running around the morning of. -
First Person: Understanding Government Savings BondsI got my first series EE government savings bond for an essay writing contest I won in high school, and I’ve been invested in savings bonds ever since.
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First Person: The 6-Step Retirement PlanHere is how I’ve built and re-built my retirement plan over the years using six simple steps.Also published on:
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First Person: Cutting My Income Streams Is Actually Making Me More MoneyIt might seem contrary to logic, but with too many income streams, you may get lost in the forest so to speak, with too much going on to focus on the big picture. All those little distractions could cause you to miss out on the bigger opportunities.
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Why We Keep Sports Equipment in the CarNow I’m not saying people should pull spare tires and safety equipment out of the trunk to make room for tennis rackets and footballs, but if there's a little extra room in the family vehicle, you might consider keeping certain sports equipment there.
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Having a Garage Sale: Fun (and Money) for the Entire FamilyHere are a few thoughts on why we find a garage sale to be a fun, yet money-making experience for the entire family.
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Bringing a Diverse Family Together: Family Photo NightOur family just had an interesting experience…we termed it, “family photo night”. It wasn’t planned this way. In fact, it was just another Sunday dinner where the family had gotten together for a hearty meal, but it became much more.
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Ways this man’s life changed as a result of fatherhoodPersonally, I found many aspects of my life changed after my son was born. Many of these aspects became more difficult, but even then, the trade off between ease of living and the extra work was well worth it.
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Physical activities I can partake in at the playground without looking like a foolHere are some of the activities that I partake in to help keep in shape when taking my son to the playground without looking like a complete fool.
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First Person: Understanding Our Mortgage Amortization Schedule Saved Us $2,200It might seem like an amortization schedule is simply more paperwork to be stored away with the rest of your mortgage documents. However, keeping an amortization schedule out for regular review helped make better progress in paying it off.
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First Person: Vacation Expense Tracking in 5 Easy StepsI find that tracking expense while on vacation not only helps me to cut costs, but reveals some interesting and valuable information about the way our family spends while on vacation, pinpointing ways to cut on future vacations.
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First Person: LIfe on One IncomeMy wife recently quit her job and took six months to spend at home after we moved out to the state of Washington. The experience taught her some valuable lessons about the financial benefits of steady employment.
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First Person: We Spent $2,100 to Prepare Our Home for SaleOne aspect of preparing a home for sale can involve the financial strain that might accompany all the tasks involved in fixing all those little items you’ve been putting off over the years, in order to get it ready for showing to prospective buyers.
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First Person: Protecting Ourselves Financially During a Garage SaleThere can be elements of danger -- both physical and financial -- involved in garage sales. And being ready to protect ourselves during such an event can help safeguard our family as well as those coming onto our property as guests.Also published on:
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First Person: Building a Home Budget Before We Ever Moved InThe other day, I found the budget that I had created before ever moving into our first home. In some ways, I was amazed at how closely I came to budgeting correctly for certain items.
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When My Retirement Plan Falls, I Look for the Silver Lining…DividendsSince I don’t particularly enjoy my money being at risk, I have pooled the various funds in my IRA into one equity/bond income fund, which means I have dividends paid out (and reinvested since I’m not yet of retirement age) each month.
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First Person: I'm Retiring With an IncomeAccording to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, in 2012 only about 14 percent of workers say they are “Very Confident” of living comfortably in retirement.Also published on:
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First Person: The Costs of Buying Our First HomeBuying a home is likely the biggest purchase most of us will ever make, and with this purchase can come a lot of responsibility. But there can be a lot to take in and numerous ways a home buyer can get burned during the home buying process.
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First Person: Lessons From My First Savings AccountI got my first savings account at age seven. I opened it with about $700. It was an exciting occasion, and 25 years later, I still remember what my first savings account passbook looked like.
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First Person: Building a Budget in 5 Easy StepsI’ve grown my budget over the years from a quite simplistic version, to a broader, larger budget that takes a variety of factors into consideration and gauges numerous aspects of my family’s financial life.
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First Person: 10 Ways We Saved Thousands on Baby CostsWe’ve found plenty of ways to provide for our little one without having to spend a ton of money in the process. Here are ten ways that we managed to save thousands of dollars on baby costs.
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First Person: The Basics of Last Minute Interview PrepMy preparation for interviews typically starts well in advance of the actual interview itself. However, there are also things that I do at the last minute -- during the time just before an interview -- that help me prepare as well.
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First Person: Financial Lessons of FatherhoodFatherhood for me was one of those paths in life that I just couldn’t even begin to prepare for before I encountered it. I just didn’t have a clear understanding of what it would be like before it happened.
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Please, No More Stuff! How to Deal with Too Many Gifts from Friends and FamilyIt’s not like we’re trying to sound unappreciative or anything like that when it comes to receiving gifts from friends and family members. But sometimes these items come in such bulk that we just have too much stuff to deal with.
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First Person: Lessons From Our First Home SaleSelling a home really wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences, especially considering it took place during one of the worst downturns in American real estate history; however, there were some valuable lessons to be taken from the experience as well.
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First Person: I'm Underpaid, But Still Living Below My MeansWhile last year I only earned about a third of what I did during my best year in the hotel business, I still find that I can make up for this diminished income in other ways.
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Rules I always try to follow in front of our childBy pairing some of the rules my mother set for me with the rules that I wanted to set for my own child, I came up with what I thought was a good list of rules that I would always try to follow in front of our son in an effort to set a good example.
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Things I’ll be doing now that my wife’s pregnantIt took a little while once we found out my wife was pregnant with our second child, but I slowly began to remember some of the items that I’ll need to be taking over or increasing in regularity with my wife in delicate condition.
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First Person: Lessons From My First Credit CardGetting that first credit card can be a strange mixture of excitement, apprehension, and freedom. I got my first credit card in high school, not so that I could go out and start spending on frivolous purchases, but for responsible reasons.
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First Person: A Home Closing ChecklistWhile not a comprehensive list by any means, here are some of the main items that we had to handle as we neared the closing date on the sale of our first home.
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Fun and Free Websites We’ve Found to Supplement Teaching Our Four Year OldWhile I think it’s important as a parent to be there to guide our son and ensure that such sites remain productive and instructive, I don’t mind when he’s online, since I’ll certainly accept the help in making learning not only educational but fun.
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Important Childhood Financial Milestones to Impart to My Own KidsHere were some of the most important financial milestones that I experienced throughout my childhood and young adult years, knowledge that I hope to impart to my own children one day.
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Ways We Baby-Proofed Our HomeWe found that in our situation, we felt better erring on the side of caution and trying to baby-proof our home in as many ways and areas as we could think of. Here are a few of the steps that we took to baby-proof our living spaces.
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Safety Deposit Box or Stored at Home: What We Keep Where and WhyIt can be tough in this day and age to know where to keep your most precious of documents. Personally, I want certain things that I need on a regular basis accessible, but secure, and other items just plain secure. -
First Person: Our Wedding on a BudgetWith the in-laws marrying off their only daughter, they were kind enough to pay for most of our wedding. However, this didn’t mean that my wife and I threw caution to the wind when it came to our wedding expenses.
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First Person: Financial Lessons Learned From Our First ApartmentMy future wife and I moved into our first real apartment together after college and found it a wonderful, albeit financially strenuous time. We learned a few valuable financial lessons from that first apartment experience together.Also published on:
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First Person: Finding Our Perfect Real Estate AgentWhile I won’t get into the details of our particular agent, there were a few things that we learned during our home sale process that helped clarify what we would look for in a real estate agent the next time around.
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First Person: Financial Lessons From the Birth of Our First ChildHere are a few of the items that helped us make it through the early stages of parenthood without too much in the way of financial mistakes.
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First Person: What If We Hadn’t Sold?With the real estate market still struggling in many places, and home prices still falling, it makes me wonder. What if we hadn’t sold?
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First Person: Considering Utilities in RetirementUtilities can be a great place to trim costs when you’re nearing or in retirement. In fact, they can also be a great place to cut costs even if you’re not contemplating retirement.Also published on:
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First Person: The Importance of 'Pre-Retirement'As we’ve worked together to plan out her retirement future, I’ve seen my mother take a few steps that I feel are particularly important to the success of her golden years.Also published on:
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Our New Baby ChecklistNine months can seem like a long time, but it can go by quickly with all there is to do when getting ready for a new addition to the family. Here are a few of the things that we focused on to help keep us on track when preparing for baby.
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Why We Waited 5 Years Between ChildrenWhile everyone’s situations, preferences and parenting styles are different, we decided to wait almost five years (our son was three months away from his fifth birthday at conception) between our children.
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Knowing Our Child Saves Us Money when Going Out to EatWe don’t splurge too much or overindulge when going out to eat. Still, this doesn’t mean that we don’t like to do it occasionally. However, we like to find places that are fun for the entire family, yet provide us with a decent bang for our buck.
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First Person: Running the Numbers on Cooking at HomeSpending some time with my mother, who is a wonderful cook, made me realize just how much money can be saved through having a general knowledge upon which to base our own culinary creations.
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Super simple, educational, and affordable ways we keep our son occupiedSometimes it’s easier said than done when looking for things to occupy our four-year-old son. Sure, we could hook him up to a video game console, or set him in front of a DVD, but these aren’t always our first entertainment options.
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The “wait and see” child spending tacticChildren are famous -- or maybe “infamous” is the better word -- for passing through phases, fades, and trends, faster than parents can keep up. By the time we as parents have a grasp on what’s “in” it’s usually about time for it to be “out”.
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Advantages of this dad being the stay-at-home momI'm not saying there aren’t things my wife is better at than I am when it comes to parenting, but there are a few distinct advantages of our son staying at home with dear old dad during the day.
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5 things I’ve focused on our four year old learning before kindergartenWhile what we teach our children might depend heavily upon their skill levels and interests, here are the five areas that I’ve focused on teaching our four year old before he goes to kindergarten.
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Fun Items to Help Kids Mimic Money and DaddyWhile I certainly feel that there should be limits on how kids imitate adults, I do think there are certain items that can make it fun for kids to mimic adults and that can be great for educating them as well.
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4 Child Expenses and How We Minimize Their Cost EffectsSometimes it’s better not to overindulge when it comes to buying things for our children, not only for their sake -- so they don’t think they’re due everything they want in life -- but for our wallet’s and waste’s sake as well.
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How Our Son Actually Saves Us MoneyI’ve found that in some ways, if you manage your money well, look for ways to cut costs, and take advantages of certain opportunities, a child can actually help you save money in some instances.
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5 Money Saving Dangers of the Local Farmers MarketI find that it feels good to buy fresh occasionally and in the process, support local growers and merchants. There are however, a few money saving dangers that I have encountered at the local farmers market.
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First Person: We’re Part of the Middle Class 'Adjustment'I guess that you could count our family in part of this middle class adjustment. We now make about half of what we did before the recession.
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First Person: Inside Our Home AppraisalHere were some of the adjustments made between our home and the three comparables on our appraisal report.
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First Person: Putting My Finances in Order in My 20sThe following are some of the financial goals I set and achieved while in my 20s and that set me on the path to financial fortitude.
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Outdoor Activities with Which Our Son Can HelpI’ve compiled a list of a few things that I like to charge my son with doing in order to keep him hopping when we’re out in the yard.
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4 Great Games We Love to Play with Our Four Year OldHere are four of the games we play with our son that make for some great memories and that are fun for the whole family.
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Things to Remember when Taking Our Child to the RacetrackWhenever we head off to the track with our little guy, there are a few things we’re sure to have in hand.
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First Person: My Doomsday Tab Is Nowhere Near $130,000A recent CNN Money article entitled, “My doomsday tab: $130,000 on bunkers, guns and more” reviewed the big time spending of several individuals preparing for the end of days, which if you listen to some, could be rapidly approaching.
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First Person: Lessons From My First Renters Insurance PolicyOver time, I began to realize that having renters insurance was a good thing, and while thankfully I never had to rely upon that policy, I took some valuable lessons away from it nonetheless.
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First Person: We’re Getting a $1,400 Tax Refund This YearHere are some of the reasons why we’re getting decent tax return of nearly $1,400 (state and federal combined) this year.Also published on:
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Preparing to Care for Aging ParentsPersonally, I think that it’s important to start preparing for aging parents early on and stay on top of those preparations as situations change. That’s the plan I’m trying to stick to at least as my mother and in-laws start to enter their golden years.
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First Person: We’re Happy to Be RentingA recent article in the Chicago Tribune noted that “An estimated 15 million people favor apartment living over the responsibilities of owning a house.”
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First Person: We Keep at Least $5,000 in Our Emergency FundHere are a few occasions upon which we’ve found ourselves dipping into this reserve account, and at the same time breathing a sigh of relief that we have it.
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First Person: We Accumulated $13,000 in Tax DeductionsI follow the letter of the law when it comes to doing our taxes and figuring out what deductions we are eligible for. In doing so, here are some of the major deductions for which we qualified on this year’s taxes.Also published on:
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First Person: Lessons From My First JobOnce I stepped away from my first job for a while and moved on to other things, I was able to look back and see just what sorts of lessons I really took away from that work.
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First Person: Lessons From Our First Home PurchaseOur first home purchase didn’t quite work out the way we wanted. Of course probably anyone who bought at the beginning of 2008 and sold in the middle of 2011 might have been left wondering how things could have gone so wrong.
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First Person: The Surprising Costs of HomeownershipMy wife and I encountered a variety of home costs for repairs and maintenance that we never expected. And in turn, these costs added up to thousands of dollars that we didn’t expect to spend.
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First Person: We Mispriced Our HomeDuring our home sale process, we blew it when it came time to set a price for our home. We made the mistake of listening too closely to our real estate agent and not closely enough to ourselves.
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First Person: 'Remarketing' Our HomeHere are a few things we changed after our home was on the market for over a year in an attempt to refocus our home’s potential to a more specific market.
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Staying sane as a stay-at-home dadIt’s not always easy to stay sane as a stay-at-home parent. And while having time to be able to stay home with a child or children when they are small can be a dream come true, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be easy.
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Why this dad is better at doing the family shoppingMy wife and I each have our own strengths and weaknesses. When it comes to laying out the week’s meals, creating and maintaining a shopping list, and selecting the products at the grocery store though, I’m just a better shopper.
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Websites I Use for Gathering Valuable Real Estate InformationHere are some of the sites that I like to use to research and gain valuable insight into a variety of housing options in different locations. -
First Person: My Garage Sale Tool KitHere are the types of items that I’ve found most helpful to have handy and that make my life a little easier during my garages sales.
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The Financial Power of a PartnerWhile I don’t have a business partner per se, I do have an important financial partner in my life, doubling as my wife. Here are some of the ways that having one another to rely upon as financial partners comes in handy.
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Toys to Instill Work EthicKids sometimes have a knack for sniffing out ideas you’ve come up with to disguise work as fun. And as soon as the cat is out of the bag, it can be all downhill and the child can lose interest.
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Networking with Parents in a New TownHere are some of the ways that we’ve found to build connections within a new community and heighten our networking potential with other parents.
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First Person: Our Home Was Underwater, But We Still Spent $2,250 Fixing It Up for SaleWhen selling a home, it can be hard to know what to fix and what to leave as-is, how much money to spend on a house you’re going to leave, and whether the items you’re fixing and the choices you’re making will make your home more attractive.Also published on:
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How I keep my son from badgering me to buy him thingsIt can be tough to deny a child, but sometimes it’s for the best. Not only can it keep a few much needed dollars in our wallet, but I think that sometimes when a child has fewer toys, it promotes greater appreciation of the toys that he or she does have.
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Setting up the dual desk for a great parent/work comboAs a work-at-home dad, it’s important for me to have a place where my son and I can do activities and play games together.
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First Person: I Live in the Big City, and I SaveHere are a few of the options that I find in this big-city locale to help our family stretch our dollars and even make a few bucks.Also published on:
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First Person: When Trying to Save Cost Us MoneyI’ve experienced several situations in which saving money, or at least trying to save money, actually backfired and ended up costing us money instead.
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First Person: We Saved $800 on Our Last VacationWhen you’re on vacation, one of the last things you might want weighing on your mind is the thought of saving money. But being on the lookout for ways to cut costs when you’re out enjoying time off, can having the savings adding up.
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First Person: We're Happy to Be Renting AgainAfter our home sold this summer, we’ve again decided to take up renting, and there are certain home-related costs that we’ll be happy to avoid as renters.
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First Person: I’m Already Planning for My 2012 Tax ReturnDon’t get me wrong, I’m not spending hours upon my preparation efforts, but doing a few simple things here and there can help keep me on track and make my tax duties as a self-employed individual just a little bit easier to handle.Also published on:
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First Person: Better Gas Mileage Won't Pay Off for Us ... YetI recently did a gas cost analysis to help our family determine whether it would be worth trading in our gas-guzzler for a newer, more fuel-efficient vehicle. In order to do this, I followed five easy steps to help me in the process.
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First Person: Suburban Poverty on the Rise in ChicagoI was reading an interesting article on MSN.com the other day by Michelle Hirsch of The Fiscal Times. It was regarding poverty rates rising in certain suburban areas with increasing intensity as when compared to more urban landscapes.
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Donating to Charity in 5 Simple StepsHere are the five steps that I use in helping me to decide how and where to donate to charity.
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5 Simple Ways We Made Tub Time Fun for Our Four Year OldHere are some of the super simple ways and products that we’ve found to help make bath time more fun for him and less of a chore for us.
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First Person: Lessons From My First 401(k)I’ve had some real ups and downs with 401(k) and IRA plans over the years. And while I can see some definite upsides to such plans, these benefits are often tempered in my mind by the equally prevalent downsides.
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First Person: Our New Baby Didn't Blow Our BudgetHaving a new baby put a ton of pressure on us. Add to that responsibility the pressures from outside sources like friends and family and found ourselves sometimes feeling as if we’re being bad parents if we didn’t buy certain things for our little one.
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First Person: I Still Like SilverHaving watched the price of silver since I was a child, I’ve seen how it can shoot up, and then plummet back down again. Yet it still has a draw upon me when it comes to a place where I like to put a little of my money for safe, long-term keeping.
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First Person: I'm Already Preparing for the End of Social SecurityFor many of us, social security remains an important factor in our retirement planning. However, knowing that the system as it sits now is set to begin failing to pay out full benefits in the relatively near future, is certainly a concern.Also published on:
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First Person: We've Saved Thousands Through Family Financial PlanningAs I was married, had a child, and now contemplate another addition to our family, I find that there are more considerations in our family financial planning. Here are some of the most major financial aspects that factor into our plans.
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Resources I Use to Help Me Do Our TaxesHere are four resources that I find instrumental in helping me do our annual tax returns and that make my job just a little bit easier.
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First Person: Selling Our Home in One of the Worst Real Estate Markets in HistoryI learned a heck of a lot when we recently sold our home during what has been one of the worst real estate markets in history. Here are some of the rules I developed during the process and to which I plan to adhere to more strictly next time.
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Wait! Don’t Take that Spare Change to the Bank Just YetFor those of us that don’t have thousands of dollars to toss at investments, there are still great ways out there to save without having to sink the family nest egg into an investment in which a stable return might not be guaranteed.
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First Person: Lessons From Our First Home PurchaseAfter our home buying experience, here are some of the rules we’ve made for ourselves for our next real estate venture.
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First Person: Stretching Our Food Dollars Saves Us 50% on Our Grocery BillTo help stretch our food dollars, I’ve created a few rules that I would estimate cut our grocery bill by nearly 50 percent.
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First Person: Finding the Right ApartmentI’ve lived in a number of apartments in a variety of locations throughout my life. Some of these apartments have been wonderful spaces in wonderful places…others have not.
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First Person: We're Making the Most of 'Collaborative Consumption'I was reading an interesting article on Time.com the other day. It was regarding collaborative consumption. I’d never really heard the term before, though I’ve made a practice of it without ever really knowing it.
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Defending Against a Productivity Killing KidHere are a few of the things that I do to keep my little lad from completely destroying any semblance of a productive day while still keeping him occupied and happy along the way.
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Parenting in a New TownWe recently moved to a new town, and in the process found that there are things to do that can make our jobs as parents easier, because let’s face it, parenting really is a job of sorts.
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Preparing for the Kindergarten Empty Nest SyndromeEven if initially it’s just for half a day, things are going to be a little strange without my noisy little buddy pestering me, puddling around the house, and wanting to watch “toons”.
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My Rules for Vacation PlanningSince we don’t care to throw our hard-earned money away, we tend to stick to certain rules that not only help us plan our vacation, but save money when doing so.
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Indoor Activities Young Kids Can Be Good at Helping WithHere are some of the things that we do with our four-year-old son that keeps him busy and that make him feel a part of carrying out various household duties.
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Things I Have Trouble Reminding My Preschooler to Do During the DayNeglecting to remind children of what to us adults are even the simplest of tasks, could diminish their childhood education and reduce the chance of their learning valuable habits early on in life.
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First Person: Cutting Our Car Insurance CostsCar insurance can be one of those necessary evils. We may not want it, or ever even use it, but unfortunately, if we don’t have it, we could be kicking ourselves when we need it.
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First Person: Our $35 Date NightsOver the years, I’ve developed a few rules for saving money on a date but that still leave room for fun. And now my rules often allow me and my wife to go on dates that often only run us about $35 or less, but that we thoroughly enjoy.
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How I keep my son from badgering me to buy him thingsHere are a few of the tactics that I use to keep my son from badgering me to death about buying him things.
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First Person: We're Already Planning for Our 4-Year-Old’s College EducationSince I’m not a big stock fund kind of guy, I like to look for alternative ways to help fund my son’s future education.
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First Person: Lessons From Our First MortgageHere are some of the most valuable lessons that we took away from our first experience with a mortgage.
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Things I failed to consider before becoming a stay-at-home dadI think I’ve been quite successful in my transition to stay-at-home dad; however, I will openly admit that there were a number of things that I failed to consider before stepping into the role.
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Why My Blog Doesn’t Make Any MoneyWhile I’m not ready to give up on my blogging efforts just yet, I know there are certain factors -- many of which are within my direct realm of control -- that are contributing to my blogging failure. -
First Person: 4 Things That Cut Our Overall Tax Refund This YearNot everything was hunky-dory when it came to our taxes this year. Now I’m certainly not complaining, since we did get a refund; however, there were certain things that cut into the amount we got back.Also published on:
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Father/son activities that don’t have you saying, 'Aww, man!'I’ve found certain activities that can entertain both child and adult child (i.e. dad) alike. Here are a few of my favorite.
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Dealing with meals as a stay-at-home dadHere are some of the techniques that I use as an at-home dad to do my best to tie the whole meal experience together.
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First Person: Finding Savings Around the CommunityI’m often surprised at what great options are out there for finding savings in the various places we have lived, and no matter where we seem to move, we tend to encounter such options in the same sorts of places.
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First Person: Creating Our Baby BudgetThere were certainly plenty of unknowns that we encountered when preparing for our first child. And while these unknowns can make it hard to develop a budget, developing a budget can in turn, make it easier to plan for some of these unknowns.
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First Person: How I Differentiate My BlogSure, it’s simple to create a blog, post stuff on it, and earn a couple bucks by way of advertising, but to actually make some sort of attempt to differentiate it from the rest of the blogs out there, well, that’s a whole different story.
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First Person: Itemize or Take the Standard Deduction?Here are some of the larger factors that come into play when deciding whether I should itemize or take the standard deduction.
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First Person: The Tax Benefits of Having a ChildHere are a few of the benefits that we realized this year on our income taxes by way of our lovely little boy.Also published on:
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First Person: My 'I Quit' Number Is $500,000I like what I do for work. I enjoy my job. I like my career. And I enjoy the freedom of schedule that being my own boss as a self-employed individual provides. Would I work as hard as I do if I had a little more money though? I think not.
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My Money Saving Television Options Just Keep GrowingThere are three main categories of such shows that I’ve found have proliferated the airways lately, and the options just seem to keep growing.
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First Person: 3 People, 2 Days, $18 on FoodHere’s how I managed to feed my family (me, my wife and our four-year-old son) on an average of just six dollars per meal on our most recent road trip.
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First Person: Breaking Down the Property Taxes on Our Chicago Area HomeI thought I’d open up about our last property tax bill (the second installment for 2009 that was due by 12/13/10 -- we subsequently sold our home).Also published on:
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First Person: Selling Our House Cost Us $27,000In an environment in which the real estate market is less than healthy and you may already be taking a huge hit on the sale price of your home, the other associated costs of a home sale could put a further strain upon your finances.
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First Person: Boosting Our Home’s Appraisal ValueWhile we were confident that our home was worth the amount of the offer we had received, you can’t second guess what an appraiser might see. Therefore, we did a few things in an effort to boost our appraisal value.
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First Person: Lessons From Our First Homeowners Insurance PolicyBeing new to the whole homeownership experience, our homeowners insurance policy was something to which we had to become accustomed.
