Stacey Daprile – Ambassador

Kayla, I teach school in a rural area so I have no choice but to pack a meal every day. With only 40 minutes for lunch, students that want to meet with me during that time, and nothing within 15 minutes of campus – there is no choice. 🙁 I always keep a stash of emergency food items for the mornings that get too hectic to pack something – soups,…[Read more]

Congratulations! Your planning and hard work paid off! This might be your most enjoyable vacation ever as you will not have any of those nagging feelings of worry or stress each time you make a purchase. It is all paid for. Enjoy your travels!

Carla, your dad had a wonderful message! Fair and honest is the best way to live a life and run a business. The two go hand-in-hand.

Suzanne, we basically use two advisors in our home. We are a blended family and both my husband and I had our own advisors before we wed and since we are both happy with who we have worked with we have not merged. My husband’s advisor is your traditional advisor with a brokerage firm. This man calls at least twice a year and comes to our home for…[Read more]

Suzanne, we basically us two advisors in our home. We are a blended family and both my husband and I had our own advisors before we wed and since we are both happy with who we have worked with we have not merged. My husband’s advisor is your traditional advisor with a brokerage firm. This man calls at least twice a year and comes to our home for a…[Read more]

They say the best home investment is upgrading the kitchen, but that is a big one. We have done a lot to our home – Replaced all of the windows, exterior paint, put in swimming pool and a backyard entertaining area (barbecue, fireplace, tv, patio cover). By far we have spent the most in the yard, though that is not a great investment! The windows…[Read more]

Suzanne, I am not sure what age your are considering early. The earliest that you can take Social Security is age 62. I think once upon a time it might have been 59. You must start taking it by age 70. The longer you wait the greater your monthly benefit will be. I know that if I want to, I can start withdrawing form my IRAs at 59.5.

Zipporah, that is awesome! I am not sure with six kids that I could manage! Not that I would be supporting them, but I love to travel and since they are not settling near by – that means traveling to them to see grandbabies (one day!)

If anyone else has a blended family – I’d love to hear your strategy regarding finances. It can be double tricky!

Congratulations, Kayla! It sounds like you are really thinking things through! It’s been so long since mine were babies! I know that I always spent less on my kids birthday parities than many of those around me. When my daughter wanted a pony party, I did not rent a live pony. Instead I made a bunch of “horses” and they made excellent party…[Read more]

Kayla, you are right the commitment is huge – so is the love! I am glad that they can treat your cat. I am not sure that I could handle setting up an IV once, let alone three times a week. You are amazing, and your kitty is lucky to have you!

I love my travel points that I accumulate with my credit cards. When my daughter went off to college in Boston, I got a Jet Blue card. It provided me with a trip each year! The tricky part is to make sure that the total amount is paid off each month. While I am usually good with that – I have struggled from time to time with credit card debt. When…[Read more]