Stacey Daprile – Ambassador

Suzanne, we take a spending hiatus for one or two months a year. Typically we have a No Spend October and sometime I will throw in a No Spend March. My husband and I love the No Spend October! It feels like a cleansing for the budget 🙂 and forces us to be more creative. Plus is helps the overall budget before we head into the holiday season!

Carla, you are right! If we look at the rates of the traditional savings account we will probably never double our money on interest alone. Any little fee would eat it right up! This frustrates me with our emergency fund. While it needs to stay liquid it shouldn’t also just sit doing nothing. Any thoughts on this? Maybe laddering CDs or even an…[Read more]

Cara, somehow I missed Nader’s comments to Yellen when thy happened. While I found the comments shocking, they are really not that surprising. Last week one of my friends was complaining that the man she hired to replace her floors kept emailing and deferring to her husband even though she was the one making the decisions, the one paying for the…[Read more]

Oh, Zipporah, that sounds like a nightmare. There are so many investment vehicles that it can get confusing. I personally stay away from annuities, though I do believe that there is a time and place for them.

Suzanne, I have a number of friends that have taken your approach and used equity for college tuition. I don’t know that any of my friends regret their decision. The timing of the unexpected sale of our home compounded the issue for us. That home today is worth much more today than when we sold. That being said I wish we had taken a different…[Read more]

I have yet to try a meal service. I really thought that it would cost me more than I typically spend. I am rethinking that strategy. As someone who loves to cook, I have been intrigued by some of the recipes. I think it would be a good way to try out new cuisines. Thanks!

I travel a lot! But it wasn’t until recently that I learned that by signing into my Expedia account, I can see (and book) a discounted price on hotels. As a family, I have become a fan of AirBnB. We can often find incredible accommodations for the whole family. For my daughter’s graduation last year, I was able to book a home with five bedrooms…[Read more]

Thanks, Carla, for this info. I will be sorting through all the pieces. It is hard to decide which way to go.

Zipporah, I have the same questions and have just started looking into options. I am 54 and I was reading that in your 50s that is one of the next steps to see that it is covered. I’d love to hear what others are doing as well.

Lisa, this situation, while different, sounds similar to my daughter saving money for medical school. In the thread, Helping My Adult Child Navigate Savings, I wrote about how she is using CDs as a short-term investment option. They pay a little bit more interest than a traditional savings account. We have found that the online institutions pay…[Read more]

Robin, I feel your pain! Since we are still working, we are still spending (and saving). But the unknown can be scary and 2008 haunts me as well. I have watched my parents go through cycles in their retirement of saving, downsizing, and selling a vacation home, but now at age 80 they seem to be more comfortable with some spending and are traveling…[Read more]