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The Path to Investing
Military Saves week is coming! From February 25 through March 2 there will be a concentrated effort to get our military families on the road to Financial Readiness, a subject matter near and dear to my heart. To get you thinking about this important week we have a guest blogger, Amy, Army spouse who shares some great thoughts about getting started on investing. Thank you, Amy, for helping to empower our military families through sharing your thoughts: “It’s important that both you and your spouse understand the investments that you have chosen”. I stared at this sentence, and felt like a hypocrite. I had shared a financial book with a friend who…
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New Friends, Motherhood and Growth
We are well into the autumn schedule. Boys are at school, my toddler and I are settling into a great routine, which includes some Disney Channel, Lego-time and lots of books. Plus lots of crock-pot time, a newly-painted bedroom and garden canning and storage for the winter months. It has been a great fall so far! But I’m taking on new adventures too. This year that includes MOMSNext. I’m a huge advocate for MOPS. That organization turned my life around from being a lonely mom with not many friends in a new area with a toddler and baby, to an involved mom part of a group; wanted, loved, befriended, needed. …
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The Holiday Budget
It is that time of year again. Festive lights, decorated Christmas trees, homemade treats and the celebration of traditions with the promise of a bright future. It can also be a very stressful time of year. The focus has become retail. We spend our time fretting about the ‘perfect gift’, the ‘perfect meal’, the ‘perfect ensamble’ for the brigade or unit party. All of this when we should instead be focusing on what the holiday is about. We have found joy in spending, getting the biggest, best, most luxurious. The worst of it: the stress lasts well into the new year when we overspend, don’t budget and simply spend on impulse instead of planning. Want some simple tips on…
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Disappointments
Disappointment… we all face them. A promised PCS to a base close to ‘home’ changed at the last minute to clear across the country. R&R or Homecoming pushed back days or even weeks. A savings account depleted to pay for unexpected household expenses. The question is how do you handle them? Yesterday, my 8 year old, *E*, was asked to go to a semi-professional baseball game with a mutual friend of my 6 year old, *C*. Talk about disappointment for *C*. There was much heartache. A few tears. A longing to be with his brother and friend and her family. How did we handle the disappointment? First we talked about the…
