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Having children does not need to be a financial death sentence. As reported in Time , the costs for raising one child through the age of 17 is $233,610! We have three! That does not even include the cost of college, medical expenses, or other unforeseen costs. While I love my children and want to provide the best for them, I believe part of that is also raising fiscally responsible children. Here are some of the ways that help keep the costs of raising children more reasonable and teach them the life skills necessary for a bright financial future. Buy Used We buy a lot of used merchandise. Although a product may have been loved by another family before does not mean that it does not still have a useful life left. This really keeps down on the high cost of buying new. It seems like the kiddos are always outgrowing clothes, venturing into new sports, or requesting new toys. I'm a huge fan of the bi-annual consignment sales that are often provided by local churches and school...

Oh those cute and cuddly babies, and challenging toddlers, and sweet children, and pre-teens, and teenagers, oh my! You love your children with all your heart, but it's hard to focus on the future when you have a mortgage or rent, bills, and retirement. One of the easiest ways to prepare for your children's future is to set up a 529 account. What is a 529? 529 plans, named after Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, are tax-advantaged plans which may be used for saving for future higher education expenses (tuition, books, etc.) for a designated beneficiary. In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expanded 529 plans to also include K-12 tuition and expenses. There are typically two types of plans: (1) prepaid plans also known as guaranteed savings plans (GSP); and (2) investment plans. The guaranteed savings plan allows for the purchase of tuition credits to be used in the future at current rates. In the GSP plan, you do not need to worry about the stock market and per...

I met my best friend the other day for a cup of coffee.  During our conversation, she confided that she was having trouble saving and wanted to know if I had any recommendations for her.  Here are my top pieces of advice for my best friend. Create a Simple Budget It's really hard to try to save when you don't know what you spend. But I recognize that setting up a budget can be intimidating.  Start simple. I set up a spreadsheet listing out all of my major expenses: mortgage, car insurance, student loans, daycare, utilities, food, gas, etc.  In the next column, list the expected or budgeted amount. I like to round up to the nearest 10.  In the final column, I do some homework and list the actual amount spent.  This gives me a rough idea where my money is going every month  I understand that a lot of people break down their spending in more detail, but for me it was too overwhelming to scrutinize every detail. I totaled up the budgeted amount and th...