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How Much Should I Get Paid? Be Sure You Know Your Worth!

Ever wonder, “How much should I get paid?” Whether you are freshly graduated from school, new to your field or area, or just feel like you are being paid what you are worth, I think every woman has asked herself this question at some point in time. Women are not alone in the battle for…

10 Best Things to Buy At Costco

When it comes to saving money on groceries, I swear by two things: meal planning and Costco! For families, you can save tremendously on your grocery budget by buying right and buying in bulk… and there’s no better place to do it than Costco. Just before the holidays, I asked my Instagram followers what the…

Coins in glass money jar with savings label, financial concept. Vintage wooden background with dramatic light.

Where Should You Keep An Emergency Fund?

The first major step on the Family Finance Road Map to free yourself from credit cards and adding to your debt is to build an Emergency Fund. But where to keep that emergency fund is this week’s follower Ask Me Anything topic. Every day, I get lots of great questions from followers across social media,…

Once your budget is under control, the next most common question I get is 'How much should I save for retirement?' If you can answer when you want to retire, and how much you plan to spend each year, you can use the FREE downloadable Retirement Calculator to tell you how much you need to save in total, and each year until you retire to get there. #retirement #personalfinance #retirementplanning #financialplanning

How Much Money Should I Save for Retirement

Once your budget is under control, the next most common question I get is “How much should I save for retirement?” Our retirement plan is likely to look a lot different than it did for our grandparents, and even our parents… and most of us aren’t saving nearly enough!

25+ Best Ways to Save Money

Everyone always wishes they had more money. The truth is everyone has access to at least an extra $500 in their existing family finances; you just have to know where to go look for it. Today, you’ll discover just that: the 25+ best ways to save money, each one generating $500 or more! 25+ Ways…

Are You Worried About How to Pay for Your Kid’s College?

How do parents pay for college? This is one of the questions I get asked more by moms than just about any other. We obviously all want the best for our children’s future, but the cost of our children’s future education is astronomical (and growing larger by the year). It is no wonder it keeps…

4 Ways to Feel Less Overwhelmed at Tax Time

A recent survey of 1,000 moms by H&R Block revealed more than 40% of mothers feel overwhelmed during tax season. Last week, I interviewed Lynn Ebel, JD, LLM, Director at The Tax Institute at H&R Block to learn more about what causes moms to feel so overwhelmed by tax season, what families can do to…

20+ Best Books about Finance

It’s no secret to any of you that I’m a big finance nerd… put that together with my love of reading and I’ve read a lot of finance books in my life. Books build knowledge, inspiration and motivation like nothing else out there. There’s a reason the most successful people in the world are avid…

Busy Moms Budgeting Tips

How to Calculate How Much House I Can Actually Afford

First time homebuyers, and even experienced homebuyers who may be buying in a new area or buying into a higher price point, often ask me how much house they can really afford or how much of their income their mortgage should be. The key to answering these questions is understanding that the total cost of…

Your Top 10 Income Tax Questions and Answers

This time of year, most families’ biggest financial concern is filing income taxes. In 2018, a brand new tax bill took effect and brought in sweeping changes to many family’s personal income taxes and lots of questions with it. A year later, I’m still getting lots of inquiries about it, so this week, I’ve put…

Your Average Family Budget Breakdown FAQs

When I first published the example of a family budget based on the Consumer Expenditure Survey data, I knew there would be questions, requests to dig into various parts of the data more, and the need for clarifications. Here are the questions I’ve been asked most often about the average family budget breakdown, and the…

Save More Money

10 Best Things to Buy At Costco

Where Should You Keep An Emergency Fund?

How to Save Money At the Grocery Store

When it comes to budgeting, many families struggle with sticking to their food budget every month. There are lots of ways to lower your monthly grocery spend: you can save money on groceries by meal planning, eating in instead of eating out, but you can also learn how to save money at the grocery store…

Investing for the Future

Is This A Good Time to Buy a House?

One of the best things to come out of hosting a daily LIVE Q&A for all of you on Instagram is the insights I get into your most pressing questions. And right now, lots of you want to know is this a good time to buy a house? Many of your concerns are colored by…

Where To Invest Money: ETFs vs. Mutual Funds vs. Index Funds

In our current crazy, economic environment, I’ve been hosting a daily LIVE Q&A on Instagram every weekday at 10AM ET. One question I’ve been asked over and over and over again goes something like this: “Should I invest in an Index Fund or a mutual fund?” or “ETF or Index Funds – which is better?”…

How to Become a Millionaire

The most commonly searched terms around this concept are all about “how to become a millionaire fast” or “how to become a millionaire overnight” or even “how to become a millionaire in 5 years.” Everyone wants to get rich quick… but what Chris Hogan found after interviewing thousands of millionaires in America for his latest…

Teaching Kids About Money

My 10 Favorite Money Books for Kids

After sharing my 20+ Favorite Finance Books for YOU… I got lots of requests to share a similar list of money books for kids. So I teamed up with my friend Lauren at Happily Ever Elephants to share just that! As the child of a kindergarten teacher, I grew up in a house full of…

4 Simple Money Lessons All Kids Should Know

This is a sponsored post on behalf of BusyKid.com. As always, opinions remain 100% my own. Read on to learn how these basic money lessons are the perfect introduction to finance for kids at any age, and how the BusyKid app can help you successfully implement them all! Birthdays. Christmas. Back to School. Weekly errands.…

How to Teach Your Preschooler About Money

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even If You’re Not). As always, opinions remain 100% my own. While I may have ended up as a hedge fund analyst, I did not grow up in a financially savvy household. We didn’t talk about money as a family,…

Chaos is Costly: Family Organization

Budgeting Your Time to Maximize Your Mom Schedule

If you’re a busy mom who feels like your days are passing in a blur, while your to-do list grows faster than you can ever seem to keep up with, this one’s for you. While it may seem as a stay at home mom in particular, you should have all the time in the world,…

How to Protect Your Children: 10 Things to Know About Will vs Estate Planning

No one likes to think about their own mortality. However, once you have children who depend on you, it becomes essential. If something happens to you, what will happen to them? How do you make sure they are protected and financially provided for? I was recently asked about wills during a weekly Ask Me Anything…

The Ultimate Guide to Finance for Baby’s First Year

Congratulations, your precious baby is finally here. Now the real fun begins! While you may have purchased everything on your baby registry list, there are many family legal and financial tasks you cannot actually begin until your baby arrives, and some come with significant time sensitivity. So even if you’ve been preparing for a baby financially…